Afrodita Fuentes – Fall 07/SED 525S
Cornell Notes
Structure & Function of NUCLEIC ACIDS – Note
Cues
 DNA
 RNA
 mRNA
 tRNA
 rRNA
 Helix
 Backbones
 Rungs
 Nucleotides
 Bases
 Purines
 Pyramidines
 Ribose
 Deoxyribose
Questions
Where are DNA
& RNA found?
How did
scientist find
out what DNA
really looks
like?
What exactly
does real DNA
look like?
How does DNA
& RNA work
together?
DNA – DeoxyriboNucleic Acid
Structure:
- Double helix
- Phosphate & sugar groups make up the backbones
- Bases make up the rungs
- Nucleotides are the subunits composed of 3 chemical
groups.
1. 5-Carbon sugar – Deoxyribose
2. Phosphate Group
3. nitrogenous base
- 4 kinds of bases: Purines Adenine (A), Guanine (G)
- Pyrimidines - Thymine (T), Cytosine (C)
- Base pairing rule: A-T & C-G
Function: direct & control the genetic information for the
synthesis of proteins in each cell of an organism
RNA –RiboNucleic Acid
Structure:
- Single helix
- Phosphate & sugar groups make up the backbones
- Bases make up the rungs
- nucleotides are the subunits composed of 3 chemical
groups
1. 5-Carbon sugar – Ribose
2. Phosphate Group
3. nitrogenous base
- 4 kinds of bases: Purines Adenine (A), Guanine (G)
& Pyrimidines - Uracil (U), Cytosine (C)
- Base pairing rule: A-T & C-G
- 3 Kinds of RNA
1. mRNA (codon) – carries message
2. tRNA (anticodon) – indicates/transfers amino acids
3. rRNA – forms part of ribososmes
Function: Helps DNA
Summary
 There are two types of nucleic acids: one is DNA & RNA
 They both look like a twisted ladder, but RNA seems to have only one side
 There are three differences:
1. DNA is double helix & RNA is single helix
2. DNA’s sugar is deoxyribose & RNA’s sugar is ribose
3. Thymine is found in DNA, but not in RNA & Uracil is found in RNA, but not in DNA