Codon Biology Homework Help

Question

A Codon:

A) Consists of two nucleotides

B) May code for the same amino acid as another codon

C) Consists of discrete amino acid regions

D) Catalyzes RNA synthesis

E) Is found in all eukaryotes but not in prokaryotes

Answer 1

Answer is B. the same aminoacid may be coded by more than one codon which consists of different combinations of three nucleotides.

Answer 2

Look up "codon" on wikipedia.

It's 3 nucleotides.  The genetic code is redundant, meaning that some amino acids are coded for by more than one codon.  There are good evolutionary reasons for that (look up the wobble theory if you want).

The question tests if you know what a nucleotide is vs. an amino acid.  Amino acids are things like tryptophan, alanine, etc.  Nucleotides are G, T, A and C ( in DNA).

The genetic code is universal to all life that we know, so E is wrong.

D is ridiculous.  A codon is a set of nucleotides; something that catalyzes something else is generally a protein (enzyme) in a cell.  RNA synthase catalyzes D.

Answer 3

The Answer is definitely B.  The codon sequences CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, and AGG all may code for the amino acid Arginine, for example.

A is incorrect because a codon consists of three nucleotides.

I'm not sure what C means, but it seems to be along the lines of A.

D is incorrect because enzymes and RNA polymerase catalyze RNA synthesis.

E is incorrect because codon are found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.

Answer 4

B) May code for the same amino acid as another codon