Is a DNA molecule a polymer?

The proteins we eat, and which we’re made of, are polymers made up of amino acids. And even our DNA is a polymer—it’s made of monomers called nucleotides.

What is the three dimensional structure of DNA?

The three-dimensional structure of DNA—the double helix—arises from the chemical and structural features of its two polynucleotide chains.

Why is a DNA molecule described as a polymer?

Nucleic acids are polymers, which are large molecules made up of smaller, repeating units that are chemically connected to one another. DNA is composed of repeating units called nucelotides or nucleotide bases.

What is the polymer structure of DNA?

DNA consists of two long polymers (called strands) that run in opposite directions and form the regular geometry of the double helix. The monomers of DNA are called nucleotides. Nucleotides have three components: a base, a sugar (deoxyribose) and a phosphate residue.

Is DNA a polymer of nucleotides?

RNA and DNA are polymers made of long chains of 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. In RNA, the base uracil (U) takes the place of thymine.

Is DNA a monomer or polymer quizlet?

DNA is a polymer, which means that it’s made up of many repeating single units (monomers).

What are the three-dimensional structure of DNA and RNA?

The double helix is the dominant tertiary structure for biological DNA, and is also a possible structure for RNA. Three DNA conformations are believed to be found in nature, A-DNA, B-DNA, and Z-DNA. The “B” form described by James D. Watson and Francis Crick is believed to predominate in cells.

What are the 3 functions of DNA?

DNA now has three distinct functions—genetics, immunological, and structural—that are widely disparate and variously dependent on the sugar phosphate backbone and the bases.

How is A DNA molecule replicated?

Replication occurs in three major steps: the opening of the double helix and separation of the DNA strands, the priming of the template strand, and the assembly of the new DNA segment. Finally, a special enzyme called DNA polymerase organizes the assembly of the new DNA strands.

What does A DNA polymerase do quizlet?

The DNA polymerase is the enzyme that joins individual nucleotides to produce a new strand of DNA it produces the sugar phosphate bonds that join the nucleotides together and it proof reads each new DNA strand so that each copy is a near perfect copy of the original.

How is A DNA polymer formed?

DNA is a polymer made from four different monomers , called nucleotides . These join together in different combinations to make long strands. In a DNA molecule , two strands wrap around each other to form a double helix structure.

What is the structure of DNA?

Each molecule of DNA is a double helix formed from two complementary strands of nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds between G-C and A-T base pairs. Duplication of the genetic information occurs by the use of one DNA strand as a template for formation of a complementary strand.

What are the complementary chains of DNA molecules?

A DNA Molecule Consists of Two Complementary Chains of Nucleotides. A DNA molecule consists of two long polynucleotide chains composed of four types of nucleotide subunits. Each of these chains is known as a DNA chain, or a DNA strand. Hydrogen bonds between the base portions of the nucleotides hold the two chains together (Figure 4-3).

What holds the two strands of DNA together?

Each of these chains is known as a DNA chain, or a DNA strand. Hydrogen bonds between the base portions of the nucleotides hold the two chains together (Figure 4-3). As we saw in Chapter 2 (Panel 2-6, pp.

How many subunits does DNA have?

DNA was known to be a long polymer composed of only four types of subunits, which resemble one another chemically. Early in the 1950s, DNA was first examined by x-ray diffraction analysis, a technique for determining the three-dimensional atomic structure of a molecule (discussed in Chapter 8).