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nucleic acids and their functions Flashcards

1
Q

what is a nucleotide?

A

the basic unit which nucleic acids are formed from

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2
Q

what are nucleotides composed of?

A

a phosphate group, a pentose (five-carbon) sugar and an organic nitrogenous base

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3
Q

what is a nucleic acid?

A

polymers of nucleotides, for example DNA or RNA

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4
Q

pentose (five-carbon) sugar in DNA

A

deoxyribose

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5
Q

pentose (five-carbon) sugar in RNA and ATP

A

ribose

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6
Q

what are the possible organic bases in DNA?

A

adenine, thymine, guanine, or cytosine

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7
Q

what are the possible organic bases in RNA?

A

adenine, cytosine, guanine or uracil

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8
Q

what is the main function of DNA?

A

replication and providing the code for protein synthesis

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9
Q

what is the function of RNA?

A

transfers genetic information from DNA to ribosomes made from RNA and proteins

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10
Q

what is the function of ATP?

A

involved in the transfer of energy

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11
Q

how do nucleotides join together to form nucleic acids?

A

nucleotides join together by phosphodiester bonds formed in condensation reactions

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12
Q

describe a DNA molecule

A

a DNA molecule is a double helix composed of two polynucleotides joined together by hydrogen bonds between complementary bases

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13
Q

describe an RNA molecule

A

an RNA molecule is a short polynucleotide chain

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14
Q

why is ATP known as the universal energy currency?

A

because it is used in all energy requiring reactions in all cells in all living organisms

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15
Q

what is the nucleotide ATP made up of?

A

adenine (nitrogenous base) joined to ribose (five-carbon sugar) and three phosphate groups

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16
Q

what energy-requiring reactions is ATP involved in?

A

active transport, protein synthesis, nerve transmission and muscle contraction

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17
Q

how is ATP formed?

A

ATP is formed when phosphate is added to adenosine diphosphate (condensation reaction)

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18
Q

what is a pyrimidine base?

A

bases with a single ring structure

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19
Q

what is a purine base?

A

base with a double ring structure

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20
Q

examples of pyrimidine (single ring) bases

A

cytosine, thymine, uracil

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21
Q

examples of purine (double ring) bases

A

adenine, guanine

22
Q

what forms the backbone of a DNA strand?

A

sugar-phosphate

23
Q

what are the purine-pyrimidine complementary base pairings?

A

adenine always pairs with thymine. two hydrogen bonds form between adenine and thymine
cytosine always pairs with guanine. three hydrogen bonds pair between cytosine and guanine

24
Q

why is complementary base pairing important?

A

so that DNA replicates correctly

25
what are the three different types of RNA?
messenger RNA ribosomal RNA transfer RNA
26
what is the function of ribosomal RNA?
rRNA combines with protein to form ribosomes
27
what is the function of mRNA?
mRNA carries the code for the polypeptide chain that will be formed in the translation stage of protein synthesis
28
how is mRNA formed?
mRNA is formed in the nucleus by transcription of a strand of DNA
29
how does the mRNA leave the nucleus after the polypeptide is formed?
the mRNA leaves through the nuclear pore
30
what is the function of tRNA?
tRNA transports amino acids to the ribosome for translation
31
what is tRNA made up of?
tRNA contains an anticodon and an amino attachment site
32
what is the first step of semi-conservative DNA replication?
the double helix unwinds and the hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases break using the enzyme helicase therefore separating the two strands of DNA
33
what is the second step of semi conservative DNA replication?
one of the separated strands is used as the template and complementary base pairing occurs between the template strand and free nucleotides
34
what is the final step of semi conservative DNA replication?
adjacent nucleotides are joined by phosphodiester bonds formed in condensation reactions by the enzyme polymerase
35
why is dna replication said to be semi conservative?
because each new replicated DNA molecule contains one original strand and one newly formed strand
36
where is mRNA formed?
in the nucleus
37
transcription
the first stage of protein synthesis. it is the conversion of the genetic code to a sequence of nucleotides in mRNA
38
translation
the second stage of protein synthesis. it takes place in the ribosomes. it is the conversion of the code in mRNA to a sequence of amino acids
39
where does translation occur?
translation occurs at the ribosome
40
what is the region of the DNA that contains the code for proteins called?
exons
41
what is the non-coding DNA between the exons called?
introns
42
what are the two stages of protein synthesis?
transcription and translation
43
what are the two types of organic base?
purine and pyrimidine
44
describe the structure of an ATP nucleotide
an ATP nucleotide contains ribose, adenine, and three phosphate groups
45
what is an endergonic reaction?
a non-spontaneous reaction that requires an input of energy, for example ATP formation
46
what is an exergonic reaction?
a spontaneous reaction that overall releases energy, for example ATP hydrolysis
47
describe the role of ATP
ATP is a universal energy currency. ATP is hydrolysed to release energy
48
what is complementary base pairing?
complementary base pairing describes how hydrogen bonds form between complementary purine and pyrimidine bases
49
describe the structure of mRNA
mRNA contains 2000 nucleotides, a single helix and is unstable
50
describe the structure of tRNA
tRNA contains 80 nucleotides, a clover leaf shape, a single helix and an anticodon on one end with amino acid binding site on the other
51
describe the structure of rRNA
rRNA contains 1800 to 5000 nucleotides and two subunits, one large one small

biology 1 (4 decks)

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