Explore topic-wise MCQs in Molecular Biology.

This section includes 64 Mcqs, each offering curated multiple-choice questions to sharpen your Molecular Biology knowledge and support exam preparation. Choose a topic below to get started.

1.

Which one of the following is not a function of a nucleotide?

A. Nucleic acid monomer
B. Ribozyme
C. Energy carrier molecules
D. Receptors
Answer» E.
2.

Which of the following factors do not provide to the separation of DNA fragments during electrophoresis?

A. Chargaff’s rule
B. Matrix density
C. Ethidium bromide
D. Size
Answer» D. Size
3.

According to Chargaff’s rule the two strands of DNA has ___________

A. Same molecular weight
B. Same amount of A and G
C. Different amount of A and G
D. Different molecular weight
Answer» E.
4.

Which macromolecule is not abundantly found though being of critical importance for biological mechanisms?

A. Proteins
B. Lipids
C. Nucleic acids
D. Polysaccharides
Answer» C. Nucleic acids
5.

Building blocks of nucleic acids are ____________

A. Nucleotides
B. Nucleosides
C. Amino acids
D. Histones
Answer» B. Nucleosides
6.

Which of the following statements is not true about RNA?

A. Does not have a double stranded structure
B. Thymine is present
C. Does not obey Chargaff’s rule
D. The sugar contained in RNA is a ribose
Answer» C. Does not obey Chargaff’s rule
7.

A nucleotide consists of

A. a sugar, a base and a phosphate
B. a sugar and a phosphate
C. paired bases
D. a sugar, a base and three phosphates
Answer» B. a sugar and a phosphate
8.

What happens in hyperchromicity?

A. When DNA is in bound form, there is decrease in absorption of UV light
B. When DNA is in bound form, there is increase in absorption of UV light
C. When DNA is in unbound form, it is more stable
D. When DNA is in unbound form, there is increase in absorption of UV light
Answer» E.
9.

What happens in hypochromicity?

A. When DNA is in bound form, there is decrease in absorption of UV light
B. When DNA is in bound form, there is increase in absorption of UV light
C. When DNA is in unbound form, it is more stable
D. When DNA is in unbound form, there is decrease in absorption of UV light
Answer» B. When DNA is in bound form, there is increase in absorption of UV light
10.

Which one of the following nucleic acids has a left handed helix?

A. M-RNA
B. T-RNA
C. A-DNA
D. Z-DNA
Answer» E.
11.

Which of the following nucleotides is not present in RNA?

A. AMP
B. GMP
C. CMP
D. TMP
Answer» E.
12.

Which of the following is true about Z-DNA helix?

A. It has alternating GC sequences
B. It is a permanent conformation of DNA
C. It tends to be found at the 3’ end of the genes
D. It has fewer base pairs per turn than B-DNA
Answer» B. It is a permanent conformation of DNA
13.

Which ratio is constant for DNA?

A. A + G / T + C
B. A + T / G + C
C. A + C / U + G
D. A + U / G + C
Answer» B. A + T / G + C
14.

Which of the following amino acids interact with the DNA or RNA backbone (i.e. phosphate)?

A. Ile and Val
B. Lys and Arg
C. Leu and Ala
D. Cys and Met
Answer» C. Leu and Ala
15.

Which of the following amino acids can interact with the DNA or RNA nucleotide bases via hydrogen bonding?

A. Asn and Gln
B. Cys and Met
C. Lys and Leu
D. Ile and Val
Answer» B. Cys and Met
16.

Cleavage of DNA by EcoRI endonuclease results in the formation of

A. two 3'-OH ends and two 5'-phosphate ends
B. one 3'-OH end and one 5'-phosphate end
C. two 3'-phosphate ends and two 3'-OH ends
D. one 3'-OH end and two 5'-phosphate end
Answer» B. one 3'-OH end and one 5'-phosphate end
17.

DNA denaturation is measured by absorbance at ___________

A. 220nm
B. 230nm
C. 250nm
D. 260nm
Answer» E.
18.

Which of the following is a purine?

A. Cytosine
B. Adenine
C. Thymine
D. Uracil
Answer» C. Thymine
19.

Thymidine

A. can participate in hydrophobic interactions due to its methyl group
B. is replaced by uracil in RNA
C. normally forms two hydrogen bonds with adenosine
D. all of the above
Answer» E.
20.

Different DNA polymerases play distinct roles in DNA replication and repair in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. All known DNA polymerases synthesize DNA only in the __________ by the addition of dNTPs to a performed primer strand of DNA.

A. positive direction
B. 3' to 5' direction
C. 5' to 3' direction
D. negative direction
Answer» D. negative direction
21.

Identify the purine base of nucleic acids in the following.

A. Cytosine
B. Thymine
C. Uracil
D. Adenine
Answer» E.
22.

The most stabilizing force for nucleic acids is

A. hydrogen bonds
B. electrostatic bond
C. Van der Waals
D. conformational entropy
Answer» D. conformational entropy
23.

Which of the following leads to disruption of nucleosomal structure?

A. Acetylation
B. Carboxylation
C. Phosphorylation
D. Methylation
Answer» E.
24.

A purine with an amine (NH₂) group on the 6th carbon is

A. adenine
B. cytosine
C. thymine
D. guanine
Answer» B. cytosine
25.

Which of the following nucleotides is not present in DNA?

A. AMP
B. GMP
C. CMP
D. UMP
Answer» E.
26.

Which of the following is found on RNA but not DNA?

