Chapter 5B Homework Questions

1. How many different amino acids are used in proteins? Which amino acids are basic, acidic or neutral? Which are hydrophilic or hydrophobic?

2. What are the major functions of proteins?

3. Polymers are usually broken down and synthesized by what types of reactions, respectively?.

4. What are the four levels of protein structure? What bonding forces are involved with each level?

5. Frederick Sanger has won two Nobel prizes. Describe the importance of his contributions to biological science.

6. How does a change in amino acid sequence result in a change in protein structure of hemoglobin in the case of sickle cell anemia? Why does the gene persist in some African (and other) populations?

7. What is the difference between DNA and RNA?

8. RNA can have informational, structural and functional roles in a cell. Describe an instance in which RNA has each of these capablilites.

9. What does the anti-parallel nature of DNA refer to?

10. What are the primary nitrogenous bases in DNA and RNA

?

11. Describe how bases are complementary in nucleic acids? Is RNA even double stranded?