Small mutations in DNA can cause huge changes in the proteins that are synthesized. Similarly, small changes in a word can dramatically alter its meaning. Look at the
following sequence of words:

milk mile wile wise wisp wasp

Notice that each word differs from the previous word by just one letter and that none of
the words is meaningless. Think of these changes as “point mutations” that affect word
meaning.
Analyze and Conclude
1. Apply Concepts Start with the word gene, and change it letter by letter to make new
words. Make sure each new word is an actual word but not a proper noun. Write at
least four “point mutations” of the word gene.

2. Apply Concepts Show how you could use words to model a frameshift mutation.
(Hint: You can use a sentence.)

3. Use Models Use the words in this sentence to model a substitution mutation.