Final answer:
Tetracycline hinders tRNA from binding to the ribosome, thus impeding protein synthesis at the translation initiation phase, while chloramphenicol prevents peptide bond formation, stalling protein elongation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Many antibiotics function by disrupting bacterial protein synthesis, a critical process for bacterial growth and replication. For instance, tetracycline targets the bacterial ribosome, specifically the A site where tRNA binding occurs. By doing so, tetracycline inhibits the ability of tRNA to deliver amino acids to the ribosome, thereby halting the growth of the nascent protein chain. In contrast, chloramphenicol acts on the 50S subunit of the bacterial ribosome and blocks the peptidyl transferase activity, which is responsible for forming peptide bonds between amino acids. This action prevents the elongation of the protein chain, effectively stopping protein synthesis.