11: Nucleic Acids

Students identify nucleotide components, compare DNA and RNA chemical structure, name nucleosides and nucleotides, and analyze phosphodiester bond formation.

LibreTexts reference: Unit 3, Chapter 2: Nucleic Acids

True/False Statements About DNA Structure (BIOL 351)

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE of the structure of DNA?

• A. the backbone contains only phosphate and sugar
• B. the DNA bases for each strand face the outside of the helix
• C. pyrimidine bases pair up with like pyrimidine bases
• D. the phosphate groups are on the inside of the DNA double helix
• E. covalent bonds hold the two strands together

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True/False Statements About DNA Structure

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE about the structure of DNA?

• A. phosphodiester bonds hold the two strands together
• B. base pairings create unequal spacing between the two DNA strands
• C. the phosphate groups are on the inside of the DNA double helix
• D. the DNA double helix has ten nucleotides between each turn
• E. the DNA bases for each strand face the outside of the helix

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True/False Statements About Findings from Rosalind Franklin's Diffraction Pattern

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What information was NOT obtained from Rosalind Franklin's diffraction pattern in Photograph 51?

• A. A-T base pairs are weaker than G-C base pairs
• B. the phosphate groups are on the outside of the DNA double helix
• C. distance between nucleotides along DNA double helix
• D. the DNA bases face the inside of the helix
• E. diameter of the DNA double helix

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True/False Statements About G-U Wobble Base Pairs

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Which one of the following statements is FALSE of the G·U wobble base pair?

• A. the G·U wobble base pair provides unique hydrogen bond donors and acceptors in the major and minor grooves of the RNA helices
• B. the G·U wobble base pair the most common mismatch (non Watson-Crick) in the RNA helices
• C. the G·U wobble base pair ribose sugar glycosidic bond angles are shifted from normal
• D. the G·U wobble base pair causes the local double helix region to wobble in solution
• E. the G·U wobble base pair is a fundamental unit of RNA secondary structure

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True/False Statements About DNA Melting Temperature (Tm)

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE of melting temperature (T_m) of DNA?

• A. The melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand goes up (increases)
  when the amount of purine nucleobases, adenine (A) + guanine (G), decreases.
• B. The melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand goes down (decreases)
  when the cytosine (C) (C) + guanine (G) (G) base pairing content decreases.
• C. The melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand goes up (increases)
  when the amount of nucleobases with ketone groups, guanine (G) + thymine (T), decreases.
• D. The melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand goes down (decreases)
  when the amount of pyrimidine nucleobases, cytosine (C) + thymine (T), increases.
• E. The melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand goes down (decreases)
  when the amount of nucleobases with amino groups, adenine (A) + cytosine (C), increases.

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True/False Statements About Factors That Increase DNA Melting Temperature (Tm)

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Which one of the following will INCREASE the melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand?

• A. decrease the amount of adenine (A) (A) + thymine (T) (T) base pairing
• B. increase the amount of pyrimidine nucleobases, cytosine (C) + thymine (T)
• C. decrease the amount of nucleobases with amino groups adenine (A) + cytosine (C)
• D. decrease the amount of nucleobases with ketone groups, guanine (G) + thymine (T)
• E. increase the amount of purine nucleobases, adenine (A) + guanine (G)

Check Answer

 

True/False Statements About Factors That Decrease DNA Melting Temperature (Tm)

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Which one of the following will DECREASE the melting temperature (T_m) of a DNA strand?

• A. increase the amount of nucleobases with amino groups adenine (A) + cytosine (C)
• B. decrease the amount of adenine (A) + thymine (T) base pairing
• C. decrease the amount of cytosine (C) (C) + guanine (G) (G) base pairing
• D. decrease the amount of nucleobases with ketone groups, guanine (G) + thymine (T)
• E. decrease the amount of purine nucleobases, adenine (A) + guanine (G)

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True/False Statements About Nucleotide Components

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Which one of the following is NOT one of the three (3) major components of a DNA or RNA nucleotide?

• A. sucrose
• B. deoxyribose
• C. nitrogenous base
• D. phosphate group

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True/False Statements About RNA and DNA Differences (BIOL 301)

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Which one of the following statements is FALSE regarding differences between RNA and DNA?

