Nucleic Acids glossary

Question 1

Activation energy

Answer 1

the minimum energy required for a reaction to occur

Question 2

Adenine

Answer 2

A chemical compound that is used to make one of the building blocks of DNA and RNA

Question 3

ATP Hydrolase

Answer 3

The enzyme involved in HTP hydrolysis

Question 4

ATP synthase

Answer 4

an enzyme that created the energy storage molecule ATP, forming it from adenosine diphosphate and inorganic phosphate.

Question 5

Base-Pairing

Answer 5

A base pair is a fundamental unit of double-stranded nucleic acids consisting of two nucleases bound to each other by hydrogen bond. They form the building blocks of the DNA double helix and contribute to the folded structure of both DNA and RNA.

Question 6

Complementary

Answer 6

complementary describes a relationship between two structures each following the lock-and-key principle.

Question 7

Conservative model

Answer 7

in the conservative model, the parental molecule directs synthesis of an entirely new double-stranded molecule.

Question 8

Covalent bond

Answer 8

Covalent bonds, which hold the atoms within an individual molecule together, are formed by the sharing of electrons in the outer atomic orbitals.

Question 9

Cytokinesis

Answer 9

The physical process of cell division, which divides the cytoplasm of a parental cell into two daughter cells. It occurs concurrently with two types of nuclear division called mitosis and ,meiosis, which occur in animal cells.

Question 10

Cytosine

Answer 10

Cytosine is one of the four main bases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine and thymine.

Question 11

Dinucleotide

Answer 11

a compound comprised of two nucleotides.

Question 12

Dipolar

Answer 12

having equal and opposite electric charges or magnetic poles having opposite signs and separated by a small distance.

Question 13

DNA Helicase

Answer 13

Helicases are a class of enzymes vital to all organisms. Their main function is to unpack an organism’s genes. (The enzyme that unzips the DNA)

Question 14

DNA polymerase

Answer 14

an enzyme that synthesises long chains of polymers or nucleic acids such as DNA

Question 15

Double-helix

Answer 15

the structure formed by double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA

Question 16

Glycolysis

Answer 16

the breakdown of glucose by enzymes, releasing energy and pyruvic acid.

Question 17

Guanine

Answer 17

one of the four main nucleases found in nucleic acids DNA and RNA, the others being adenine, cytosine and thymine. In DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine.

Question 18

Heavy Nitrogen

Answer 18

The stable isotope of nitrogen with a mass number of 15

Question 19

Hydrogen bond

Answer 19

a weak bond between two molecules resulting from an electrostatic attraction between a proton in one molecule and an electronegative atom in the other.

Question 20

Inorganic ions

Answer 20

atoms with uncharted electrons in their outer shell and are thus charged. They carry either a positive or negative charge.

Question 21

Isotope

Answer 21

various forms of an element that have the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Question 22

Latent heat of vaporisation

Answer 22

a physical property of a substance. It is defined as the heat required ti change one mole of a liquid as its boiling point under standard atmospheric pressure.

Question 23

Light nitrogen

Answer 23

the stable isotope of nitrogen with a mass number of 14

Question 24

Nuclear division

Answer 24

the division of the nucleus occurring in both mitosis and meiosis during cell division.

Question 25

Nucleotide

Answer 25

organic molecules consisting of a nucleotide and a phosphate.

Question 26

Pentose sugar

Answer 26

a monosaccharide with 5 carbon atoms

Question 27

Phosphodiester bond

Answer 27

the linkage between the 3’ carbon atom of one sugar molecule and the 5’ carbon atom of another.

Question 28

Polynucleotide

Answer 28

a linear polymer whose molecule is composed of many nucleotide units, constituting a section of a nucleic acid molecule.

Question 29

Semi-conservative replication

Answer 29

describes the mechanism of DNA replication in all know cells. Known as semi-conservative because two copies of the original DNA molecule are produced. Each copy contains one original strand and one newly-synthesised strand.

Question 30

Thymine

Answer 30

one of the four main bases found in RNA and DNA, the others are guanine, cytosine and adenine.

Question 31

Uracil

Answer 31

One of the four nucleases in the nucleic acid RNA, the others are Adenine, cytosine and guanine.

Question 32

Xylem Vessel

Answer 32

long hollow chains of tough long dead xylem chains.