Chapter 4: Nucleic Acids and the RNA World
- What is the primary function of nucleic acids?
- Name the two major types of nucleic acids.
- Explain how DNA, RNA, and proteins are like a printing a paper from your computer.
- What are the monomers of nucleic acids?
- What three molecular groups make up a nucleotide? Of those three groups which one varies from nucleotide to nucleotide?
- Name the four nitrogenous bases.
- How are purines different from pyrimidines? Be able to identify a purine vs. a pyrimidine.
- Which nitrogenous bases are purines? Which are pyrimidines?
- Why do purines only bond with pyrimidines and not with other purines?
- Why does adenine only bond with thymine (in DNA)?
- Why does cytosine only bond with guanine?
- What type of covalent bond bonds nucleotides together? Which of the nucleotide groups does it bond?
- Nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) have directionality. That means they are always read from ______ to _______.
- What molecular group of the furthest nucleotide does the 5’ end start with?
- What molecular group of the furthest nucleotide does the 3’ end start with?
- Given a nucleic backbone (PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPS), which is the 5’ end and which is the 3’ end?
- DNA is antiparallel. What does that mean?
- DNA is a double helix. What does that mean?
- What kind of chemical bonds form between strands of DNA?
- What was thought to be the first self-replicating molecule?
- List two differences between the structure of DNA and RNA.
- Which RNA is copied by DNA in a process known as transcription?
- Which RNA determines the amino acid sequence?
- Which RNA transfers amino acids to a growing polypeptide chain?
- What does mRNA stand for?
- What does tRNA stand for?
