IB Biology SL 1.3.2 Base substitution consequences Question Bank
Practise IB Biology SL 1.3.2 by tracing how a base substitution can change a codon, amino acid and protein function.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2025
- Course
- Biology SL
- Level
- SL
Practise IB Biology SL 1.3.2 by tracing how a base substitution can change a codon, amino acid and protein function.
Thrombophilia is a human genetic condition where the blood has an increased tendency to clot. The condition is caused by a single base substitution mutation in DNA. If a person is homozygous for the gene, they are at greater risk for developing a blood clot than an individual who is heterozygous. The pedigree chart shows the inheritance of thrombophilia in a family.

Explain how a single base substitution mutation in DNA can cause a change to a protein.
a. sequence of DNA bases determines the amino acid sequence of a protein;
b. changing one base (on the DNA) can cause the triplet/mRNA to code for a different amino acid;
c. changing one base (on the DNA) causes a different protein to be made (during translation);
2 max