Florida Biology EOC Practice Test 2026 - Free Biology End-of-Course Practice Questions and Study Guide

During transcription, free-floating nucleotides bond to one side of the DNA molecule, which serves as a template for the synthesis of RNA. The process begins when RNA polymerase, the enzyme responsible for transcription, binds to a specific region of the DNA. It then unwinds the DNA strands and identifies the template strand to follow.

As transcription progresses, complementary RNA nucleotides that are free in the nucleoplasm pair with their specific DNA bases on the template strand. For example, adenine pairs with uracil (instead of thymine), and cytosine pairs with guanine. This nucleotide bonding forms the growing RNA strand.

Once the transcription process is complete, the RNA strand will detach from the DNA. It is clear that free-floating nucleotides bind only to one side of the DNA molecule during transcription, leading to the synthesis of a single-stranded RNA molecule. Thus, the correct choice highlights the essential nature of pairing nucleotides during this key biological process.