Nucleic acids

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  • Created by: EClou
  • Created on: 22-04-15 20:53
what is the monomer of nucleic acid and how is it formed?
a nucleotide - this is formed by joining one phosphate group, one sugar molecule and one nitrogenous base with covalent bonds
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what forms do nucleic acids come in?
DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid or RNA ribonucleic acid
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what is a nucleic acid and what is its function?
a polymer of nucleotides - its function is to code for the building of all living organisms
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how is the covalent bond between the components of a nucleotide formed?
condensation reaction
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what forms the backbone of the nucleic acid chain?
the repeating sugar-phosphate chains
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is it true that only nucleotides wit the same sugar molecule will join together?
YES
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give the 2 purines
Adenine and Guanine
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give the 3 pyrimidines
Thymine, Cytosine and Uracil
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what is gout?
this is when excess purees are broken down in the liver producing Uracil. if there is too much of this in the blood it can crystallises and deposit in joints the extremities causing swelling and pain
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what is the generic name of the polymer of a nucleotide?
A polynucleotide
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why is DNA double stranded?
this gives it stability which it requires as if it were unstable the instructions of how to make the organism would go wrong too easily.
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what are the strands of DNA described as antiparallel?
because they run parallel to each other however they are running in opposite directions
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describe the structure of DNA
it is a long chained polynucleotide that is double stranded in a double helix structure
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how are the two strands held together?
hydrogen bonds form between the nitrogenous base
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according to what are the bases paired?
complementary base pairing
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how many hydrogen bonds are there between Adenine and Thymine and how many between Cytosine and Guanine?
A & T - 2 Hbonds, C & G - 3 Hbonds
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give three differences between RNA and DNA
1. RNA is singles stranded whereas DNA is double stranded, 2. RNA has ribonucleic acid whereas DNA has deoxyribonucleic acid, 3. RNA uses Uracil rather then Thymine.
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by what enzyme is the DNA strand aided in its breaking apart?
DNA helicase
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describe DNA replication
Helix is untwisted and Hbonds are broken to expose the bases, free nucleotides then attach to the exposed bases according to complementary base pairing rules aided by DNA polymerase, covalent bonds from between the phosphate and the sugar
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what is this kind of replication called and why?
semi-conservative replication because there is one new stand and one old strand of DNA
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what is the role of mRNA?
it is made as a strand that is complementary to one strand of a DNA molecule and therefore a copy of it for the replication to create a full double stranded DNA molecule
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give the other 2 forms of RNA and their functions.
transfer - tRNA - carries amino acids to ribosomes where they are bonded to form polypeptides, ribosomal - rRNA - found in ribosomes
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what is the function of RNA?
generally the synthesis of proteins
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

what forms do nucleic acids come in?

Back

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid or RNA ribonucleic acid

Card 3

Front

what is a nucleic acid and what is its function?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

how is the covalent bond between the components of a nucleotide formed?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

what forms the backbone of the nucleic acid chain?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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