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Quiz yourself on Protein Synthesis — Transcription and TranslationGet your flashcardsBuild my revision planTrack my progress💡 Exam Tips for Protein Synthesis (OCR A Higher)
🎯 Command word guide
- "State" — one-word or brief factual answer; no explanation needed. "State the location of transcription" → "Nucleus".
- "Describe" — give an account of what happens, in order, naming the key molecules and stages. No need to explain why.
- "Explain" — give the mechanism AND the reason. "Explain why a deletion is more harmful" → describe frameshift AND state that all subsequent codons code for wrong amino acids.
- "Evaluate" — weigh up evidence on both sides. Rare for this topic, but could appear for mutations (e.g. evaluate the relative effects of substitution vs deletion on protein function).
- "Level of Response" — write a continuous prose account linking all stages. Use connectives: "which then...", "as a result...", "this means that...".
📝 Most commonly dropped marks
- Writing thymine (T) instead of uracil (U) in the mRNA sequence — costs 1 mark every time
- Confusing the codon (on mRNA) with the anticodon (on tRNA) — state which is on which molecule
- Saying deletion "changes one amino acid" — it causes a frameshift; say ALL amino acids after the deletion point are wrong
- Describing sickle cell as "the protein is different" without explaining that the shape change causes haemoglobin to stick together under low oxygen
- Forgetting to name peptide bonds — "the amino acids are joined" is not enough
- Writing a list of stages for LoR without linking them — you must make the sequence explicit ("the mRNA then moves through nuclear pores to the ribosome, where...")
⚠️ Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not say "DNA polymerase" makes mRNA — it is RNA polymerase
- Do not say tRNA "reads" the mRNA — the ribosome moves along the mRNA; tRNA brings amino acids
- Do not confuse transcription with translation — transcription is DNA→mRNA; translation is mRNA→protein
- Do not say mRNA is double-stranded — it is single-stranded
- Do not say the genetic code is "species-specific" — it is universal (same in all organisms)
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