Name: _______________________________ Date: __________
Biology: Getting to Know Nucleic Acids Quest
http://www.chem4kids.com/files/bio_nucleicacids.html
The Nucleic Acids
1. What are nucleic acids?
2. Name the four types of nucleic acids.
1.
2.
3.
4.
3. What does DNA stand for?
4. What does RNA stand for?
5. What do you notice about the name of both of these macromolecules?
6. What do mRNA and tRNA stand for?
7. Where can nucleic acids be found other than the nucleus?
The Basics
8. Nucleic Acids are actually made up of chains of base pairs of nucleic
acids stretching from as few as ____________________________.
9. What is DNA’s shape?
10. DNA holds your _______________________________.
Five Easy Pieces
11. Name the five nucleotide base parts found in nucleic acids:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
12. What nucleotide base is only found in RNA?
13. Uracil is only found in RNA.
14. Just as there are twenty (20) amino acids needed by humans to
survive, we also require ______________ nucleotides.
15. What are the three parts of a nucleotide:
1.
2.
3.
No go to the following site http://www.ducksters.com/science/biology/dna.php
Complete the quest that follows –
DNA and Genes
1. DNA is a long thin molecule made up of nucleotides. There are four
different types of nucleotides: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine.
They are usually represented by ________________.




____- adenine
____- thymine
____ - cytosine
____ - guanine
2. The nucleotides are sometimes referred to as ___________.
The basic structure of
the DNA molecule
Different Cells in the Body
3. Why are there so many different types of cells in the human body?
4. How do cells know what to do?
The DNA Code
5. The DNA code is held by the different letters of the nucleotides.
Every three letters makes up a word called a _________________.
A string of codons may look like this:
ATC TGA GGA AAT GAC CAG
=A
=T
=C
=G
/
Unwound double helix exposing the base
sequence or “codons” of the DNA molecule.
6. What is the string of codons based on the exposed
bases for the left side of this DNA molecule?
G_____, ______, ______, ______
7. Even though there are only four different letters, how can there be
so many genes?
Genes
8. What is a gene?
9. What is the function of a protein?
Shape of the DNA Molecule
10. Again, what is the shape of DNA?
11. Only certain nucleotides can fit together – they are complimentary
– like puzzle pieces! Based on what you have learned about DNA, answer
the following questions:
Connect the nucleotide to its compliment base:
A–T
A–
T–
T–
G–
G–
C–
C–
A-
12. After analyzing DNA extracted from a strawberry, it was
determined that there was 20% of Cytosine present. What is the
percent present of the other bases? Adenine____%, Guanine ____%,
Thymine _____%
13. Jot down one fun fact about DNA-