1. Circle and label a nucleotide: [Circle one complete unit consisting of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base on the DNA strand diagram. Label it "nucleotide".]
Label the sugar and phosphate molecules: [Label the pentagon-shaped molecule as "sugar" and the circle attached to it as "phosphate".]
Label the bases (A, T, C, G) that are not already labeled: [Label the unmarked nitrogenous bases according to their shape/position: typically, adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) pairs with guanine (G).]
Label a base pair: [Draw a bracket or line connecting two complementary bases across the double helix and label it "base pair".]
Label the sugar-phosphate backbones: [Draw lines along the outer edges of the double helix structure and label them "sugar-phosphate backbone".]
Label the hydrogen bonds: [Draw small dashed lines between the paired bases and label them "hydrogen bonds".]
2. A nucleotide is made of three parts: a sugar, a phosphate group, and a base.
3. In a single strand of DNA, the phosphate group binds to the sugar of the next group.
4. Chargaff’s rule states that the DNA of any species contains equal amounts of adenine and thymine, and also equal amounts of cytosine and guanine.
5. In DNA, thymine is complementary to adenine (or pairs with adenine), and cytosine is complementary to guanine.
6. In a strand of DNA, if the percentage of adenine is 30%, the percentage of cytosine in the same DNA strand would be 20%.
7. James Watson and Francis Crick, with the help of Rosalind Franklin and others, determined that the shape of the DNA molecule was a double helix.
8. Hydrogen bonds connect the bases to each other.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of dna the molecule of heredity worksheet.
