1. Describe the process of translation: initiation, elongation, termination

initiation: the tRNA comes in with the anti codon pairing to the codon in the mRNA strand, which is held onto by a ribosome. each three letter codon is then attached with the corresponding anti-codon. the starting point is read by the P site, and the corresponding amino acid is then attached.

elongation: the amino acids are continuously added onto the mRNA, and a long chain of amino acids create a protein. the a site reads the next 3 letter chain, and then moves into the p site, and another tRNA is brought in.

termination: the mRNA codon then uses the stop codon to signal the tRNA to stop adding amino acids; there is no tRNA for the stop codon. the ribosome lets go of the mRNA, and then the tRNA lets go of the polypeptide.

2.  How did today’s activity model translation? in what ways was it inaccurate?

it was accurate because we physically had to move the ribosome, and the tRNA from a site to p site. plus, we were also able to see a chain of amino acids forming, which is what creates proteins. the most inaccurate parts of the lab were the fact that the shapes of the amino acids and tRNA and mRNA were most likely not how the real things look.