Concepts of Genetics, 10e
(Klug/Cummings/Spencer/Palladino)
Chapter 1 Introduction to Genetics
1) What is the name of the company or institution that has access to the health, genealogical, and
genetic information of approximately 270,000 residents of Iceland?
A) National Institutes of Health
B) deCODE
C) Gattaca
D) Biogen
E) American Cancer Society
Answer: B
Section: Introduction
2) A biotechnology company, deCODE, is in the process of creating a database that contains
.
A) the gene sequences of all newborns in the United States beginning in 2006
B) a compilation of all the known genes in humans throughout the free world
C) health, genealogical, and genetic information of approximately 270,000 residents of Iceland
D) a complete sequence of the human genome
E) all the information available on the human genome project
Answer: C
Section: Introduction
3) Why did deCODE select Iceland for its ambitious research project?
A) a relatively low degree of genetic diversity
B) frequent and extensive mutational bursts
C) high genetic diversity
D) lack of genealogical information
E) virtual absence of mutation
Answer: A
Section: Introduction
4) The genetic material DNA consists of basic subunits called .
A) mitochondria
B) lysosomes
C) centrioles
D) nucleotides
E) None of the answers listed is correct.
Answer: D
Section: 1.3
1
,5) The immediate product of transcription is .
A) a phospholipid
B) an amino acid
C) a protein
D) a carbohydrate
E) RNA
Answer: E
Section: 1.3
6) In many species, there are two representatives of each chromosome. In such species, the
characteristic number of chromosomes is called the number. It is usually symbolized
as .
A) haploid; n
B) haploid; 2n
C) diploid; 2n
D) diploid; n
E) None of the answers listed is correct.
Answer: C
Section: 1.2
7) Genetics is the study of .
A) heredity and variation
B) mutation and recession
C) transcription and translation
D) diploid and haploid
E) replication and recombination
Answer: A
Section: 1.2
8) Early in the twentieth century, Walter Sutton and Theodore Boveri noted that the behavior of
chromosomes during meiosis is identical to the behavior of genes during gamete formation. They
proposed that genes are carried on chromosomes, which led to the basis of the .
Answer: Chromosome Theory of Inheritance
Section: 1.2
9) What is a mutation?
Answer: A mutation is an inherited change in a gene.
Section: 1.2
10) What is a simple definition of an allele?
Answer: An allele is a variant form of a gene.
Section: 1.2
11) Until the mid-1940s, many scientists considered proteins to be the likely candidates for the
genetic material. Why?
Answer: Proteins are the most abundant, universally distributed components in cells. Because
of their great structural and functional diversity, they were considered likely candidates.
Section: 1.2
2
,12) Name the individual who, while working with the garden pea in the mid-1850s,
demonstrated quantitative patterns of heredity and developed a theory involving the behavior of
hereditary factors.
Answer: Gregor Mendel
Section: 1.2
13) What does the term genetics mean?
Answer: Genetics is a subdiscipline of biology concerned with the study of heredity and
variation at the molecular, cellular, developmental, organismal, and populational levels.
Section: 1.2
14) Name the substance that serves as the hereditary material in eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
Answer: DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid
Section: 1.2
15) Name two individuals who provided the conceptual basis for our present understanding that
genes are on chromosomes.
Answer: Walter Sutton and Theodore Boveri
Section: 1.2
16) What term is used to describe the fact that different genes in an organism often provide
differences in observable features?
Answer: phenotype
Section: 1.2
17) A fundamental property of DNA's nitrogenous bases that is necessary for the
double-stranded nature of its structure is .
Answer: complementarity
Section: 1.3
18) Recombinant DNA technology is dependent on a particular class of enzymes, known as
, that cut DNA at specific nucleotide sequences.
Answer: restriction enzymes
Section: 1.4
19) Name the botanist who, in 1900, rediscovered the work of Gregor Mendel.
Answer: Carl Correns
Section: 1.2
20) Genetics is commonly seen as being grouped into several general areas: transmission,
molecular, and population/evolution. Which biological processes are studied in transmission
genetics?