• A. RNA is usually double-stranded (duplex), whereas DNA is usually single-stranded (simplex)
• B. thymine in DNA takes the place of uracil in RNA
• C. Both DNA and RNA can form a double-stranded helix
• D. the DNA sugar is dexoyribose, RNA has a different sugar
• E. RNA adopts a wide variety of tertiary structures

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True/False Statements About RNA and DNA Differences

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Which one of the following statements is TRUE regarding differences between RNA and DNA?

• A. RNA has a regular consistent structure
• B. double-stranded DNA is mostly in the A-form helix, whereas double-stranded RNA is mostly in the B-form helix
• C. RNA cannot form a double-stranded helix
• D. RNA has a sugar-phosphate backbone, DNA does not
• E. thymine in DNA takes the place of uracil in RNA

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DNA Base Composition Using Chargaff's Rules (5 Choices)

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According to Chargaff's rules concerning the base pairing composition in double-stranded DNA, consider a sample where the percentage composition of 46% is cytosine.
What are the percentages of the other three bases?

• A. adenine (A): 4% — guanine (G): 25% — thymine (T): 25%
• B. adenine (A): 25% — guanine (G): 4% — thymine (T): 25%
• C. adenine (A): 4% — guanine (G): 4% — thymine (T): 46%
• D. adenine (A): 46% — guanine (G): 4% — thymine (T): 4%
• E. adenine (A): 4% — guanine (G): 46% — thymine (T): 4%

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Complementary DNA Sequences Without Direction Labels

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DNA is organized as a double helix where two strands run in opposite, or anti-parallel, directions. The ends of these strands are referred to as 5′ (five prime) and 3′ (three prime) ends. The strands are held together by hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs. Specifically, adenine (A) forms a pair with thymine (T), and guanine (G) pairs with cytosine (C). This base pairing is critical for the stability of the DNA molecule and is central to processes like DNA replication and transcription.

 

C

A

T

,

C

C

G

,

A

T

A

Which one of the following DNA sequences is complementary to the direction-less DNA sequence shown above?

• A.  

  A

  T

  A

  ,

  G

  C

  C

  ,

  T

  A

  C

• B.  

  C

  A

  T

  ,

  C

  G

  C

  ,

  T

  A

  T

• C.  

  G

  T

  A

  ,

  G

  G

  C

  ,

  T

  A

  T

• D.  

  G

  A

  T

  ,

  G

  G

  C

  ,

  T

  A

  T

• E.  

  G

  T

  A

  ,

  G

  C

  G

  ,

  A

  T

  A

Check Answer

 

DNA Melting Temperature Extremes from Sequence (12 Bases)

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Which one of the following DNA sequences below will have the LOWEST melting point (T_m).

Hint: I tried to make this question pretty easy and it does not require a calculator.

• A.

  5′–

  G

  A

  G

  ,

  T

  G

  G

  ,

  C

  C

  G

  ,

  G

  C

  C

  –3′

  3′–

  C

  T

  C

  ,

  A

  C

  C

  ,

  G

  G

  C

  ,

  C

  G

  G

  –5′

• B.

  5′–

  C

  T

  C

  ,

  G

  C

  C

  ,

  T

  C

  T

  ,

  C

  G

  C

  –3′

  3′–

  G

  A

  G

  ,

  C

  G

  G

  ,

  A

  G

  A

  ,

  G

  C

  G

  –5′

• C.

  5′–

  T

  T

  A

  ,

  A

  T

  G

  ,

  C

  T

  A

  ,

  T

  A

  T

  –3′

  3′–

  A

  A

  T

  ,

  T

  A

  C

  ,

  G

  A

  T

  ,

  A

  T

  A

  –5′

• D.

  5′–

  C

  T

  G

  ,

  C

  A

  C

  ,

  G

  G

  A

  ,

  G

  T

  C

  –3′

  3′–

  G

  A

  C

  ,

  G

  T

  G

  ,

  C

  C

  T

  ,

  C

  A

  G

  –5′

Check Answer

 

Purine Names from Chemical Structures (3 Choices)

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Match the purine structures to their names.

Note: Each choice will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1.
	Drop Your Choice Here	2.
	Drop Your Choice Here	3.

Drag one of the choices below:

• A. adenine
• B. 7-methylguanine
• C. guanine

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Pyrimidine Names from Chemical Structures (4 Choices)

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Match the pyrimidine structures to their names.

Note: Each choice will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1.
	Drop Your Choice Here	2.
	Drop Your Choice Here	3.
	Drop Your Choice Here	4.

