Nucleic acids. Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the monomers of nucleic acids?

A

Nucleotides

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2
Q

What does DNA stand for?

A

Deoxyribonucleic acid

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3
Q

What does RNA stand for?

A

Ribonucleic acid

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4
Q

What are nucleotides made of?

A
  • A pentose sugar
  • A nitrogenous base
  • A phosphate group
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5
Q

What are nucleotides called if they have more than one phosphate group?

A

Phosphorylated

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6
Q

What does ATP stand for?

A

Adenosine triphosphate

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7
Q

How many phosphate groups does ATP have?

A

3

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8
Q

What does ADP stand for?

A

Adenosine diphosphate

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9
Q

How many phosphate groups does ADP have?

A

2

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10
Q

What type of bond holds the nitrogenous bases together in DNA?

A

Hydrogen bond.

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11
Q

What does adenine (A) pair with in DNA?

A

Thymine (T)

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12
Q

What does cytosine (C) pair with in DNA?

A

Guanine (G)

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13
Q

What does thymine (T) pair with in DNA

A

Adenine (A)

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14
Q

What does guanine (G) pair with in DNA?

A

Cytosine (C)

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15
Q

What does adenine (A) pair with in RNA?

A

Uracil (U)

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16
Q

What does thymine (T) pair with in RNA?

A

Adenine (A)

17
Q

Is thymine, cytosine and uracil a pyrimidine or a purine?

A

Pyrimidine

18
Q

Is adenine and guanine a pyrimidine of purine?

A

Purine

19
Q

What is the structure of DNA?

A
  • Contains a double helix structure
  • Contains two polynucleotide chains running anti-parallel to each other
  • They are long
  • Each molecule contains a phosphate group, a deoxyribose sugar and a nitrogenous base (A, G, C or T)
20
Q

What is a purine?

A

An organic (nitrogenous) base that has two rings in its structure.

21
Q

What is a pyrimidine?

A

An organic (nitrogenous) base that has one rings in its structure.

22
Q

How many hydrogen bonds are formed between A and T?

A

2

23
Q

How many hydrogen bonds are formed between C and G?

A

3

24
Q

What is meant by “anti-parallel”

A
  • The two polynucleotides run in opposite directions
  • “Opposite directions” refers to the direction that the 3rd and 5th carbon molecules (on the pentose sugar) are facing.
25
Q

What is meant by the “3rd” and “5th” ends?

A
  • The 5th end of the molecule is where the phosphate group is attached to the 3rd carbon atom of the deoxyribose sugar.
  • The 3rd end of the molecule is where the phosphate group is attached to the 5th carbon atom of the deoxyribose sugar.
26
Q

What is the genome?

A

The complete genetic material of an organism

27
Q

Why does DNA have to be copied every time a cell divides?

A

So that each new daughter cell receives the full set of genetic instructions

28
Q

What is the structure of RNA?

A
  • Has a ribose sugar molecule
  • Has the nitrogenous base uracil
  • Polynucleotide chain is single stranded
  • The polynucleotide chain is shorter.
29
Q

What is a gene?

A

Specific lengths of DNA

30
Q

What is mRNA

A

Messenger RNA

31
Q

What is tRNA

A

Transfer RNA

32
Q

What is rRNA

A

Ribosomal RNA

33
Q

The genetic code is “universal”
What does this mean?

A

All organisms contain the same triplets of DNA base codes for the same amino acids.

34
Q

The genetic code is non-overlapping.
What does this mean?

A

Each codon only codes for its particular amino acid.

35
Q

The genetic code is degenerate.
What does this mean?

A

A given amino acid can be encoded by more than one nucleotide triplet.