Loading lesson

Nucleotides, nucleic acids and ATP

Molecular basis of life · Lesson 3 of 3

Lesson 3 of 3

Ask a tutor

Lesson 3 of 3 · Molecular basis of life

Nucleotides, nucleic acids and ATP

3 quick checks≈2% of the testCore

Reading is free. Sign in to tick off lessons, keep your place and track your mastery.

By the end you’ll be able to

Describe the structure of a nucleotide as a pentose sugar, phosphate group and nitrogen-containing organic base, and explain how nucleotides join by condensation to form polynucleotides with phosphodiester bonds.
Compare the structures of DNA and RNA, including the sugars, bases, strandedness and stability, and relate these differences to their roles in storage, transfer and expression of genetic information.

0% read

Explain the double-helix structure of DNA in terms of antiparallel strands, sugar-phosphate backbones and complementary base pairing between adenine and thymine and between cytosine and guanine via hydrogen bonding.

Apply knowledge of nucleotide and nucleic-acid structure to processes such as semi-conservative DNA replication, transcription and translation where these are referred to in questions, without extending into the full later-topic detail of those mechanisms.

Describe ATP as a phosphorylated nucleotide and explain how hydrolysis of ATP to ADP and inorganic phosphate transfers energy to cellular processes such as active transport, muscle contraction, biosynthesis and phosphorylation.

Interpret molecular diagrams, base-sequence information and quantitative data involving nucleotides, complementary pairing and ATP-related energy transfer in biological contexts.

This lesson hasn’t been written yet

Biology lessons are written from the official syllabus the first time a learner opens them, then saved for everyone. Sign in and this one is written for you in a minute or two. It’s free.

Sign in Create a free account