Drag one of the choices below:

• A. uracil
• B. 5-methylcytosine
• C. thymine
• D. cytosine

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Palindromic DNA Sequence Completion

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The following numbered sequences only contains half of a palindromic sequence.
Match the correct lettered sequence that would finish and replace the 'N's in the sequence to make them palindromes.
Letters will be used exactly once.

	Your Choice	Prompt
	Drop Your Choice Here	1.   5′–  T   N   N   N  –3′
	Drop Your Choice Here	2.   5′–  A   A   T   ,   N   N   N  –3′
	Drop Your Choice Here	3.   5′–  A   T   A   A   ,   N   N   N   T  –3′
	Drop Your Choice Here	4.   5′–  T   N   N   N   ,   A   T   T   A  –3′

Drag one of the choices below:

• A.  

  A

  A

  T

• B.  

  T

  A

  A

• C.  

  T

  T

  A

• D.  

  A

  T

  T

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mRNA Sequences from DNA Templates (Fill in the Blank)

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3′–

G

T

C

,

T

G

T

,

A

G

A

–5′

Enter the sequence for the mRNA product in the 5′ to 3′ direction produced from transcription of the DNA template strand above.
you may include a comma every 3 letters, but do NOT include any extra commas or spaces in your answer.
also do NOT include the 5' and 3' in your answer.

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mRNA Sequences from DNA Templates (5' and 3' Direction)

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5′–

G

A

C

,

G

G

A

,

C

C

T

–3′

Which one of the following sequences below would be the mRNA product produced from transcription of the DNA template strand above?
Hint: pay close attention to the 5′ and 3′ directions!

• A.  

  5′–

  U

  C

  C

  ,

  A

  G

  G

  ,

  C

  A

  G

  –3′

• B.  

  5′–

  A

  G

  G

  ,

  U

  C

  C

  ,

  G

  U

  C

  –3′

• C.  

  5′–

  A

  G

  G

  ,

  U

  C

  G

  ,

  C

  A

  G

  –3′

• D.  

  5′–

  C

  U

  G

  ,

  C

  C

  U

  ,

  G

  G

  A

  –3′

• E.  

  5′–

  G

  A

  C

  ,

  G

  G

  A

  ,

  C

  C

  U

  –3′

Check Answer

 

mRNA Sequences from DNA Templates (5' and 3' Fill in the Blank)

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5′–

C

A

C

,

A

T

C

,

C

A

A

–3′

What is the transcribed RNA sequence to the DNA non-template/coding strand sequence 5'-CACATCCAA-3' ?
you may include a comma every 3 letters, but do NOT include any extra commas or spaces in your answer.
Write your nucleotide sequence only in the 5′ -> 3′ direction

Check Answer

 

Peptide Sequences from mRNA Using the Genetic Code (10 Amino Acids)

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		Second Letter
		U		C		A		G
First Letter	U	U   U   U	F	U   C   U	S	U   A   U	Y	U   G   U	C	Third Letter
		U   U   C		U   C   C		U   A   C		U   G   C
		U   U   A	L	U   C   A		U   A   A	stop	U   G   A	stop
		U   U   G		U   C   G		U   A   G	stop	U   G   G	W
	C	C   U   U	L	C   C   U	P	C   A   U	H	C   G   U	R
		C   U   C		C   C   C		C   A   C		C   G   C
		C   U   A		C   C   A		C   A   A	Q	C   G   A
		C   U   G		C   C   G		C   A   G		C   G   G
	A	A   U   U	I	A   C   U	T	A   A   U	N	A   G   U	S
		A   U   C		A   C   C		A   A   C		A   G   C
		A   U   A		A   C   A		A   A   A	K	A   G   A	R
		A   U   G	M	A   C   G		A   A   G		A   G   G
	G	G   U   U	V	G   C   U	A	G   A   U	D	G   G   U	G
		G   U   C		G   C   C		G   A   C		G   G   C
		G   U   A		G   C   A		G   A   A	E	G   G   A
		G   U   G		G   C   G		G   A   G		G   G   G

Using the Genetic Code table above, translate the following 33 nucleotide mRNA sequence into the single-letter peptide code.

 

5′–

A

U

G

,

G

C

U

,

A

A

U

,

G

G

U

,

U

A

U

,

U

C

A

,

U

G

G

,

G

A

G

,

C

C

C

,

A

C

U

,

U

G

A

–3′

Note:

• Your answer will spell a combination of 2 five-letter words (that are also valid Wordle™ answers).
• Enter your answer in the blank with no punctuation, only letters.

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