Chapter 4: Nucleic Acids and the RNA World

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