Hanz Gliter A.

Mosqueda
Activity 1: Structure of Nucleic Acids

1. Define the following: a. Nucleic acid b. Nucleotide c. Nitrogen base

- A. Nucliec acid – Nucleic acid is the biomolecule which contains many nucleotides
connected to form a long chain. They are biopolymers containing monomers like nucleotides
present in all living organisms and are responsible for the storage of genetic information.
The two types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA.
- B. Nucleotide – Nucleotides are considered as the building blocks for nucleic acids like DNA
and RNA. When the phosphate group is added to the nucleosides, it is called nucleotide.
Thus, nucleotide is a compound which is formed when the phosphate molecule, sugar
molecule and nitrogen bases are linked. So, it is composed of a nucleoside (a sugar and a
base) and a phosphate group.
- C. Nitrogen Base - Nitrogen bases are heterocyclic nitrogen containing basic ring compound.
Nitrogen containing molecule that has properties of bases are nitrogenous bases. They are
considered as the building blocks for nucleotides. The two types of nitrogenous bases are
purines and pyrimidines which are present in both DNA and RNA.

2. What are the 3 subunits that make up a nucleotide?

- The three subunits that make up a nucleotide are:
(i) Containing bases or nitrogenous bases i.e., Adenine(A), Guanine(G), Cytosine(C),
Thymine(T) or Uracil(U)
(ii) Five carbon sugar molecule or pentose sugars i.e., deoxyribose sugars or ribose
sugars and
(iii) Phosphate group.

3. What are the two types of pentoses that are found in all nucleotides? Sketch and label each,
highlighting the one difference between them?
- The two types of pentoses that are found in all nucleotides are Deoxyribose in DNA and
Ribose in RNA.

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 - Difference between Deoxyribose sugars and Ribose sugars:
Deoxyribose sugars is the 5-carbon sugar that are only found in DNA and the hydrogen atom
is present at the 2'carbon position of the deoxyribose sugar. While, Ribose sugars is the 5-
carbon sugar or pentose that are only found in RNA and the hydroxyl group is present on
the 2'carbon position of the ribose sugar

4. What are the four nitrogen bases in DNA? What are the four nitrogen bases in RNA?
- The four nitrogen bases that are found in DNA are- Adenine(A), Guanine(G), Cytosine(C) and
Thymine(T).
- The four nitrogen bases that are found in RNA are- Adenine(A), Guanine(G), Cytosine(C) and
Uracil(U).

5. Describe three ways in which DNA differs from RNA.

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6. Describe the structure of DNA.

- DNA has a double-helix structure (Figure 2). The sugar and phosphate lie on the outside of
the helix, forming the backbone of the DNA. The nitrogenous bases are stacked in the
interior, like the steps of a staircase, in pairs; the pairs are bound to each other by hydrogen
bonds. Every base pair in the double helix is separated from the next base pair by 0.34 nm.
7. What are DNA backbones made of?
 - DNA is made up of two strands that are coiled together like a ladder. The backbone of each
strand is made up of sugar (deoxyribose) and phosphate groups that alternate. Each sugar
has one of four bases attached to it: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or thymine (T)
8. How do nitrogen bases pair in DNA? Why is the pairing of nitrogen bases important?
- When nitrogenous bases create hydrogen bonds with one another, they form base pairs. In
DNA, guanine is paired with cytosine, adenine is paired with thymine, and adenine is paired
with uracil (in RNA). Because hydrogen bonds are weak, DNA can 'unzip.' The nitrogenous
bases in DNA are important because protein synthesis can only take place when the right or
relevant nitrogenous bases hook up with the appropriate or relevant one, and the right
amino acid is coded.

9. Describe the functions of the following: a. DNA b. mRNA c. tRNA

- DNA is a molecule that carries and transmits hereditary information or genetic instructions
from parents to offspring. DNA is involved in: Replication process, Mutations: The changes
which occur in the DNA sequences, Transcription, Cellular Metabolism, DNA Fingerprinting,
Gene Therapy
- mRNA- carries the message from DNA, which controls all of the cellular activities in a cell. If
a cell requires a certain protein to be synthesized, the gene for this product is turned “on”
and the messenger RNA is synthesized in the nucleus.
- Transfer RNA -(tRNA) is one of the smallest of the four types of RNA, usually 70–90
nucleotides long. It carries the correct amino acid to the site of protein synthesis.

10. Draw an mRNA strand that is complementary to the DNA strand AATTGC. Circle a nucleotide.