Unit 3 - Protein synthesis Flashcards
(116 cards)
what is DNA
DNA is a deoxyribonucleic acid
a polymer of nucleotides which was formed by dehydration synthesis
DNA
what are the 3 major functions of DNA
- DNA controls cellular activities
- DNA makes exact copies of itself
- DNA undergoes mutations
DNA is the source of ____
the unity of life
Life most likely began as a ____
nucleic acid
the first form of life was____
a self replicating strand of RNA
Explain how there are different species on earth
DNA mutations - different combinations of DNA sequences due to mutations and sexual reproduction
When did the DNA double helix discovered?
1953
what is a nucleotide composed of?
- a pentose sugar
- a phosphate group
- a nitrogenous base
what are the two types of bases
Purines and Pyrimidines
what are the differences between Purines and Pyrimidines
Purines have a double nitrogen ring structure while Pyrimidines have a single nitrogen ring structure.
what are the two nucleotide bases with double ring structures
Adenine and Guanine
what are the two nitrogen bases with single ring structures
Thymine and Cytosine
Uracil but that’s only for RNA
what are the complementary base pairing between strands?
Adenine bonds with Thymine
Guanine bonds with Cytosine
how are Purines and Pyrimidines linked together?
by hydrogen bonds
how many hydrogen bonds are in the complementary base pairings
A-T = 2 hydrogen bonds G-C = 3 hydrogen bonds
what is Chargaff’s Rule?
the number of Purine Bases equals the number of Pyrimidines bases
what does the sequence of the bases determine?
it codes heredity information in the genetic code in DNA and RNA
Every human cell contains about one meter of DNA which amounts to ____ pairs of bases
four billion
what is a Gene
units of inheritance that control particular characteristics or capabilities of an organism
where are genes located
on the chromosomes
what does a gene consist of
a sequence of about 1000 DNA base pairs
how many genes compose the DNA molecule of a single human chromosome
175,000
genes always occur in ___
pairs