Science Assessment ~ Ideas ~ "Theme 1" Genetic information is encoded in DNA molecules.

Key Idea: DNA molecules provide the cells with instructions for assembling protein molecules from amino acids.

Sub-Ideas
Items & Student Performance
Misconceptions
NGSS

Students are expected to know that:

Protein molecules are made up of amino acid subunits linked together in a specific sequence.
DNA molecules provide instructions for linking and ordering amino acids to form protein molecules.
Each sequence of three nucleotides in a molecule of DNA codes for an amino acid.
The set of nucleotides in a DNA molecule that provide instructions for assembling a particular protein molecule from amino acids is called a gene.
20 different types of amino acids are used to make protein molecules.
A change to the sequence of nucleotides in a gene within a molecule of DNA can alter the protein that is produced.
Changes to the sequence of nucleotides in a molecule of DNA can come from insertions, deletions, or substitutions of one or more nucleotide subunits in a DNA molecule.
Changes to the sequence of nucleotides in a molecule of DNA are called mutations.

Boundaries:

Students are not expected to know the terms: transcription, translation, messenger RNA, transfer RNA, codons, or anticodons.

Percent of students answering correctly (click on the item ID number to view the item and additional data)
Item ID Number	Knowledge Being Assessed	Grades 6–8	Grades 9–12
RH015002	The information in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling amino acids into protein molecules.	24%	35%
RH020002	DNA provides information for both the types and sequence of amino acids that make up a protein molecule.	43%	61%
RH019002	The way DNA and proteins are related is that DNA provides information for making proteins.	45%	57%
RH017001	Proteins are made in an organism by linking amino acids together.	38%	59%
RH037002	To make proteins in its cells, an animal needs amino acids and instructions for assembling them.	34%	57%
RH042002	A code indicates which smaller subunits get linked together to form proteins in an organism.	31%	52%
RH021001	Proteins are made up of amino acids.	34%	39%
RH044001	Three nucleotides are needed to code for one amino acid, not one, four, or twenty.	33%	35%
RH016001	DNA is the molecule that provides information for making proteins in an organism, not enzymes, amino acids, or other protein molecules.	24%	26%
RH028001	There are 20 different types of amino acids that are used to make protein molecules, not one, three, or four.	16%	18%
RH015003	The information in genes provides instructions for assembling amino acids into protein molecules.	14%	20%

Frequency of selecting a misconception
Misconception ID Number	Student Misconception	Grades 6–8	Grades 9–12
RHM128	Amino acids provide instructions for making proteins in an organism (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	36%	44%
RHM101	Four types of amino acids are used to make protein molecules (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	37%	43%
RHM065	The information in genes provides instructions for rearranging DNA into traits (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	40%	33%
RHM063	Four nucleotides are needed to code for one amino acid (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	32%	35%
RHM100	Three types of amino acids are used to make protein molecules (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	35%	27%
RHM066	The information in genes provides instructions for assembling chromosomes into DNA (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	31%	31%
RHM062	DNA is made of amino acids (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	29%	29%
RHM064	The information in DNA molecules provides instructions for rearranging genes into traits (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	41%	29%
RHM129	Enzymes provide information for making proteins in an organism (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	26%	24%
RHM127	An organism makes proteins from individual carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	29%	19%
RHM044	Organisms eat proteins; they do not make them (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).	21%	10%
RHM010	Proteins are composed of DNA or genes (Marbach-Ad, 2001).	19%	15%
RHM009	DNA is made of protein (Marbach-Ad, 2001).	20%	17%

Frequency of selecting a misconception was calculated by dividing the total number of times a misconception was chosen by the number of times it could have been chosen, averaged over the number of students answering the questions within this particular idea.

NGSS Statements
Code	Statement
LS1.C HS	The sugar molecules thus formed contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen: their hydrocarbon backbones are used to make amino acids and other carbon-based molecules that can be assembled into larger molecules (such as proteins or DNA), used for example to form new cells.
LS3.A MS	Genes are located in the chromosomes of cells, with each chromosome pair containing two variants of each of many distinct genes. Each distinct gene chiefly controls the production of specific proteins, which in turn affects the traits of the individual. Changes (mutations) to genes can result in changes to proteins, which can affect the structures and functions of the organism and thereby change traits.
LS1.A HS	All cells contain genetic information in the form of DNA molecules. Genes are regions in the DNA that contain the instructions that code for the formation of proteins, which carry out most of the work of cells.
LS3.A HS	Each chromosome consists of a single very long DNA molecule, and each gene on the chromosome is a particular segment of that DNA. The instructions for forming species' characteristics are carried in DNA. All cells in an organism have the same genetic content, but the genes used (expressed) by the cell may be regulated in different ways. Not all DNA codes for a protein; some segments of DNA are involved in regulatory or structural functions, and some have no as-yet known function.