What are the 4 elements of nucleic acids?
What are the 4 elements of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are one of four classes of biochemical compounds. (The other three classes are carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.) Nucleic acids include RNA (ribonucleic acid) as well as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Both types of nucleic acids contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
Which make up the nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are giant biomolecules made of monomers called nucleotides. Nucleotides have three components: pentose sugar (5-carbon sugar), phosphate group, and nitrogenous base. The nucleic acids are of two major types: natural and synthetic nucleic acids.
What elements are in nucleotides?
A nucleotide consists of a sugar molecule (either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA) attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base. The bases used in DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).
What are the 5 things that make up nucleic acids?
There are five easy parts of nucleic acids. All nucleic acids are made up of the same building blocks (monomers). Chemists call the monomers “nucleotides.” The five pieces are uracil, cytosine, thymine, adenine, and guanine.
What are the three functions of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids function to create, encode, and store biological information in cells, and serve to transmit and express that information inside and outside the nucleus.
What is the main function of nucleic acids?
The functions of nucleic acids have to do with the storage and expression of genetic information. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) encodes the information the cell needs to make proteins. A related type of nucleic acid, called ribonucleic acid (RNA), comes in different molecular forms that participate in protein synthesis.
What are the 3 types of nucleic acids?
The two main types of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)….Table 3.5. 1: Features of DNA and RNA.
Features of DNA and RNA | ||
---|---|---|
DNA | RNA | |
Pyrimidines | Cytosine, thymine | Cytosine, uracil |
Purines | Adenine, guanine | Adenine, guanine |
What are the two types of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary information-carrying molecules in cells. They play an especially important role in directing protein synthesis. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
What is the function of nucleic acid?
Nucleic Acid Nucleic acid is an important class of macromolecules found in all cells and viruses. The functions of nucleic acids have to do with the storage and expression of genetic information. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) encodes the information the cell needs to make proteins.
What are 4 functions of nucleic acids?
What are 2 functions of nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are the main information-carrying molecules of the cell, and, by directing the process of protein synthesis, they determine the inherited characteristics of every living thing. The two main classes of nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
What are some facts about nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are characterized as very large molecules that have distinctively two main parts, usually noted as the double-helix formation. The helix formation that represents a nucleic acid pattern is unique, one that intends to separate one [family’s] biological identification from another.
Why do we need nucleic acids?
Nucleic acids are made up of nucleotides, which are molecules that are essential to almost every biological process in the human body. They aid with gut repair, they encourage cellular growth, and they strengthen the immune system.
What are the monomers and polymers of nucleic acids?
The monomers are connected together to form polymers. In the case of nucleic acids, the monomers which make up the polymers – the nucleic acids DNA and RNA themselves – are the following: uracil, guanine, cytosine, adenine, thymine.
What is the molecular structure of nucleic acid?
Basic structure. Nucleic acids are polynucleotides—that is, long chainlike molecules composed of a series of nearly identical building blocks called nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogen-containing aromatic base attached to a pentose (five-carbon) sugar, which is in turn attached to a phosphate group.