1.5 Nucleic Acids

Question 1

what is each nucleotide formed of?

Answer 1

-a pentose sugar
-a nitrogen containing organic base
-a phosphate group

Question 2

what are the components of DNA?

Answer 2

deoxyribose, a phosphate group and one of the organic bases (ATGC)

Question 3

what are the components of RNA?

Answer 3

ribose, phosphate group and of the the organic bases (AUCG)

Question 4

what bond does a condensation reaction between 2 nucleotides form?

Answer 4

phosphodiester bond

Question 5

describe the structure of a DNA molecule

Answer 5

double helix with 2 polynucleotide chains held together by hydrogen bonds between specific complementary base pairs

Question 6

function of DNA

Answer 6

holds genetic information

Question 7

function of RNA

Answer 7

transfers genetic information from DNA to ribosomes

Question 8

strand difference between DNA and RNA

Answer 8

DNA is double stranded
RNA is single stranded

Question 9

length difference between DNA and RNA

Answer 9

DNA longer
RNA shorter

Question 10

how is a phosphodiester bond formed?

Answer 10

a condensation reaction between 2 nucleotides

Question 11

What’s the advantage of having a large number of weak hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs?

Answer 11

strong, stable molecule can be unzipped for replication

Question 12

what’s an advantage of a double helix structure?

Answer 12

protects bases and hydrogen bonds