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DNA and RNA Essentials
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DNA and RNA Essentials
DNA and RNA Essentials
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1
Question
What are the three parts of a nucleotide?
Answer
Phosphate group, deoxyribose sugar, and a nitrogen-containing base (A, G, T, or C).
2
Question
Describe the arrangement of DNA strands in the double helix.
Answer
Two nucleotide strands arranged in opposite directions (anti-parallel).
3
Question
What type of bonds connect the sugar of one nucleotide to the phosphate of the next?
Answer
Covalent bonds, forming the sugar-phosphate backbone.
4
Question
What type of bonds connect nitrogenous bases?
Answer
Hydrogen bonds.
5
Question
Which bases pair together in DNA?
Answer
Adenine (A) with Thymine (T), and Guanine (G) with Cytosine (C).
6
Question
What are pyrimidines and name them.
Answer
Single-ring structures; Thymine (T) and Cytosine (C).
7
Question
What are purines and name them.
Answer
Larger, double-ring structures; Adenine (A) and Guanine (G).
8
Question
Name 3 properties of DNA.
Answer
Capacity to store genetic information, copy genetic information, and pass genetic information from generation to generation.
9
Question
Who discovered the double helix structure of DNA?
Answer
James Watson and Francis Crick, with insights from Rosalind Franklin's X-ray image.
10
Question
What does it mean that DNA replication is semi-conservative?
Answer
Each new DNA double helix consists of one original strand and one new strand.
11
Question
What is the role of DNA helicase in DNA replication?
Answer
It separates the parental DNA strands by breaking hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs.
12
Question
What is the role of DNA polymerase in DNA replication?
Answer
It synthesizes new DNA strands by matching bases on the parental strand with complementary free nucleotides.
13
Question
What is the role of DNA ligase in DNA replication?
Answer
It joins segments of DNA together, making a single DNA strand.
14
Question
What are origins of replication?
Answer
Specific sites on DNA where replication begins.
15
Question
What is a mutation?
Answer
Any change in the nucleotide sequence of a cell's DNA.
16
Question
Give 2 examples of mutagens.
Answer
Certain chemicals (e.g., tobacco smoke) and types of radiation (e.g., ultraviolet and X-rays).
17
Question
What are the steps for DNA Repair?
Answer
1. Recognize Damaged DNA 2. Remove Damaged DNA 3. Replace Damaged DNA
18
Question
What are introns?
Answer
Non-coding DNA sequences within a gene that are spliced out before translation.
19
Question
What are exons?
Answer
Segments of a gene that code for amino acids and are retained for translation.
20
Question
What are the key characteristics of RNA?
Answer
Carries information from DNA to ribosomes, is single-stranded, contains ribose sugar, and uses uracil instead of thymine.
21
Question
What are the roles of mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA?
Answer
mRNA specifies the order of amino acids, rRNA makes ribosomes, and tRNA transports amino acids to the ribosome.
22
Question
What are the two main steps in protein synthesis?
Answer
Transcription (DNA to RNA) and Translation (RNA to protein).
23
Question
What are the three steps of transcription?
Answer
Initiation, Elongation, Termination.
24
Question
What are the three major parts of most genes?
Answer
Promoter, Body of the gene, Termination signal.
25
Question
What happens during the initiation step of transcription?
Answer
RNA polymerase binds to the promoter, DNA unwinds, and RNA polymerase reads the DNA strand.
26
Question
What happens during the elongation step of transcription?
Answer
RNA polymerase travels down the DNA template, synthesizing a strand of RNA with complementary bases.
27
Question
What happens during the termination step of transcription?
Answer
RNA polymerase reaches the termination signal, releases the mRNA, and detaches from DNA.