Where does transcription occur within the cell?

• A. Nucleus
• B. Cytoplasm
• C. Mitochondrion
• D. Golgi

Answer: (A)

Transcription, the process of copying DNA into RNA, happens in the nucleus in most eukaryotic cells because the DNA is housed there and the RNA polymerase machinery operates inside the nuclear envelope. After transcription, the RNA is processed and then exported to the cytoplasm for translation. While mitochondria do carry out transcription within the organelle, the question targets the primary site in the typical eukaryotic cell, which is the nucleus. The cytoplasm is where translation occurs, and the Golgi is involved in protein processing and trafficking, not transcription. Therefore, the nucleus is the correct site.