Lesson 3.8.2.2.2

3.8.2.2.2 Regulation of translation Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 8

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.8.2.2.2, Regulation of translation: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Biology (7402), Unit 8: The control of gene expression, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. RNA interference (RNAi) acts by:

    • Increasing the number of ribosomes in the cell
    • Inhibiting translation of mRNA produced from target genes
    • Converting mRNA back into DNA
    • Stopping transcription of the DNA in the nucleus

  2. In which organisms can translation of mRNA be inhibited by RNAi?

    • Only plants
    • Only prokaryotes
    • Only viruses that infect bacteria
    • Eukaryotes and some prokaryotes

  3. Translation is best defined as:

    • Breakdown of a polypeptide into amino acids
    • Production of a polypeptide from the sequence of codons carried by mRNA
    • Production of mRNA from a DNA template in the nucleus
    • Copying of DNA before cell division

  4. What is the role of the ribosome in translation?

    • It copies DNA into mRNA in the nucleus, so the ribosome is the enzyme that makes the mRNA transcript from the DNA template
    • It stores amino acids for later use in the cell, so that they can be released when the cell needs to make a new protein
    • It breaks down mRNA after translation has finished, so that each mRNA molecule is used only once in the cytoplasm of the cell
    • It is the site where mRNA codons are read and polypeptides are assembled

  5. Which molecule carries amino acids to the ribosome during translation?

    • DNA polymerase
    • mRNA
    • tRNA
    • Pre-mRNA

  6. Which energy source is needed for translation?

    • Oxygen gas only
    • ATP
    • Glucose only
    • Glycogen

  7. Which role does tRNA have in translation?

    • Carries the DNA template out of the nucleus
    • Joins two ribosomes together
    • Carries a specific amino acid to the ribosome
    • Breaks down mRNA after translation

  8. A small RNA molecule binds to a target mRNA and it is degraded. What is the effect on protein production?

    • Transcription of the gene is increased
    • Less protein is made from that mRNA
    • More protein is made from that mRNA
    • The DNA sequence of the gene is changed

  9. Protein levels fall while mRNA levels remain unchanged. Which mechanism is the most likely explanation?

    • Translation of the mRNA is being inhibited, for example by RNAi
    • The DNA sequence of the gene has been changed
    • The gene has been duplicated
    • Transcription of the gene has been increased

  10. Why is RNAi useful in research?

    • It can reduce expression of a specific gene by destroying its mRNA
    • It makes all genes in the cell express at once
    • It converts the cell into a stem cell
    • It increases the rate of DNA replication

  11. Protein levels fall from 100 units to 20 units while mRNA levels stay at 100 units. What is the percentage reduction in protein?

    • 20 per cent
    • 50 per cent
    • 100 per cent
    • 80 per cent

  12. What is the main difference between transcription and translation?

    • Transcription and translation both produce DNA
    • Transcription makes polypeptides and translation makes DNA
    • Transcription happens only in ribosomes and translation only in the nucleus
    • Transcription produces mRNA from DNA, while translation produces polypeptides from mRNA codons

  13. How many codons are needed to code for a 100-amino-acid polypeptide, ignoring any stop codon?

    • 100
    • 300
    • 50
    • 33

  14. What is the role of ATP in translation?

    • It is the codon that starts translation at the AUG site, so each mRNA molecule begins to be read when ATP binds to it
    • It provides energy for charging tRNA with amino acids and for the movement of the ribosome
    • It is the enzyme that removes introns from pre-mRNA, so splicing of the transcript depends directly on the presence of ATP
    • It is the amino acid that is added to the growing polypeptide chain at each codon, so the ATP forms part of the protein itself

  15. Which molecule carries the anticodon in translation?

    • Ribosome
    • tRNA
    • DNA polymerase
    • mRNA

  16. Why might a cell use RNAi rather than blocking transcription to control a protein?

    • RNAi permanently deletes the gene from the chromosome, so the cell can never again make the protein it once coded for
    • RNAi acts on existing mRNA, giving rapid targeted reduction of a protein without changing transcription of the gene
    • RNAi increases transcription of the target gene, so the cell makes a larger amount of the protein than before
    • RNAi acts only on DNA in the cytoplasm, so it cannot influence the transcription of any gene in the nucleus

  17. Cells of the same organism express different sets of proteins. Which mechanism best explains this?

    • Each cell has a different genome because random mutations accumulate during development, so each cell carries a unique set of genes
    • Each cell has a different number of ribosomes at birth, and the cell with more ribosomes makes more of every protein it needs
    • Selective translation and control of mRNA, so different parts of the genome are expressed in different cells
    • Each cell permanently discards the genes it does not need during development, so only the remaining genes are present in each cell

  18. A coding sequence of 750 nucleotides codes for a polypeptide. How many amino acids are coded, ignoring any stop codon?

    • 150
    • 900
    • 300
    • 250

  19. Why might RNAi be useful in medicine, and what must be managed?

    • Its use is limited because it can only act on bacterial mRNA, so no human treatment is possible and no safety checks are needed
    • It can target specific mRNA and so reduce harmful protein production, but delivery and off-target effects must be controlled
    • It is always safe for patients because it never affects other genes or cells in the body, so no monitoring is required
    • It changes the DNA sequence permanently in every cell, so the effect cannot be reversed and it is always harmful to tissues

  20. Why can genetically identical cells make different proteins?

    • Control of mRNA and translation, including RNAi, alters which proteins are made in each cell
    • Identical cells always make the same proteins in every condition
    • Each cell has a different number of ribosomes at birth, so cells with more ribosomes make a different set of proteins from those with fewer
    • Genetically identical cells have different DNA sequences, because random mutations accumulate in each cell as it divides and grows

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