Nucleotides and nucleic acids Flashcards
What is the name of the monomer that forms nucleic acids.
Monomer = Nucleotide
DRAW the general structure of the monomer of nucleic acids and label it.
Check summary sheet 1.5
Name the reaction and the bond formed between to monomers
Condensation reaction forms phosphodiester bonds between nucleotides.
What does DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DRAW the general structure of DNA and label it
Check summary sheet 1.5
Name the bonds present between the DNA nucleotides?
Phosphodiester bonds
Name the bonds present between the complimentary base pairs?
Hydrogen bonds
Explain how the structure of DNA is related to its functions (mark schemes can vary so write everything!)
Sugar-phosphate backbone –> Gives strength
Helix/Coiling –> Gives it a compact shape
Large Molecule –> Stores lots of information
Sequence of bases –> Allows information to be stored/codes for amino acids
Double helix with many hydrogen bonds –> Makes the DNA molecule stable
Double stranded/Two strands –> BOTH strands can act as templates during semi-conservative replication
Double helix –> Prevents the code being corrupted
Hydrogen bonds between the bases are weak and easily broken –> Allows the strands to be separated for replication and also for protein synthesis
Complementary base pairings –> Allows accurate replication
What is meant by specific base pairing?
Each base is complementary to one other base – this is the one that it binds to.
Guanine and cytosine are complementary to each other and therefore ONLY bind to each other
Adenine and thymine are complementary to each other and therefore ONLY bind to each other
What do we mean by ‘the strands are anti-parallel’?
The strands go in opposite directions. One strand goes in the 5’to 3’ direction the other goes in the 3’ to 5’ direction
Describe the differences between DNA and RNA (5 marks)
DNA has A,T,C,G bases whereas RNA has A,U,C,G
DNA has a deoxyribose sugar whereas RNA has a ribose sugar
DNA is double stranded wheras RNA is single stranded
DNA is a large polymer RNA is a short polymer
DNA holds genetic information in the nucleus whereas RNA transports genetic information to the ribosome
Describe the differences between DNA in prokaryotes and Eukaryotes
DNA in eukaryotes is coiled up around proteins called HISTONES whereas the DNA in prokaryotes is not
DNA in eukaryotes is linear whereas DNA in prokaryotes is circular
DNA in eukaryotes is found in a nucleus, whereas DNA in prokaryotes is in the cytoplasm
A gene is a section of DNA located at a particular site on a DNA molecule, called its ______?
Locus
What are genes?
Genes are a specific sequence of bases which can code for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide or functional RNA (E.G. ribosomal RNA and tRNA)
What is a triplet code?
3 bases on DNA are called a TRIPLET CODE 🡪 3 bases CODE for 1 amino acid. Each triplet codes for a SPECIFIC amino acid.
What is the link between DNA bases, amino acids and a protein?
A sequence of bases codes for a sequence amino acids to form a polypeptide chain which can fold into a protein.
What are introns?
non-coding DNA within a gene