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Nucleic Acids 1 quiz

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  • What are the three main components of a nucleotide?
    A nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, a 5-carbon sugar, and a nitrogenous base.
  • How does ribose differ from deoxyribose in nucleic acids?
    Ribose has a hydroxyl group on the 2' carbon, while deoxyribose lacks this group and has only a hydrogen.
  • Which nitrogenous bases are classified as purines?
    Adenine and guanine are purines.
  • Which nitrogenous bases are classified as pyrimidines?
    Cytosine, thymine, and uracil are pyrimidines.
  • What mnemonic can help you remember the purines?
    The mnemonic 'pure as gold' helps remember that adenine and guanine are purines.
  • What mnemonic can help you remember the pyrimidines?
    The mnemonic 'cut high' helps remember cytosine, uracil, and thymine are pyrimidines.
  • Which base is present in RNA but not DNA?
    Uracil is present in RNA but not DNA.
  • Which base is present in DNA but not RNA?
    Thymine is present in DNA but not RNA.
  • Why does DNA use thymine instead of uracil?
    DNA uses thymine to help cells distinguish between normal bases and mutations caused by cytosine deamination to uracil.
  • What is the difference between a nucleotide and a nucleoside?
    A nucleotide has a phosphate group attached, while a nucleoside consists only of the pentose sugar and base.
  • What form of nucleotides is used for nucleic acid synthesis?
    Nucleotide triphosphates are used for nucleic acid synthesis.
  • What provides the energy for nucleic acid polymerization?
    The cleavage of high-energy phosphate bonds in nucleotide triphosphates provides the energy for polymerization.
  • Why are sugar carbons in nucleotides numbered with prime symbols?
    Prime symbols distinguish sugar carbons from base carbons and keep the numbering clear and below 10.
  • How are the phosphate groups in nucleotide triphosphates named?
    The phosphate groups are named alpha, beta, and gamma.
  • How many numbering systems do you need to memorize for nucleotide bases?
    You need to memorize two numbering systems: one for purines and one for pyrimidines.