Answer: Mendelian inheritance (segregation and independent assortment), modification of
Mendelian patterns, and pedigree analysis
Section: Introduction and Summary Points
21) Who owns transgenic organisms?
Answer: Once produced, a patent can be obtained on a living organism, thereby offering
exclusive use of the transgenic organism to the patent holder.
3
, Section: 1.5
22) In 1996, a cloning experiment produced the sheep named Dolly. Contrary to the more
traditional method of cloning by embryo splitting, Dolly was produced by which procedure?
Answer: nuclear transfer
Section: 1.4
23) What term is applied to a variety of projects whereby genome sequences are deposited in
databases for research purposes?
Answer: genomics
Section: 1.6
24) The first draft of the human genome sequence was reported in 2001 by two groups, the
publicly funded and the private company .
Answer: Human Genome Project; Celera Corporation
Section: 1.6
25) A number of genomes have been sequenced in recent years: Escherichia coli,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Mus
musculus. What are the common names for these organisms?
Answer: bacterium, yeast, roundworm, fruit fly, mouse
Section: 1.6, 1.7
26) What is meant by the term genome?
Answer: The genome is all the DNA carried in an organism.
Section: 1.4
27) In nonviral systems, what is the nature of the hereditary substance?
Answer: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a double-stranded polymer organized as a double
helix.
Section: 1.3
28) What characterizes the content and function of a DNA microarray?
Answer: A DNA microarray can carry thousands of genes that can be used to test for gene
expression.
Section: 1.5
29) What is meant by the term gene?
Answer: a unit of inheritance
Section: Summary Points
30) Distinguish the functions of DNA and RNA in a eukaryote.
Answer: DNA is responsible for the storage and replication of genetic information; RNA is
involved in the expression of stored genetic information.
Section: 1.3
31) Name the bases in DNA and their pairing specificities.
Answer: adenine:thymine, guanine:cytosine
Section: 1.3
4
(Klug/Cummings/Spencer/Palladino)
Chapter 1 Introduction to Genetics
1) What is the name of the company or institution that has access to the health, genealogical, and
genetic information of approximately 270,000 residents of Iceland?
A) National Institutes of Health
B) deCODE
C) Gattaca
D) Biogen
E) American Cancer Society
Answer: B
Section: Introduction
2) A biotechnology company, deCODE, is in the process of creating a database that contains
.
A) the gene sequences of all newborns in the United States beginning in 2006
B) a compilation of all the known genes in humans throughout the free world
C) health, genealogical, and genetic information of approximately 270,000 residents of Iceland
D) a complete sequence of the human genome
E) all the information available on the human genome project
Answer: C
Section: Introduction
3) Why did deCODE select Iceland for its ambitious research project?
A) a relatively low degree of genetic diversity
B) frequent and extensive mutational bursts
C) high genetic diversity
D) lack of genealogical information
E) virtual absence of mutation
Answer: A
Section: Introduction
4) The genetic material DNA consists of basic subunits called .
A) mitochondria
B) lysosomes
C) centrioles
D) nucleotides
E) None of the answers listed is correct.
Answer: D
Section: 1.3
1
,5) The immediate product of transcription is .
A) a phospholipid
B) an amino acid
C) a protein
D) a carbohydrate
E) RNA
Answer: E
Section: 1.3
6) In many species, there are two representatives of each chromosome. In such species, the
characteristic number of chromosomes is called the number. It is usually symbolized
as .
A) haploid; n
B) haploid; 2n
C) diploid; 2n
D) diploid; n
E) None of the answers listed is correct.
Answer: C
Section: 1.2
7) Genetics is the study of .
A) heredity and variation
B) mutation and recession
C) transcription and translation
D) diploid and haploid
E) replication and recombination
Answer: A
Section: 1.2
8) Early in the twentieth century, Walter Sutton and Theodore Boveri noted that the behavior of
chromosomes during meiosis is identical to the behavior of genes during gamete formation. They
proposed that genes are carried on chromosomes, which led to the basis of the .
