ch 2 sac revision (2B)

Question 1

what are nucleic acids

Answer 1

nucleic acids are large polymers composed from nucleotide monomers. They store genetic information and help produce the proteins req for survival

Question 2

what are the 2 types of nucleic acids

Answer 2

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA - ribonucleic acid

Question 3

what 3 things does every nucleotide include

Answer 3

a phosphate group
a 5 carbon (pentose) sugar
a nitrogen containing base

Question 4

how is each carbon in the 5 carbon sugar assigned a number?

Answer 4

each carbon is assigned a number in a clockwise direction. where the first carbon is labelled 1’ (one prime) and the last being 5’

Question 5

which are the 3 carbons of interest and why

Answer 5

1’ - attaches to the nitrogenous base
3’ - attaches to the phosphate of the following nucleotide
5’ attaches the 5-carbon sugar to the phosphate group of the nucleotide

3’ and 5’ nucleotides are significant in contributing to the direction and nature of nucleic acids

Question 6

what is a polypeptide chain and how is it formed?

Answer 6

when nucleotides bond together they form a polypeptide chain.

the bonds that join nucleotides are strong covalent bonds known as phosphodiester bonds that form via condensation reactions.

these bonds exist b/n the sugar group of one nucleotide and the phosphate group of another

the linkage of the sugar and phosphate group is AKA the sugar phosphate backbone of nucleic acids

Question 7

what is dna

Answer 7

dna consists of 2 strands of nucleotides bonded together via complementary base pairing, forming a double helix which runs antiparallel.

Question 8

how many chromosomes in humans

Answer 8

46 inside of the nucleus of a human eukaryotic cell, which contain thousands of genes

Question 9

what do the genes inside chromosomes carry

Answer 9

the instructions req to make a protein

Question 10

why is dna significant

Answer 10

bc it determines the structure of a protein, and proteins play a vital role in the structure and function of cells and tissues

basically essential for life.

Question 11

structure of DNA

Answer 11

composed of 2 polynucleotide chains that run antiparallel to each other

one strand runs 3’ -> 5’
the other 5’ -> 3’

chains are joined in conjunction with the rules of complementary base pairing.

Question 12

base pairing rules

Answer 12

A -> T
G -> C

Question 13

how does dna compress

Answer 13

the 2 strands of DNA twist around each other forming a double helix, helping compress DNA
in nuclear dna the structure also coils around the proteins aka histones, then condense further to form tightly packed chromosomes

Question 14

what is ribonucleic acid

Answer 14

a single strand of nucleotides that comes in a variety of forms and found in many different parts of the cell

Question 15

what is rna involved in + types

Answer 15

the synthesis of proteins.
messenger rna - mRNA
transfer rna - tRNA
ribosomal rna - rRNA

Question 16

mRNA function

Answer 16

carries genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes for protein synthesis

Question 17

tRNA function

Answer 17

delivers specific amino acids to the ribosome after recognising specific nucleotide sequences on mRNA

Question 18

rRNA function

Answer 18

serves as the main structural component of ribosomes within cells

Question 19

structure of rna

Answer 19

ribose sugar
nitrogenous bases but not thymine (uracil instead)
single stranded
rna is synthsised on demand and temporary (short lived molecules) whereas dna is inherited from gen to gen

Question 20

does complementary bp exist in rna

Answer 20

yes, complementary bp helps rna fold into many different structures

A-> U
G -> C

Question 21

main difference b/n ribose and deoxyribose sugar?

Answer 21

absence of an oxygen atom at the 2’ prime position of the 5 carbon sugar in deoxyribose

deoxy - no oxy lol