2.2 Nucleic Acids

Question 1

What are the two types of nucleic acid?

Answer 1

DNA- deoxyribose nucleic acid

RNA- ribose nucleic acid

Question 2

What are nucleotides?

Answer 2

Monomer units making up nucleic acids (polymer)

Question 3

What are nucleotides made up of?

Answer 3

• carbon
• hydrogen
• oxygen
• nitrogen
• phosphorus

Question 4

What are the 3 components of a nucleotide?

Answer 4

• phosphate group
• a sugar
• a base

Question 5

What are nucleic acids?

Answer 5

Biochemical macromolecules involved with the transmission of inherited information

Question 6

What are the two types of nucleotide bases?

Answer 6

• purines

* pyramidines

Question 7

What base is the biggest?

Answer 7

Purines

Question 8

What are purines and what are the two purines?

Answer 8

Double ringed structures that always pair up with pyramidines
• adenine
• guanine

Question 9

What are pyramidines and what are the two types?

Answer 9

Single ringed structures that always pair up with purines
• thymine
• cytosine
• uracil (only found in RNA)

Question 10

How do purines bond to pyramidines?

Answer 10

By hydrogen bonds

Question 11

What reaction occurs to form a nucleotide?

Answer 11

A condensation reaction as two water molecules are lost

Question 12

How is a nucleotide formed?

Answer 12

A nucleotide is formed when a phosphoric acid and a base are chemically bonded to a sugar molecule

Question 13

When is water given off?

Answer 13

When the phosphate group and base groups are joined

Question 14

When is a polynucleotide formed?

Answer 14

When many nucleotides join

Question 15

When is a dinucleotide formed?

Answer 15

When 2 nucleotides are covalently linked by a condensation reaction

Question 16

In the formation of a dinucleotide where does the linkage occur?

Answer 16

Between the phosphate group of one nucleotide and the sugar if another

Question 17

What is the linkage in the formation of a nucleotide called?

Answer 17

A PHOSPHODIESTER bond

1 ester bond, 2 nucleotides joined

Question 18

What is the backbone in DNA called?

Answer 18

A sugar phosphate backbone

Question 19

What bases pair together in DNA?

Answer 19

Adenine and Thymine

Guanine and cytosine

Question 20

What are DNAs bases joined by?

Answer 20

Hydrogen bonding

Question 21

What is DNAs structure?

Answer 21

A double stranded helix

Question 22

Is ribonuclease acid single stranded or double stranded?

Answer 22

Single

Question 23

What are the three types of RNA?

Answer 23

• ribosomal RNA
• transfer RNA
• messenger RNA

Question 24

What is ribosomal RNA?

Answer 24

the structural component of ribosomes

Question 25

What does transfer RNA do?

Answer 25

It transports amino acids to ribosomes

Question 26

What does messenger RNA do?

Answer 26

It transfers genetic information from DNA to ribosomes

Question 27

What is ATP?

Answer 27

Adenosine triphosphate (energy)

Question 28

What biological processes require energy to occur?

Answer 28

• muscle contraction
• cell division
• transmission of nerve impulses
• memory formation

Question 29

What do cells require energy for? Give examples

Answer 29

• synthesis -e.g. Of large molecules such as proteins
• transport - e.g. Pumping molecules or ions across cell membranes by active transport
• movement- e.g. Protein fibres in fibres of muscle cells that cause muscle contraction

Question 30

Where is ATP made and what is it?

Answer 30

It is made in the mitochondria and is a nucleic acid

Question 31

What base does ATP contain?

Answer 31

Adenine

Question 32

What is ATP made up of?

Answer 32

• ribose (pentode sugar)
• adenine
• 3 phosphate groups

Question 33

What does AMP have? (adenosine monophosphate)

Answer 33

• 1 phosphate group

Question 34

What does ADP have (adenosine diphosphate)?

Answer 34

• two phosphates are joined

Question 35

What does ATP have? (Adenosine triphosphate)

Answer 35

• three phosphate groups

Question 36

What forms when ATP is broken down?

Answer 36

Breaks down to form ADP and a phosphate ion

Question 37

What reaction occurs to release energy from ATP?

Answer 37

• hydrolysis of the ATP releasing large amounts of energy which can be used for various energy requiring reactions

Question 38

Why is ATP used instead of glucose to release energy?

Answer 38

• glucose takes too long to release energy and releases too much energy at once so it is wasted
• so glucose is first turned to ATP and then broken down

Question 39

How is ATP formed?

Answer 39

By adding a phosphate group to a molecule of ADP

Question 40

What reaction occurs to form ATP from ADP?

Answer 40

A condensation reaction

Question 41

Where is energy supplied from in the reaction to form ATP?

Answer 41

Respiration

Question 42

What are the properties of ATP?

Answer 42

• small
• water soluble
• immediate energy release
• releases energy in small quantities
• easily regenerated

Question 43

Why is it useful that ATP is small?

Answer 43

It can move in, out and within cells easily

Question 44

Why is it useful that ATP is water soluble?

Answer 44

Energy requiring processes occur in aqueous environments

Question 45

Why is it useful that properties of ATP allow easy energy release?

Answer 45

Bonds between phosphates allow for immediate energy release, they aren’t too large to be wasted, but large enough to be used for cellular reactions

Question 46

Why is it useful that energy is released in small quantities?

Answer 46

Energy is not wasted

Question 47

Why is it useful that ATP is easily regenerated?

Answer 47

It can be recharged with energy, ADP can do back to the mitochondria to make ATP

Question 48

Why does the reaction from ATP to ADP make energy instantly available?

Answer 48

It is a single reaction

Question 49

ATP + H2O =

Answer 49

ENERGY + ADP + Pi