Lesson · S.2.2
Genetic material and proteins
How DNA becomes a protein, from the double helix through transcription and translation, and why the TEAS tests each step separately.
ObjectiveS.2.2Read2 minExam weightBiology ≈ 20% of Science
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- Explain how DNA's genetic code is copied into RNA and translated into protein.
- Identify where transcription and translation each take place in the cell.
- Describe how a single base change can alter a protein's structure.
What the lesson concludes
- DNA carries the code; RNA carries the copy; the ribosome reads the copy.
- Base pairing is fixed: adenine with thymine (uracil in RNA), guanine with cytosine.
- Transcription happens in the nucleus and produces messenger RNA.
- Translation happens at the ribosome, where codons of three bases each specify one amino acid.
- A change to a single base can change the resulting protein.