1. Foundations

Biochemical Techniques — Quiz

Test your understanding of biochemical techniques with 5 practice questions.

Practice Questions

Question 1

A researcher is performing electrophoresis to separate a mixture of proteins. They want to separate the proteins based solely on their molecular mass, nullifying the effects of their intrinsic charge and shape. Which type of electrophoresis should they use and what is the key reagent for this purpose?

Question 2

You are trying to purify a protein with an isoelectric point (pI) of $8.5$ from a mixture using ion-exchange chromatography. You are using a buffer with a pH of $7.0$. Which type of ion-exchange resin would be most effective for binding your target protein?

Question 3

After isolating a sample of DNA, you perform a spectrophotometric analysis and obtain the following absorbance readings: Absorbance at $260 \text{ nm} = 0.8$ and Absorbance at $280 \text{ nm} = 0.4$. What can you conclude about the purity of your DNA sample?

Question 4

What is the primary advantage of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) over standard low-pressure column chromatography?

Question 5

A scientist wants to isolate mitochondria from a suspension of lysed eukaryotic cells. Which basic lab technique would be most appropriate for separating cellular components based on their size and density?