Nucleic Acids Flashcards
What are nucleic acids?
informational storage cells
What makes up nucleic acids (NA)?
CHONP- carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus
What do NAs do?
provide directions for building proteins
What are the two kinds of NAs?
DNA (only one kind, found only in nucleus of cells) & RNA (many kinds)
What does DNA and RNA stand for?
deoxyribonucleic acids and ribonucleic acids
What are NAs made up? (not atoms)
Nucleotides- the monomers of NAs
Describe the structure of a nucleotide
pentose (five carbon sugar) with a phosphate group and nitrogen
Describe the structure of a nucleotide compound (also called DNA)
long chains of nucleotides held together by a sugar-phosphate backbone
4 kinds of Nitrogen bases
Adenine, thydmine, cylosine, and guanine
Which nitrogen base typically pairs up with which base?
Adenine + thydmine & cylosine and guanine
What do 2 strands of DNA form?
a double helix
How are RNA and DNA different?
DNA has one less oxygen
RNA is always single, and has an extra OH group (ribose)
