Where does transcription occur?

• A. Cytoplasm
• B. Ribosome
• C. Mitochondrion
• D. Nucleus of a cell

Answer: (D)

Transcription is the process of making RNA from a DNA template, and in eukaryotic cells this happens inside the nucleus where the DNA is stored. RNA polymerase reads genes in DNA and builds the RNA transcripts within the nucleus, which are then processed and exported to the cytoplasm for translation on ribosomes. The nucleus is the correct location because it contains the genetic material and provides the enclosed environment for RNA synthesis before export. The other options don’t fit as well: ribosomes are the sites of translation, not transcription; the cytoplasm is where translation largely occurs; mitochondria do perform some transcription for their own genes, but the general, canonical site for transcription of nuclear genes is the nucleus.