Nucleic Acid

Cards (24)

  • Nucleic acid
    macromolecule made of nucleotide monomers
  • Two types of nucleic acids
    RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
  • What does DNA do?
    stores and contains genetic information of an organism
  • What is genetic information decoded into?
    amino acid sequences forming proteins
  • How is DNA decoded?
    with the help of RNA molecules
  • Nucleotide
    monomer of RNA and DNA polymers
  • What are nucleotides made of?
    phosphate group, sugar with 5 carbon atoms, and a nitrogenous base
  • What are the sugars in DNA and RNA?
    Ribose (RNA) and Deoxyribose (DNA)
  • What is the difference between ribose and deoxyribose?
    ribose has a hydroxyl group bonded to its 2nd carbon atom, but deoxyribose only has a hydrogen atom bonded to its 2nd carbon atom
  • What are the 2 types of nitrogenous bases?
    Pyrimidines and purines
  • Pyrimidines
    cytosine, thymine, and uracil (single ring)
  • Purines
    Adenine and Guanine (2 rings)
  • What is a polymer of nucleotides called?
    a strand
  • What is the covalent bond that holds nucleotides together?
    Phosphodiester bond
  • What occurs during a phosphodiester bond?
    The phosphate group of one nucleotide bonds with the hydroxyl group of the next nucleotide in the strand, losing a water molecule
  • DNA
    a double-strand twisted about each other to form a double helix
  • What does DNA's backbone contain?
    Phosphate and a sugar
  • How are nitrogenous base pairs held together?

    through hydrogen bonds
  • What are the complementary base pairs?
    Adenine-Thymine, Cytosine-Guanine (A-T, G-C)
  • Why is G-C pairing stronger than A-T pairing?
    because G-C contains 3 hydrogen bonds, which means there are more forces holding it together, while A-T only contains 2 hydrogen bonds
  • Why do hydrogen bonds make bonds more stable?
    because the high electronegativity atom attracts the electrons from the hydrogen atom, therefore, making the bond stronger and more stable
  • RNA
    only a single strand
  • What is not present in RNA?
    Thymine, it is replaced with Uracil (U)
  • What is the function of RNA?
    to decode DNA and carry messages outside the nucleus