How it works
These are the labels for a DNA model project: 11 names to print, cut out and fix to a model made of candy, pipe cleaners or paper. Show answer tells what each part is and which base pairs with which.
Read the full guide
DNA molecule project labels, from sheet to model
Print 11 labels puts every name on one sheet. Cut the names apart, tape each one to a toothpick or a loop of thread and fix it beside its part. Print 11 cards adds what each part is on the back.
Labeling a DNA model project: marshmallows and licorice
Two licorice twists are the backbone, and each toothpick with two marshmallows is a base pair. Keep one color for each base and put the same two colors together on every rung.
A DNA model of pipe cleaners, labeled
Two long pipe cleaners are the sides, with beads in two colors threaded on for sugar and phosphate. Short pieces in four colors are the bases. The materials are suggestions: any pieces of a similar shape work.
- Check the project sheet first: a part it does not ask for needs no label.
- Twist the ladder last, when every rung is in place.
Questions and answers
What should be labeled on a DNA model project?
The double helix, the sugar-phosphate backbone, one sugar (deoxyribose), one phosphate, one nucleotide, the four bases adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine, one base pair and one hydrogen bond. Those are the 11 labels on this page.
Is a double helix DNA project labeled on every rung?
Not unless the project sheet asks for it. One label for each name shows every part: one sugar, one phosphate, one nucleotide, one base pair, one hydrogen bond and one of each base. A color key can name the bases on the other rungs.
Which bases pair together in DNA?
Adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) pairs with guanine (G). Each pair is one rung of the ladder, and its two bases are held together by hydrogen bonds.
How many hydrogen bonds join a base pair?
Two between adenine and thymine, and three between cytosine and guanine. On a model, one toothpick or one twist of pipe cleaner can stand for the bonds of a pair.
What is a nucleotide on a DNA model?
One sugar, the phosphate joined to it and the base attached to that sugar. DNA is a long chain of nucleotides, so a model has one for every base.