topic 1 - DNA and RNA

Question 1

what are DNA and RNA both types of

Answer 1

nucleic acid

Question 2

what does DNA stand for

Answer 2

deoxyribonucleic acid

Question 3

what is DNA

Answer 3

the molecule within cells that contains genetic information, in the form of a sequence of bases that form a code which makes up a protein

Question 4

what does RNA stand for

Answer 4

ribonucleic acid

Question 5

what is RNA

Answer 5

a molecule that transfers genetic information from DNA to the ribosomes

Question 6

what is RNA’s main function

Answer 6

transfer genetic information from the DNA to the ribosomes

Question 7

what are ribosomes

Answer 7

ribosomes are the body’s ‘protein factories’ - they are macromolecular machines that read the RNA to make polypeptides in a process called translation

Question 8

what are ribosomes made up of

Answer 8

RNA and proteins

Question 9

what is a nucleotide a type of

Answer 9

biological molecule

Question 10

what are nucleotides made from

Answer 10

a pentose sugar (a sugar with 5 carbon atoms), a nitrogen base, a phosphate group

Question 11

what is nucleic acid

Answer 11

a complex organic substance present in living cells whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain

Question 12

what is deoxyribose

Answer 12

pentose sugar with an aldehyde group attached to it found in a DNA nucleotide

Question 13

what forms the DNA nucleotide

Answer 13

phosphate, deoxyribose, nitrogenous base (which varies)

Question 14

what are the four possible bases for DNA

Answer 14

adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine

Question 15

what forms the RNA nucleotide

Answer 15

phosphate, ribose, base (which varies)

Question 16

what are the four possible bases for RNA

Answer 16

adenine, uracil, cytosine, guanine

Question 17

what to nucleotides join together to form

Answer 17

polynucleotides

Question 18

what is a polynucleotide

Answer 18

a polymer of nucleotides

Question 19

how do nucleotides join up

Answer 19

by a condensation reaction between the phosphate group of one nucleotide and the sugar of another

Question 20

what are phosphodiester bonds

Question 21

what is the chain of sugar and phosphates known as

Answer 21

sugar phosphate backbone

Question 22

what is DNA made of

Answer 22

two polynucleotide chains in a double helix structure

Question 23

what is complementary base pairing

Answer 23

when each base can only join with one particular partner

Question 24

what is another term for complementary base pairing

Answer 24

specific base pairing

Question 25

what are the complementary base pairs

Answer 25

adenine and thymine, cytosine and guanine

Question 26

how is DNA formed

Answer 26

two DNA polynucleotide strands join together by hydrogen bonding between the bases - two antiparallel polynucleotide strands twist to form the DNA double helix

Question 27

how many bonds form between A and T

Answer 27

two

Question 28

how many bonds form between C and G

Answer 28

three

Question 29

when was DNA first observed

Answer 29

1800's

Question 30

what did lots of scientists doubt about DNA at the time

Answer 30

that is could carry the genetic code because it has a relatively simple chemical composition - some argued that genetic information must be carried by protein which are much more chemically varied

Question 31

what had experiments shown about DNA by 1952

Answer 31

that DNA was the carrier of the genetic code

Question 32

what happened in 1953

Answer 32

the double helix structure was determined by Watson and Crick

Question 33

how many polynucleotide chains is RNA made of

Answer 33

one

Question 34

what is RNA much shorter than

Answer 34

most DNA polynucleotides