Nucleic Acids Flashcards
(23 cards)
What 2 groups can Nucleic Acids be divided into?
Nucleosides and Nucleotides
What are Nucleic Acids?
Nucleic Acids are a group of bio polymer, vital to all living systems
How many units in a nucleoside? Name them.
- Sugar and aromatic amine
How many units in a nucleotide? Name them.
- Phosphate ester, sugar and aromatic amine
Name 2 sugars that are important in nucleotides
Deoxyribose and ribose
What does the word deoxyribose refer to?
It refers to a molecule with one less oxygen than a ribose sugar
What type of bond holds the aromatic amines to the sugar?
Amide or peptide bond
What type of bond holds the phosphate to the sugar?
Glycogen bond
What 2 groups are aromatic amines divided into?
Pyrimidines and Purines
Distinguish Pyrimidines from Purines
Pyrimidines only have 1 cyclo structure while Purines have 2 cyclo structures
What is ATP? How is it used in biological systems?
Adenine Triphosphate. It is used for energy transfer in all living things
What type of bond is also known as a zipper bond?
Weak hydrogen bonds
Name the 4 acrobatics on DNA
Adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine
Why must only adenine and thymine bond to each other?
They both have 2 weak hydrogen bonds
Why must cytosine and guanine bond to each other?
They both have 3 weak hydrogen bonds
What makes up the backbone of the DNA molecule?
Phosphate-sugar-Phosphate-sugar-Phosphate-sugar
What does each aromatic amine represent in DNA?
It represents one letter of a code
Computer code is based on 1 and 0. What is the system called?
Binary system
DNA is based off of A,T,C, and G. What is the system called?
Quaternary system
How many ways can DNA express for 1 rung? 2 rung?
4, 16
What equation expresses the number of variations possible in the DNA code?
4^x (to the number of rungs)
When will living systems have the identical DNA codes?
Clones have the same DNA as well as identical twins
Why can DNA be used in court of Law to convict someone of a crime?
If evidence from scene of crime match a suspect, no one else but that suspect can be convicted because DNA is individual and unique
