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IB Biology > UNIT 1 - A 1.2 - Nucleic Acids > Flashcards

UNIT 1 - A 1.2 - Nucleic Acids Flashcards

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1
Q

Information being passed down from one generation to another is in the form of what?

A

DNA

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2
Q

What does DNA stand for?

A

Deoxyribonucleic acid

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3
Q

Where do mutations occur?

A

Withing DNA

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4
Q

What are the four nitrogenous bases in DNA

A

adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine

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5
Q

What are genetic messages/genes?

A

the sequences of nitrogenous bases

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6
Q

What are the genetic messages code for?

A

amino acids

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7
Q

What are amino acids known as?

A

The building blocks of proteins

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8
Q

What is the cell’s identity and function determined by?

A

the proteins it is able to synthesize

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9
Q

Why are viruses not considered alive?

A

Because they cannot survive without a cell of a living organism

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10
Q

When do viruses’s nucleic acid (RNA or DNA) become active?

A

When they infect a cell

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11
Q

What is the sole function of a virus

A

To reproduce itself

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12
Q

In the same order, what does the circle, pentagon, and rectangle represent in diagrams of nucleotides?

A

Phosphates, pentose sugars, and bases

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13
Q

What are both DNA and RNA considered?

A

polymers of nucleotides

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14
Q

What are polymers?

A

Repeating nucleotides within a larger molecule

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15
Q

What do nucleotides consist of?

A

One phosphate group, one five-carbon monosaccharide (pentose sugar), and a nitrogenous base

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16
Q

What kind of bonds occur at specific locations in order to produce a polymer?

A

Covalent bonds

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17
Q

How is a chain of nucleotides formed?

A

The pentose sugar of one nucleotide is covalently bonded to the phosphate group of the next nucleotide

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18
Q

What is found at the two ends of a nucleic acid polymer?

A

One phophate group with only one bond to a sugar at one end and a pentose sugar with only one bond to a single phosphate on the other end

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19
Q

Nucleotides bond to form a polymer as a result of what kind of reaction?

A

condensation reactions

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20
Q

Why are nucleic acid polymers made of nucleotides stable?

A

Because covalent bonds are relatively strong as they require quite a bit of energy to break

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21
Q

What are the four possible nitrogenous bases in RNA?

A

Adenine (A), Uracil (U), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G)

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22
Q

What are the four possible nitrogenous bases in DNA?

A

Adenine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G)

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23
Q

What pentose sugar does RNA contain?

A

Ribose

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24
Q

What pentose sugar does DNA contain?

A

Deoxyribose

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25
Q

How many different nucleotides are there in total?

A

8

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26
Q

When is RNA formed?

A

When nucleotides become bonded together in very specific sequences

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27
Q

How are nucleotides joined together?

A

Condensation reactions

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28
Q

What are condensation reactions between?

A

The pentose sugar of one nucleotide and the phosphate group of the next nucleotide

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29
Q

What do condensation reactions release?

A

A water molecule

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30
Q

What is the rule for determining the number of water molecules released during an RNA molecule’s synthesis?

A

The number of water molecules released is the same as the number of condensation reactions that took place which is one less than the number of nucleotides in the RNA molecule

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31
Q

What are the two strands/chains in DNA connected by?

A

Hydrogen bonds

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32
Q

What are the nitrogenous bases pairs in DNA?

A

Adenine (A) with thymine (T) and cytosine (C) with guanine (G)

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33
Q

What are complementary base pairs?

A

The nitrogenous base pairs: adenine with thymine and cytosine with guanine

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34
Q

Why are the two strands of DNA said to be antiparallel to each other?

A

Because the two strands are upside down in comparison to each other but parallel

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35
Q

What do all nucleotides of DNA consist of?

A

Deoxyribose sugar

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36
Q

What do all nucleotides of RNA consist of?

A

ribose sugar

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37
Q

What is the shape of DNA?

A

double helix

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38
Q

What acts as the permanent genetic code of a cell/organism?

A

DNA

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39
Q

What is the exception to RNA not containing a permanent genetic code?

A

RNA viruses

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40
Q

What is the molecular formula of ribose?

A

C5 H10 O5

41
Q

What is the molecular formula for deoxyribose?

A

C5 H10 O4

42
Q

What is the difference between ribose and deoxyribose according to their chemical formulas?

A

Deoxyribose has one less oxygen than ribose

43
Q

What is an alcohol or hydroxyl group?

A

A -OH group bonded to a carbon

44
Q

What do all living organisms use DNA as?

A

Their long-term hereditary storage molecule

45
Q

What will not become useful to a cell if other nucleic acids are not at work?

A

The genetic information stored as genes in DNA

46
Q

What are four other nucleic acids other than RNA and DNA?

A

Messenger RNA (mRNA)
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

47
Q

What is an mRNA?

A

An RNA molecule synthesized from an area of DNA called a gene

48
Q

Where does mRNA get its name as “messenger” RNA?

A

The mRNA leaves the nucleus of a cell and represents the genetic information necessary to make a protein

49
Q

What are Transfer RNA?

A

special genes of DNA code for tRNA molecules

50
Q

What is the function of a tRNA?

A

to transfer the correct amino acid into a growing chain of amino acids

51
Q

What is RIbosomal RNA?

A

Same as tRNA: special genes of DNA code for rRNA

52
Q

What is rRNA used to create?

