CB3 Flashcards
What is the name of a fertilized egg cell?
A zygote.
How is a zygote formed?
When two gametes fuse during fertilization. The zygote then forms a ball of cells using a type of cell division called mitosis.
What is a gamete?
A sex cell.
What is a genome?
The DNA of an organism.
Where is the human genome found?
On 46 very long molecules of DNA, and each molecule is inside a chromosome.
What are genes?
Sections of a DNA molecule that each contain a code for making protein.
What is meant by ‘A Polymer’?
They are proteins that are made by linking different amino acids together in a chain. The order of amino acids is controlled by a gene.
How many chromosomes does the human body contain?
It contains two sets of 23 chromosomes (46 chromosomes in total)
What process of cell division is used for gametes?
Meiosis.
How are gametes produced?
- Each chromosome replicates. The two copies remain attached, making each chromosome look like an X.
- The two sets of chromosomes ‘pair up’, forming 23 pairs, and the pairs then separate into two new cells.
- Next, the two copies of a chromosome in each X-shape split into two more new cells. Meiosis therefore produces four haploid daughter cells, which is how gametes are produced.
What is the difference between Mitosis and Meiosis?
The process of Cytokinesis occurs twice in Meiosis but only once in Mitosis, so there ends up being 4 daughter cells instead of 2.
Where is DNA located?
In the nucleus.
What are chromosomes?
Tightly coiled DNA that is packaged up with proteins.
Describe DNA’s shape?
Two strands, joined together by pairs of substances called bases to form a double helix shape.
What are the four bases of DNA
- Adenine
- Thymine
- Cytosine
- Guanine
What are complementary base pairs?
Two DNA bases that fit into each other and link by weak hydrogen bonds.
What are the two complementary base pairs?
- A and T (Adenine and Thymine)
- C and G (Cytosine and Guanine)
What is each DNA base attached to?
They are attached to a sugar and each sugar is attached to a phosphate group. The sugars and phosphate groups form the backbone of DNA strands.