Review with the class how the structure and function of proteins is dictated by the DNA sequence of genes (structure and function of DNA). Have students work individually or in pairs. Living things make proteins the same way.The sequence of amino acids in a protein determines its structure and function.Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.The arrangement of DNA building blocks in a gene specifies the order of amino acids in theprotein it codes for.(DNA and amino acid sequences havebeen abbreviated.) At theend, they learn which of 5 actual proteins they’ve built. Usingpaper cut-outs, students follow the rules of complementary base pairing to build an mRNAmolecule, then translate the mRNA codons to assemble amino acids, building a protein. This hands-on activity reinforces the processes of transcription and translation.
