DNA Blueprints Reference Sheet
DNA BLUEPRINTS
Living Environment Reference Guide
REF_ID: BIO_DNA_001
SUBJECT: GENETICS
The Building Block
DNA is a polymer made of monomers called nucleotides.
P
Sugar
Base
Phosphate
Deoxyribose
N-Base
The Double Helix
- Shape: A twisted ladder shape.
- Backbone: Made of alternating sugars and phosphates (held by strong covalent bonds).
- Rungs: Made of nitrogenous bases (held by weak hydrogen bonds).
Essential Vocab
Nucleotides: The monomers of DNA, each made of a sugar, phosphate, and base.
Antiparallel: A term describing the two DNA strands running in opposite directions.
Base-Pairing: Specific hydrogen bonding between complementary N-bases (A-T, C-G).
Base Pairing Rules
A — T
Adenine + Thymine
C — G
Cytosine + Guanine
Chargaff's Rule:
"In any DNA sample, the amount of Adenine equals Thymine, and the amount of Guanine equals Cytosine."
%A = %T | %C = %G
Complementary Strands
The sequence of bases on one strand determines the sequence on the other.
T
A
G
G
C
A
T
C
C
G
Strand 1 (Original) ↔ Strand 2 (Complementary)
The Secret Code
The order of nitrogen bases provides the instructions for making proteins, which determine an organism's traits.
Concept: Molecular Genetics
Key Standard: Living Environment 4.2
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