The chemical structure of DNA
I can describe the chemical structure of DNA.
The chemical structure of DNA
I can describe the chemical structure of DNA.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- DNA is a type of biological molecule called a nucleic acid.
- DNA is made of two strands, each a long polymer of nucleotides, wound together in a double helix shape.
- DNA is a polymer of four different nucleotides (A, C, G and T).
- Each of the four types of nucleotide in DNA is made of the same sugar and a phosphate group, bonded to a different base.
- Nucleotides in each strand of DNA pair up in a complementary way; A pairs with T, and C pairs with G.
Common misconception
DNA is living and not necessarily a chemical.
Discussing that DNA is a chemical molecule and showing how it is made up of smaller chemical groups, and then modelling this chemical structure.
Keywords
DNA - DNA is a nucleic acid polymer made up of four nucleotides, it contains the genetic code in all living organisms.
Nucleic acid - A nucleic acid is a polymer made up of nucleotides, an example is DNA.
Polymer - A polymer is a chemical made up of smaller repeating chemical groups.
Nucleotide - A nucleotide is a chemical group that make up the building blocks of DNA, the four types are coded A, T, C and G.
Base - A base is the part of a nucleotide that pairs to its complementary base across the middle of the DNA double helix C-G and A-T.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
Loading...
Starter quiz
6 Questions
![An image in a quiz](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Foaknationalacademy-res.cloudinary.com%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fv1710960506%2Fhbz64knsyeoli0pgwa5p.png&w=640&q=75)
![An image in a quiz](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Foaknationalacademy-res.cloudinary.com%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fv1710961124%2Fhfwaimt4gotfe3jzitvm.png&w=828&q=75)
Exit quiz
6 Questions
![An image in a quiz](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Foaknationalacademy-res.cloudinary.com%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fv1710962943%2Fpb2iq4186vn9mqwvhqxn.png&w=1080&q=75)
![An image in a quiz](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Foaknationalacademy-res.cloudinary.com%2Fimage%2Fupload%2Fv1710961758%2Fnod2pyh9lh43v6yaa8zi.jpg&w=828&q=75)