Answer: Chromosome Theory of Inheritance
Section: 1.2
9) What is a mutation?
Answer: A mutation is an inherited change in a gene.
Section: 1.2
10) What is a simple definition of an allele?
Answer: An allele is a variant form of a gene.
Section: 1.2
11) Until the mid-1940s, many scientists considered proteins to be the likely candidates for the
genetic material. Why?
Answer: Proteins are the most abundant, universally distributed components in cells. Because
of their great structural and functional diversity, they were considered likely candidates.
Section: 1.2
2
,12) Name the individual who, while working with the garden pea in the mid-1850s,
demonstrated quantitative patterns of heredity and developed a theory involving the behavior of
hereditary factors.
Answer: Gregor Mendel
Section: 1.2
13) What does the term genetics mean?
Answer: Genetics is a subdiscipline of biology concerned with the study of heredity and
variation at the molecular, cellular, developmental, organismal, and populational levels.
Section: 1.2
14) Name the substance that serves as the hereditary material in eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
Answer: DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid
Section: 1.2
15) Name two individuals who provided the conceptual basis for our present understanding that
genes are on chromosomes.
Answer: Walter Sutton and Theodore Boveri
Section: 1.2
16) What term is used to describe the fact that different genes in an organism often provide
differences in observable features?
Answer: phenotype
Section: 1.2
17) A fundamental property of DNA's nitrogenous bases that is necessary for the
double-stranded nature of its structure is .
Answer: complementarity
Section: 1.3
18) Recombinant DNA technology is dependent on a particular class of enzymes, known as
, that cut DNA at specific nucleotide sequences.
Answer: restriction enzymes
Section: 1.4
19) Name the botanist who, in 1900, rediscovered the work of Gregor Mendel.
Answer: Carl Correns
Section: 1.2
20) Genetics is commonly seen as being grouped into several general areas: transmission,
molecular, and population/evolution. Which biological processes are studied in transmission
genetics?
Answer: Mendelian inheritance (segregation and independent assortment), modification of
Mendelian patterns, and pedigree analysis
Section: Introduction and Summary Points
21) Who owns transgenic organisms?
Answer: Once produced, a patent can be obtained on a living organism, thereby offering
exclusive use of the transgenic organism to the patent holder.
3
, Section: 1.5
22) In 1996, a cloning experiment produced the sheep named Dolly. Contrary to the more
traditional method of cloning by embryo splitting, Dolly was produced by which procedure?
Answer: nuclear transfer
Section: 1.4
23) What term is applied to a variety of projects whereby genome sequences are deposited in
databases for research purposes?
Answer: genomics
Section: 1.6
24) The first draft of the human genome sequence was reported in 2001 by two groups, the
publicly funded and the private company .
Answer: Human Genome Project; Celera Corporation
Section: 1.6
25) A number of genomes have been sequenced in recent years: Escherichia coli,
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Mus
musculus. What are the common names for these organisms?
Answer: bacterium, yeast, roundworm, fruit fly, mouse
Section: 1.6, 1.7
26) What is meant by the term genome?
Answer: The genome is all the DNA carried in an organism.
Section: 1.4
27) In nonviral systems, what is the nature of the hereditary substance?
Answer: DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a double-stranded polymer organized as a double
helix.
Section: 1.3
28) What characterizes the content and function of a DNA microarray?
Answer: A DNA microarray can carry thousands of genes that can be used to test for gene
expression.
Section: 1.5
29) What is meant by the term gene?
Answer: a unit of inheritance
Section: Summary Points
30) Distinguish the functions of DNA and RNA in a eukaryote.
Answer: DNA is responsible for the storage and replication of genetic information; RNA is
involved in the expression of stored genetic information.
Section: 1.3
31) Name the bases in DNA and their pairing specificities.
Answer: adenine:thymine, guanine:cytosine
Section: 1.3
4
