Name ______________________ Period ____ Number ____

DNA Structure & Replication Guided Notes

DNA Structure
DNA is a _macromolecule_. It is a type of _Nucleic acid_. DNA is a polymer (many units connected to each
other) of _Nucleotides_.

DNA Stands for _Deoxyribonucleic

acid_.

People important to the discovery of DNA Structure

_Watson_, _Crick_, & _Wilkins_ were awarded a Nobel Prize because they
were the first to make a model of the double helix shape
_Chargaff_ did experiments to come up with the base pairing rules (A-T,
C-G).
_Franklin_ took _x-ray_ pictures of DNA, first to show the shape was a
double helix called image 51.

Image 51:

What is the monomer of DNA?

DNA is a large molecule made of small parts called nucleotides.

Each nucleotide contains three parts:

1. _sugar_ (deoxyribose)
2. _phosphatw_
3. _nitrogen base_ (any of 4, adenine, thymine, cytosine
or guanine)

Complementary Base Pairing

DNA has _2_ sides or _strands_. We say that one strand is complementary to the other, meaning that they
use Chargaff’s base pairing rule to match up.

Chargaff’s rule states that:

_adenine_ always pairs with _thymine__ &
_cytosine_ always pairs with _guanine__
The two strands of DNA are held together by _hydrogen_ bonds.

2 Categories of Bases
There are _4_kinds of _nitrogen_ bases, divided into two categories.
The _Purines____ are Adenine (A) and Guanine (G)
The _Pyrimidines_ are Thymine (T) and Cytosine (C)
DNA Replication
DNA replication is the process where a molecule of DNA makes an _exact copy_
of itself. (see foldable model)
DNA _”unzips”_, which means it breaks _hydrogen_ bonds and opens up.
New _nucleotides_ come in and bond to the open strands using the base pairing rules.

Semi-Conservative Replication
Each new molecule that results is _half “new”_ and _half “old”__ - this helps minimize mistakes in
copying - we call this _semi-conservative_ replication

DNA Replication
Steps of DNA Replication:
1. The parental DNA molecule _unwinds_ and _unzips__ .
2. Both parental strands serve as _templates_ for new strands.
3. _free nucleotides_link to complementary bases on each strand.
Two _Identical_ DNA molecules result, each composed of one parental
strand, and one new strand.

Practice
Write the complementary bases below the strand that is given.
1. A T T G C T A G T C A T G CAGTCA 2. A T
C G GTCATG CATC C G GAT
T A A C_ATCAGTACGTAGT__ _TAGCCACTACGTAGGCCTA_
3. T G T C A C A G T A G C A T G G T A C
_ACACTGTCATCGTACCATG_

4. DNA stands for _deoxyribonucleic acid_. It is a _polymer__ of nucleotides. Nucleotides consist of three
parts;_nitrogen bases_, _deoxyribose sugar_, _phosphate__.

5. The word we use for DNA copying is _Replication_.

6. DNA replication is considered to be _semi-conservatie_. This means that the daughter DNA molecule is half
the original molecule and half the new molecule.