Discovering the chemical structure of dna: goals

Learning goals&Outcomes

After this unit you should have achieved the following goals (numbered) as measured by your ability to successfully produce the associated products (bulleted):

1) Understand the base-pairing rules, adenine (A) with thymine (T) and cytosine (C) with guanine (G), which govern the molecular organization of DNA.

• Formulate and test an hypothesis about DNA’s expected nucleotide composition based Levene’s tetranucleotide model of DNA structure.

• Formulate a model to explain the nucleotide composition of DNA discovered by Chargaff.

2) Understand the basic macrostructure of DNA: a single DNA molecule is composed of two individual DNA molecules (strands) each of which is composed of a single file sequence of nucleotides. The two individual strands (DNA molcules) are held together by hydrogen bonds between complimentary base-pairs A with T and C with G.

• Elaborate Watson and Crick's simple diagram for the structure of DNA.

• Formulate a model for how a DNA molecule can be replicated based on its structure as proposed by Watson and Crick.

3) Understand that function arises from structure even at the molecular level.

• Evaluate whether the structure of DNA, as proposed by the tetranucleotide hypothesis, could account for the proposed function of DNA as the molecule of inheritance.

• Formulate and test an hypothesis about DNA’s expected nucleotide composition based Levene’s tetranucleotide model of DNA structure.

• Explain the importance of Watson and Crick’s observation that their proposed model of DNA macrostructure immediately suggests a mechanism for copying of DNA.

• Formulate a model to explain how the DNA molecule can be replicated based on its structure as proposed by Watson and Crick.

4) Wrestle with interpreting variation in scientific data.

• Interpret original, variable scientific data and draw conclusions.

• Compare your conclusions to those drawn by the original scientists themselves.