3.1 Vocab Flashcards
Adenine
A purine nitrogen base that pairs with thymine in DNA and uracil in RNA
Antiparallel
The opposite arrangement of the sugar-phosphate backbones in the strands of a DNA double-helix (5’-3’ vs 3’-5’).
Base pair
A pair of nucleotides found in one or more nucleic acid strands that are attracted together through hydrogen bonding
Complementary strand
A new DNA strand that is made from the original template strand using complementary base pairing rules
Cytosine
A pyrimidine nitrogen base that pairs with guanine
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
A polymer of nucleic acids which is the carrier of genetic information present in all organisms; forms a double helix
Deoxyribose sugar
A 5-carbon sugar found in DNA
DNA Polymerase
An enzyme involved in DNA replication that joins individual nucleotides to produce a DNA molecule
DNA replication
The process by which DNA makes a copy of itself in preparation for cell division
Double helix
The primary physical shape of double-stranded DNA molecules
Guanine
A purine base that pairs with cytosine
Helicase
An enzyme involved in DNA replication that uncoils and unzips the original DNA molecule
Hydrogen bond
A type of weak chemical bond that connects nitrogen bases to form a base pair in a DNA molecule
Nitrogen base
A nitrogen-containing compound in nucleic acids that is read as the genetic code; adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine (A, T, G, C)
Nucleotide
A monomer of nucleic acids made up of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base
