Module 5 Terms - Nucleic Acids

Question 1

Nitrogenous base

Answer 1

a cyclic molecule that contains nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (CHON)

Question 2

Which bases are purines and which are pyrimidines?

Answer 2

adenine and guanine are purines (2 rings), while thymine and cytosine are pyrimidines (1 ring)

Question 3

How can you tell a ribose and deoxyribose molecule apart?

Answer 3

ribose has a hydroxyl group attached to the 3’ carbon

Question 4

Phosphorus group

Answer 4

consists of a central phosphorus atom covalently bound to four oxygen atoms

Question 5

Phosphodiester bonds

Answer 5

The 3’ carbon of one nucleotide is connected to the 5’ carbon of the next nucleotide in line through the 5’-phosphate group. The C-O-P-O-C covalent bonds are collectively known as phosphodiester bonds.

Question 6

5’ end

Answer 6

the nucleotide at the top that has a free 5’ phosphate

Question 7

3’ end

Answer 7

the nucleotide at the bottom that has a free 3’ hydroxyl

Question 8

What are the ratios of nucleotides to one another?

Answer 8

of adenine = # of thymine

# of guanine = # of cytosine

Question 9

Name similarities between DNA and RNA

Answer 9

They are both nucleic acids made by repeating subunits joined together by phosphodiester bonds. They also both have directionality

Question 10

Name differences between DNA and RNA

Answer 10

The sugars in each nucleic acid are different (deoxyribose and ribose). Ribose has a hydroxyl group on the 3’ carbon whereas deoxyribose has an H atom there instead. RNA has the base uracil instead of thymine, and is not only much shorter than DNA but is single-stranded. RNA can also fold into complex, 3D structures, some of which can accelerate chemical reactions like proteins

Question 11

Central dogma

Answer 11

defines the flow of information in all organisms from DNA to RNA to protein