A. Uracil
B. Deoxyribose
C. Phosphate
D. Adenine
Answer» B. Deoxyribose
27.

The glycosidic bonds in DNA and RNA

A. connect the sugar to the base
B. can be hydrolyzed by OH- ion
C. stabilize Watson-Crick H-bonds
D. are free to rotate over about 180°
Answer» B. can be hydrolyzed by OH- ion
28.

Number of hydrogen bonds between guanine and cytosine?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Answer» D. 4
29.

The type II restriction endonucleases, bind to DNA sites

A. using H-bonds for specificity
B. that are usually palindromic
C. using non-sequence-dependent backbone interactions
D. all of the above
Answer» E.
30.

Which of the following statements is true?

A. Sugar component of a nucleotide is ribose
B. Sugar component of a nucleotide is deoxyribose
C. The bases in nucleotides are attached to a pentose sugar moiety by a glycosidic linkage
D. The sugar molecule of the nucleotide is in L-configuration
Answer» D. The sugar molecule of the nucleotide is in L-configuration
31.

Which of the following involves carrying genetic information from DNA for protein synthesis?

A. m-RNA
B. t-RNA
C. r-RNA
D. sn-RNA
Answer» B. t-RNA
32.

The unfavourable free energy associated with not satisfying a hydrogen bond after formation of the double helix is approximately

A. 10 kJ/mol
B. 20 kJ/mol
C. 25 kJ/mol
D. 30 kJ/mol
Answer» C. 25 kJ/mol
33.

What is the composition of nucleotide?

A. a sugar + a phosphate
B. a base + a sugar
C. a base + a phosphate
D. a base + a sugar + phosphate
Answer» E.
34.

Which of the following is false about denaturation?

A. Disruption of hydrogen bonds
B. Disruption of phosphodiester linkage
C. Loss of helical structure of DNA
D. It is resulted as a result of change in pH or increase in temperature
Answer» C. Loss of helical structure of DNA
35.

Arrangement of nucleotides in DNA can be seen by ____________

A. Ultracentrifuge
B. X-Ray crystallography
C. Light microscope
D. Electron microscope
Answer» C. Light microscope
36.

What is the composition of nucleoside?

A. a sugar + a phosphate
B. a base + a sugar
C. a base + a phosphate
D. a base + a sugar + phosphate
Answer» C. a base + a phosphate
37.

A five carbon sugar lacking a hydrogen at the number 2 carbon is found in

A. DNA
B. RNA
C. mRNA
D. rDNA
Answer» B. RNA
38.

The sugar molecule in a nucleotide is ____________

A. Pentose
B. Hexose
C. Tetrose
D. Triose
Answer» B. Hexose
39.

Group of adjacent nucleotides are joined by ____________

A. Phosphodiester bond
B. Peptide bond
C. Ionic bond
D. Covalent bond
Answer» B. Peptide bond
40.

Reverse transcripase from HIV does not

A. uses RNA as a template
B. has a 5' to 3' polymerase activity
C. has a 3'- 5' exonuclease activity
D. requires a primer
Answer» D. requires a primer
41.

According to Chargaff’s rule, in a DNA molecule ____________

A. The amount of adenine and thymine is equal to the amount of guanine and cytosine
B. The amount of adenine and guanine is equal to the amount of thymine and cytosine
C. The amount of adenine and uracil is equal to the amount of guanine and cytosine
D. The amount of adenine and guanine is equal to the amount of uracil and cytosine
Answer» B. The amount of adenine and guanine is equal to the amount of thymine and cytosine
42.

The enzyme that joins DNA cuts is called

A. joinase
B. ligase
C. DNA phosphorylase
D. reverse transcriptase
Answer» C. DNA phosphorylase
43.

Nucleotide bases and aromatic amino acids absorb light respectively at

A. 280 and 260 nm
B. 260 and 280 nm
C. 270 and 280 nm
D. 260 and 270 nm
Answer» C. 270 and 280 nm
44.

Which of the following are not the components of RNA?

A. Thymine
B. Adenine
C. Guanine
D. Cytosine
Answer» B. Adenine
45.

Which of the following is false about purine and pyrimidine bases?

A. They are hydrophobic and relatively insoluble in water at the near-neutral pH of the cell
B. At acidic or alkaline pH the bases become charged and their solubility in water increases
C. Purines have two rings in their structure, but pyrimidine bases have only one ring
D. At acidic or alkaline pH the bases become charged and their solubility in water decreases
Answer» E.
46.

Which of the following is true about tₘ?

A. It can be termed as renaturation temperature
B. The higher the content of G ≡ C base pairs, the higher the tₘ
C. The higher the content of A = T base pairs, the higher the tₘ
D. The higher the content of G ≡ C base pairs, the lower the tₘ
Answer» C. The higher the content of A = T base pairs, the higher the tₘ
47.

Nucleic acids can be analyzed experimentally by their

A. molecular weight
B. absorption of visible light
C. absorption of uv light
D. none of these
Answer» D. none of these
48.

Which of the following is true about phosphodiester linkage?

A. 5’-phosphate group of one nucleotide unit is joined to the 3’-hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide
B. 3’-phosphate group of one nucleotide unit is joined to the 5’-hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide
C. 5’-phosphate group of one nucleotide unit is joined to the 5’-hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide
D. 3’-phosphate group of one nucleotide unit is joined to the 3’-hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide
Answer» B. 3’-phosphate group of one nucleotide unit is joined to the 5’-hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide
49.

Number of hydrogen bonds between adenine and thymine?

A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
Answer» C. 3
50.

The sugar in RNA is __________ , the sugar in DNA is __________

A. deoxyribose, ribose
B. ribose, deoxyribose
C. ribose, phosphate
D. ribose, uracil
Answer» C. ribose, phosphate