Nucleic Acid Study Guide

• What is the function of Nucleic Acids?

  Transmitting and Expressing genetic information in cells
• What atoms make up Nucleic acids?

  Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus
• What is the name of the monomer that makes up Nucleic acids?

  Nucleotides
• What are the three molecule groups that make up one nucleotide?

  1 Phosphate group, 1 Pentose Sugar, 1 Nitrogen-Containing Base
• How are they connected?

  Phosphate group is connected to Pentose sugar and the Pentose Sugar is connected to the Nitrogenous Base
• Robose Sugar has - 2OH
• Deoxyribose has - 1OH , H
• Ribonucleic Acid contains Ribose sugar
• Deoxyribonucleic Acid contains Deoxyribose sugar.
• What are the 5 nitrogenous bases found in Nucleic acids?

  Cytosine, Thymine, Uracile, Adenine, and Guanine
• What bases has 1 Ring structure? (PYRIMIDINES)

  Cytosine (C) , Uracile (U) , Thymine (T)
• What bases has 2 Ring structure? (PURINES)

  Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
• What base is ONLY found in RNA?

  Uracile (U)
• How does structure of DNA differ from RNA

  DNA is double stranded while RNA is only one strand.
• Function of DNA and RNA

  Keeps genetic information and Instruction for use.
• Function of ATP 


  Serves as an intermediary molecule between chemical reactions that release energy.
• What does ATP stand for?

  Adenosine Triphosphate
• What is ADP?

  Drained version of ATP, an empty energy source.
• What bonds connect the bases together in DNA

  Hydrogen Bonds
• How many bonds: Adenosine and Thymine?

  2 Hydrogen Bonds
• How many bonds: Guanine and Cytosine?


  3 Hydrogen Bonds
• How does DNA pair?

  With 5' and 3' on one side while 3' is with 5'
• How do two DNA strands connect?

  Through Nitrogenous Bases
• Why are DNA considered antiparallel?

  Because they run in opposite directions.
• 3 prime end (3') is the molecule of


  -OH
• 5 prime end (5') is the molecule of 


  Phosphate Group
• Where can you find DNA?

  In the Cell Nucleus
• What are considered the backbone of DNA?

  Deoxyribose and Phosphate Groups
• What are Genes?

  Gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA.
• Chromosome is what?

  A long string of DNA.
• Genes are...

  segments of DNA.
• Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is an essential component of all living cells. It plays many roles in protein synthesis, including serving as a messenger between the DNA in the cell's nucleus and the proteins produced in ribosomes. RNA also acts as an adapter molecule in protein synthesis. In addition, some viruses contain RNA instead of DNA as their genetic material.
• The two strands of DNA run parallel to one another and are held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs. The sugar-phosphate backbones on both sides of the double helix are antiparallel, meaning that they run in opposite directions.