A

an organelle in cells called ribosomes

53
Q

What are ribosomes?

A

The cellular location where proteins are synthesized

54
Q

What is Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)?

A

a single-nucleotide nucleic acid

55
Q

What is ATP used in cells as?

A

A type of chemical energy

56
Q

What is the ultimate purpose of cellular respiration?

A

To convert the energy contained within food molecules into the energy of ATP

57
Q

What are the nitrogenous base complimentary pairing based on?

A

Hydrogen bonding

58
Q

Why are the complementary base pairs the way they are?

A

A nitrogenous base can only form hydrogen bonds with its pair

59
Q

Why are complementary base pairing important in DNA replication?

A

They allow exact copies of original DNA molecules to be able to be synthesized

60
Q

Where does DNA store genetic information?

A

In its sequence of nitrogenous bases

61
Q

What is a triplet codon?

A

Every three bases which represent a meaningful piece of information

62
Q

What do many triplets within DNA code for?

A

one of the 20 amino acids

63
Q

How many combinations of nucleotides are within the triplet code system?

A

64

64
Q

What is the length of DNA limited by?

A

The amount that will fit efficiently into a cell

65
Q

What is the shortest DNA molecule in the human genome?

A

about 50 million base pairs

66
Q

What is the longest DNA molecule in the human genome?

A

About 260 million base pairs

67
Q

From the knowledge we have about how long/how many nucleotides make up DNA molecules as well as all the different possible combinations, what can be concluded?

A

That DNA can contain a nearly limitless amount of genetic information

67
Q

Why is the genetic code said to be universal?

A

Because all living organisms use the same genetic code

68
Q

What percentage of gene sequence is the same in everyone?

A

99%

69
Q

How does each person get their uniqueness?

A

From the 1% of remaining gene sequence

70
Q

Why does one strand of a DNA molecule run 5’ to 3’ and the other strand run 3’ to 5’?

A

Because the two strands are antiparallel

71
Q

Regardless of whether the top end is 5’ or 3’ in a DNA molecule, which direction do DNA strands always synthesize in?

A

From the 5’ nucleotide towards the 3’ nucleotide

72
Q

What is the process of DNA replicating?

A

The two DNA strands speparate from each other in a particular area, and each separated strand acts as a template for a new strand to be formed

73
Q

What are both DNA and RNA molecules integral to the process of?

A

protein synthesis

74
Q

What is the first stage of protein synthesis called?

A

transcription

75
Q

When does transcription occur?

A

When one strand of a DNA molecule is open and an RNA molecule is synthesized using complementary base pairing

76
Q

What end of the RNA does the transcription process synthesize first?

A

The 5’ end

77
Q

After the transcription process, what is the resulting RNA called?

A

mRNA

78
Q

What does mRNA represent?

A

The genetic information of one gene

79
Q

What organelle does the mRNA pair with?

A

Ribosome

80
Q

What is the translation process?

A

tRNA, bonded to a specific amino acid, pairs to triplets of mRNA that had paired with ribosomes

81
Q

Translation is accomplished in a sequence starting nearest to which end of the mRNA molecule?

A

The 5’ end

82
Q

What are pyrimidines?

A

Thymine and Cytosine - single ringed structure

83
Q

What are purines?

A

Adenine and Guanine - double ring structure

84
Q

What makes the two strands of DNA maintain a consistant distance from each other?

A

A purine always bonds to a pyrimidine

85
Q

What are histones

A

a type of protein in the nucleus of a cell

86
Q

How do DNA molecules fit inside the nucleus of a cell?

A

DNA wraps itself around eight histones and one additional histone helps hold the structure together

87
Q

What is a nucleosome?

A

The resulting structure of DNA ‘packaged’ around histones

88
Q

What is linker DNA?

A

The DNA that extends from one nucleosome to the next

89
Q

What is a chromosome?

A

The overall “packaged” shape after nucleosomes stack up and coil around other proteins in a condensed shape

90
Q

How many chromosomes do human cells have?

A

46

91
Q

What used to be debated as to what genetics was based on?

A

nucleic acids or proteins

92
Q

What is a bacteriophage?

A

A virus that infects bacteria and is composed of a protein outer coat and an inner core of DNA

93
Q

What two cultures were grown in the Hershey-Chase experiment?

A

One with radioactive phosphorus 32 and one with radioactive sulfur 35

94
Q

How did Hershey and Chase end up proving that DNA, not protein, was the genetic material?

A

The two cultures of bacteriophages infected E.coli, radioactivity was detected inside the cells of the E.coli infected with the phosphorus 32 and not inside the cells of the E.coli infected with the sulfur 35. Because DNA contains phosophorus and not sulfur, it can be concluded that DNA is the genetic material.

95
Q

What was the tetranucleotide theory?

A

That DNA existed in repeating sets of four nucleotides and was there to help give structure to chromosomes

96
Q

What did the results of Chargaff’s research show?

A

Adenine and Thymine had the same ratio and Guanine and Cytosine the same ratio

97
Q

What is Chargaff’s rule?

A

DNA contains the same number of adenine as thymine nucleotides, as well as the same number of guanine and cytosine nucleotides.

98
Q

What was the importance of Chargaff’s rule?

A

It disproved the tetranucleotide theory as if it were true, there would be the same number of all four nitrogenous bases

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