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2.1.3 nucleotides and nucleic acids > nucleotides and nucleic acids > Flashcards

nucleotides and nucleic acids Flashcards

1
Q

what is a double helix

A

shape of DNA molecule due to coiling of the two phosphate backbone strands into a right handed spiral configuration

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2
Q

what is a monomer

A

molecule that when repeated makes a polymer. nucleotides are the monomers of nucleic acids

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3
Q

what is a nucleotide

A

molecules consisting of a five carbon sugar, a phosphate group and nitrogenous base

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4
Q

what is a polynucleotide

A

large molecule containing many nucleotides

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5
Q

what are nucleic acids

A

large molecules in cell nuclei

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6
Q

what are the two types of nucleic acids

A

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA - ribonucleic acid

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7
Q

what are the monomers of nucleic acids

A

nucleotides

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8
Q

what are the roles of nucleic acids

A

both have roles in the storage and transfer of genetic information and the synthesis of polypeptides (proteins). they are the basis for heredity.

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9
Q

what elements do nucleic acids contain

A

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus

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10
Q

what is an individual nucleotide made up of

A
  • a pentose sugar (5 carbons)
  • a phosphate group, PO43- (an inorganic molecule with a negative charge)
  • a nitrogenous base (complex organic molecule containing one or more carbon rings and nitrogen)
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11
Q

what is the pentose sugar in DNA

A

deoxyribose

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12
Q

what is the pentose sugar in RNA

A

ribose

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13
Q

when do nucleotides become phosphorylated

A

when they contain more than one phosphate group

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14
Q

what is ATP

A

energy rich end product of most energy releasing biochemical pathways and is used to drive most energy requiring metabolic processes in cells.

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15
Q

base + pentose = …

A

…nucleoside

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16
Q

base + pentose + phosphate =…

A

….nucleotide

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17
Q

base + pentose + more than one phosphate =…

A

phosphorylated nucleotide

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18
Q

what does AMP stand for

A

Adenosine MonoPhosphate

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19
Q

what does ADP stand for

A

Adenosine DiPhosphate

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20
Q

what does ATP stand for

A

Adenosine TriPhosphate

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21
Q

what do nucleotides help regulate

A

many metabolic pathways

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22
Q

how are nucleotides used as components of coenzymes

A

adenine nucleotides are components of the coenzyme NADP (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) and of NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide)

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23
Q

what are NADP and NAD used for

A

NADP is used for photosynthesis and NAD is used for respiration

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24
Q

what is FAD

A

flavin adenine dinucleotide
- involved in respiration

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25
how do nucleotides form polynucleotides
they are linked together by condensation reactions `
26
how are polynucleotides formed
the phosphate group at the 5th carbon of the pentose sugar of one nucleotide forms a covalent bond with the hydroxyl group at the 3rd carbon of the pentose sugar of an adjacent nucleotides
27
what bonds are formed when two nucleotides join together
phosphodiester bonds
28
what do phosphodiester bonds form
a long, strong sugar phosphate backbonewith a base attached to each.
29
how are the phosphodiester bonds broken
the phosphodiester bonds are broken by hydrolysis releasing the individual nucleotides
30
what is the difference between ribose and deoxyribose
deoxyribose has one less oxygen than ribose
31
where is DNA found in eukaryotic cells
in the nucleus
32
where is DNA found in prokaryotic cells
within the cytoplasm
33
what is DNA
the hereditary material and carries coded instructions. it is one of the most important macromolecules that make up the structure of living things
34
what is DNA used for
the development and functioning of all known living organisms
35
what does a molecule of DNA consist of
- polymer made of many repeating nucleotides - nucleotides in DNA have four different bases - consists of two polynucleotide strands - each DNA nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, deoxyribose and one of the four nitrogenous bases
36
what is special about the two polynucleotide chains in DNA
they run in opposite directions so are antiparallel
37
what are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA
adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine
38
why are molecules of DNA long
so they can carry a lot of encoded genetic information
39
what is the difference between a purine base and pyrimidine base
purine bases have two rings pyrimidine bases have one ring
40
what are the purine bases
adenine and guanine
41
what are the pyrimidine bases
cytosine, uracil, thymine
42
what is different about uracil
it replaces thymine in RNA
43
how are the two antiparallel strands joined together
by hydrogen bonds between complementary nitrogenous bases
44
what is the ratio of purine:pyrimidine bases
1:1
45
why is the ratio of purine:pyrimidine 1:1
so the gap between the same is the same size (purines have two rings, pyrimidines have one ring)
46
what is complementary to adenine
thymine
47
what is complementary to thymine
adenine
48
what is complementary to guanine
cytosine
49
what is complementary to cytosine
guanine
50
how many hydrogen bonds between cytosine and guanine
3 hydrogen bonds
51
how many hydrogen bonds between adenine and thymine
2 hydrogen bonds
52
why does a purine have to pair with a pyrimidine
a purine always pairs with a pyrimidine giving equal sized rungs on the DNA ladder. these can then twist into the double helix giving the molecule stability
53
why are the hydrogen bonds necessary between the bases
allow the molecule to unzip for transcription and translation
54
what forms the upright part of DNA (the part that resembles rungs of a ladder)
its formed by the sugar phosphate backbones of the antiparallel polynucleotide strands
55
what do the opposite directions of the strands refer to
the direction that the 3rd and 5th carbon molecules on the deoxyribose are facing
56
what is the difference between the 5' end and 3' end
the 5' end of the molecule is where the phosphate group is attached to the 5th carbon of the deoxyribose sugar, the 3' end is where the phosphate group is attached to the 3rd carbon of the deoxyribose sugar
57
what does the complementary base paring always ensure
DNA always has equal amounts of adenine and thymine and equal amounts of cytosine and guanine
58
what does the sequence of bases along a DNA strand carry
the genetic information of an organism in the form of a code
59
how is DNA organised in eukaryotic cells
- majority of the DNA content or the genome is in the nucleus - each large molecule of DNA is wound around special histone proteins called chromosomes (each chromosome is one molecule of DNA) - there is a loop of DNA without histone proteins inside mitochondria and chloroplasts
60
how is DNA organised in prokaryotic cells
- DNA is in a loop, within the cytoplasm not enclosed in a nucleus - not wound around histone proteins, described as naked - viruses with DNA have it in the form of a loop of DNA
61
how does RNA play an essential role
- transfers genetic information from DNA to the proteins that make up enzymes and tissues
62
why cant DNA directly leave the nucleus to supply the genetic information needed for protein synthesis
DNA in eukaryotic cells is really long containing hundreds of genes as it stores all genetic information that is passed from generation to generation
63
how is the problem of DNA being unable to leave the nucleus solved
a relatively short section of the long DNA corresponding to a single gene is transcribed to a short messenger RNA (mRNA)
64
what is the sugar in RNA
ribose
65
what is different about RNA
uracil replaces thymine
66
what is uracil
pyrimidine that forms two hydrogen bonds with adenine
67
how do RNA nucleotides form polymers
by the formation of phosphodiester bonds in condensation reactions
68
what is special about RNA polymers
theyre small enough to leave the nucleus and travel to the ribosomes to undergo protein synthesis
69
what happens to the RNA after protein synthesis
the RNA molecules are degraded in the cytoplasm, the phosphodiester bonds are hydrolysed and the RNA nucleotides are released and reused

2.1.3 nucleotides and nucleic acids (4 decks)

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