Nucleic Acid Chemistry

Question 1

What are the two types of nucleic acids?

Answer 1

DNA and RNA

Question 2

What are DNA and RNA made out of?

Answer 2

They are polymers made out of nucleotide monomers

Question 3

What does DNA stand for?

Answer 3

Deoxyribonucleic acid

Question 4

What does RNA stand for?

Answer 4

Ribonucleic acid

Question 5

What is a nucleotide?

Answer 5

Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids

Question 6

What do nucleotides consist of?

Answer 6

A sugar, a base, and a phosphate group(s). They are covalently bonded to each other.

Question 7

What are the two types of sugars in nucleotides?

Answer 7

Deoxyribose and ribose

Question 8

What is the structure of the sugars?

Answer 8

They are five-carbon sugars. Four carbons and oxygen are linked to form a ring structure.

Question 9

How are the carbons named on the sugar?

Answer 9

1’
2’
3’
4’
5’
(remember which carbon is which)

Question 10

What is the difference between ribose and deoxyribose?

Answer 10

In the 2’ carbon, ribose contains a hydroxyl group while deoxyribose only has H (no oxygen)

Question 11

What are the similarities between ribose and deoxyribose?

Answer 11

The 1’ carbon is used to link to a nitrogenous base
The 3’ carbon is important for linking nucleotides together to form nucleic acids

Question 12

What is a nucleotide containing ribose called?

Answer 12

Ribonucleotide

Question 13

What is a nucleotide containing deoxyribose called?

Answer 13

Deoxyribonucleotide

Question 14

What are nitrogenous bases?

Answer 14

hm

Question 15

How many bases are found in nucleotides?

Answer 15

There are 5 different bases

Question 16

What are pyrimidines?

Answer 16

A base structure containing one six-sided ring.
I don’t think remembering the atom order is important..,.,. but idk
Cytosine, thymine, and uracil are pyrimidines

Question 17

What are purines?

Answer 17

A base structure containing two rings.
Adenine and guanine are purines

Question 18

Which base is only found in DNA?

Answer 18

Thymine

Question 19

Which base is only found in RNA?

Answer 19

Uracil

Question 20

How many phosphates groups can nucleotides have?

Answer 20

1-3 phosphate groups

Question 21

What does MP mean?

Answer 21

Monophosphate; one phosphate group

Question 22

What does DP mean?

Answer 22

Diphosphate; two phosphate groups

Question 23

What does TP mean?

Answer 23

Triphosphate; three phosphate groups

Question 24

How are nucleotides named?

Answer 24

Nucleoside + phosphate name

Question 25

What is a nucleoside?

Answer 25

A sugar linked to a base

Question 26

What are the four nucleosides associated with deoxyribose?

Answer 26

Deoxyadenosine (dA)
Deoxyguanosine (dG)
Deoxycytidine (dC)
Deoxythymidine (dT)

Question 27

What are the four nucleosides associated with ribose?

Answer 27

Adenosine (A)
Guanosine (G)
Cytidine (C)
Uridine (U)

Question 28

What is the bond the links nucleotides together?

Answer 28

Phosphodiester bonds

Question 29

How is a phosphodiester bond formed?

Answer 29

A dehydration reaction

Question 30

Where is the phosphodiester bond formed to link nucleotides?

Answer 30

It is formed between the phosphate group of one nucleotide and the hydroxyl group on the 3’ carbon of another nucleotide.

Question 31

What is a strand?

Answer 31

A chain of nucleotides linked by phosphodiester bonds

Question 32

What forms the backbone of a strand?

Answer 32

The linked sugars and phosphate groups form the backbone of a strand

Question 33

How many strands does DNA have?

Answer 33

Two strands
Double-stranded

Question 34

How many strands does RNA have?

Answer 34

One strand
Single-stranded

Question 35

What are the two ends of a strand called?

Answer 35

5’ end
3’ end

Question 36

What does the 5’ end of a strand contain?

Answer 36

A free phosphate group

Question 37

What does the 3’ end of a strand contain?

Answer 37

A free hydroxyl group