Biology for the IB Diploma – Answers

Theme D Continuity and change

D1.1 DNA replication
Paper 1
1 D
2 D
3 D
4 C
5 a 1.717
b Half 14N and half 15N OR one/new strand 14N and one/old strand 15N OR half labelled.
c (As replication is semi-conservative) each new strand is built on parental/old/template strand;
generation 3 shows DNA that is mostly made of 14N; when E. coli replicates, half of its new DNA
must always contain 14N when growing in an 14N growth medium; every new generation of E. coli
always has a smaller proportion of (labelled) 15N in its DNA (than the previous generation); each new
generation has half the amount of 15N in previous generation. [Max 3 marks]
d
Semi-conservative Conservative

(daughter) DNA is half parental (daughter) DNA is all parental OR

all (daughter) DNA is new

one strand of the (daughter) DNA is new (daughter) DNA is all parental OR
all (daughter) DNA is new

both strands of parental DNA are separated both strands of parental DNA remain together
[Max 2 marks]
(Questions 6–8 HL only)
6 C
7 C
8 D

Paper 2
1 Negatively-charged DNA fragments migrate to the positively-charged electrode; through an agarose
gel/matrix; DNA fragments separated by size/molecular mass/molar mass/shorter fragments move faster
than longer ones; invisible DNA bands revealed under UV light by staining the gel with a dye such as
ethidium bromide.
[Max 2 marks]
2 PCR is a process used to amplify DNA/synthesize large amounts of DNA from a minute amount of
starting material; thermostable, DNA polymerase/bacterial Taq polymerase is used; two DNA
primers/single-stranded DNA molecules, which are complementary to the flanking sequence/start and
end of the segment to be amplified; denaturation: heating it to 95 °C and involves denaturation of
double-stranded DNA into single-stranded DNA/breaking of hydrogen bonds between nitrogenous bases
of the two strands; DNA primers attach to the template DNA: temperature lowered to 50–60 °C allows
primers to attach to the template DNA via complementary base pairing due to hydrogen bonding;
elongation: temperature increased to 72 °C and Taq polymerase adds nucleotides to free 3′–OH end of

Biology for the IB Diploma 3rd edition © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 2023 76
 Biology for the IB Diploma – Answers

primers using the DNA molecule as a template; sequential process of denaturation-primers attaching to
the template DNA-elongation is repeated many times products of the previous reaction are used as
reactants in the next cycle;
Advantages of PCR: large amounts of DNA can be produced from a very small amount of starting
materials; large amounts of DNA can be produced in a short period of time; specific sequences of DNA
can be amplified by using specific primers;
Limitations of PCR: knowledge of the DNA or amino acid sequence of desired gene or protein is
needed to synthesize flanking nucleotide primers; non-target DNA sequence may be amplified instead of
the desired sequence as primers are short nucleotide sequences and may not be specific enough; Taq
polymerase, of bacterial origin, does not perform proofreading, thus, there may be mistakes in
complementarity of the nucleotides added.
[Max 7 marks; if only an advantage given but no limitation, or vice versa, then max 6 marks]
3 Sample of DNA obtained from person/hair/blood/mouth/crime scene; PCR used to amplify/make copies
of DNA (in sample); using Taq DNA polymerase/using DNA polymerase from thermophilic bacteria;
tandem repeats amplified/used; gel electrophoresis used to separate DNA (into bands); separation
according to length of fragments/number of repeats
OR fragments of same length/number of repeats travel same distance; pattern of bands/number of repeats
in the profile/is unique to the individual; example of application/forensics/crime investigation/paternity.
[Max 4 marks]
(Questions 4–8 HL only)
4 Presence of DNA ligase in lagging strand to ligate Okazaki fragments; presence of Okazaki fragments in
lagging strand; presence of more than one primer/primase in the lagging strand; strands are synthesized
in opposite directions.
[Max 4 marks]
5 Leading strand: forms the DNA strand, beginning at the RNA primer; attaches nucleotides to the RNA
primer, forming a fragment; lagging strand: forms short DNA strands (Okazaki fragments), starting from
each RNA primer; proofreading: removes any nucleotide from the 3ʹ terminal with a mismatched base;
replaces with a correctly matched nucleotide.
[Max 4 marks]
6 a No effect, this strand is synthesized as a continuous length of DNA; no DNA ligase is needed.
b The Okazaki (short or discontinuous) fragments would be synthesized; Okazaki fragments would
remain as short pieces since there is no enzyme to covalently bond them together.
7 Proofreading is the process by which DNA polymerase corrects its own errors as it moves along DNA;
DNA polymerase III removes any mismatched base from the 3ʹ terminal; DNA polymerase III then
replaces mismatches with a correctly matched nucleotide; DNA proofreading ensures that any
mismatched nucleotides are removed before DNA replication proceeds; proofreading is carried out by a
nuclease that cleaves the phosphodiester bond; polymerization and proofreading are coordinated, the two
reactions are carried out by different catalytic domains in the same polymerase molecule.
[Max 4 marks]
8 Helicase uncoils/unwinds the DNA/double helix; helicase separates/unzips/breaks hydrogen bonds
between the two strands of DNA; (DNA) primase adds an RNA primer/short length of RNA; DNA
polymerase III adds (DNA) nucleotides/replicates DNA/synthesizes complementary strand in a 5′ to 3′
direction; DNA polymerase III starts replication/adding nucleotides at the primer; DNA polymerase I
removes the primer OR replaces RNA with DNA; (DNA) ligase links sections of replicated DNA OR
links Okazaki fragments; DNA polymerase I/DNA polymerase III proofreads for mistakes.
[Max 7 marks]

77