Compare the structural features of a double-stranded RNA structure with those of a DNA double helix.

What are the building blocks of a nucleotide? With regard to the $5^{\prime}$ and $3^{\prime}$ positions on a sugar molecule, how are nucleotides linked together to form a strand of DNA?

The type of model building used by Pauling and Watson and Crick involved the use of ball-and-stick units. Now we can do model building on a computer screen. Even though you may not be familiar with this approach, discuss the potential advantages of using computers in molecular model building.

Write out a sequence of an RNA molecule that could form a stemloop with 24 nucleotides in the stem and 16 nucleotides in the loop.

Draw the structure of deoxyribose and number the carbon atoms. Describe the numbering of the carbon atoms in deoxyribose with regard to the directionality of a DNA strand. In a DNA double helix, what does the term antiparallel mean?

List the structural differences between DNA and RNA.

What parts of a nucleotide (namely, phosphate, sugar, and/or bases) occupy the major and minor grooves of double-stranded DNA, and what parts are found in the DNA backbone? If a DNAbinding protein does not recognize a specific nucleotide sequence, do you expect that it recognizes the major groove, the minor groove, or the DNA backbone? Explain.

Discuss the differences in the structural features of A DNA, B DNA, and Z DNA.

Make a side-by-side drawing of two DNA helices, one with $10 \mathrm{bp}$ per $360^{\circ}$ turn and the other with 15 bp per $360^{\circ}$ turn.

What is the meaning of the term genetic material?

Genetic material acts as a blueprint for an organism's traits. Explain how the experiments of Griffith indicated that genetic material was being transferred to the type $R$ bacteria.

Try to propose structures for a genetic material that are substantially different from the double helix. Remember that genetic material must have a way to store information and a way to be faithfully replicated.

____________________ Contains RNA and uses a special enzyme to make a DNA copy.

For what sequence of amino acids does the RNA base sequence AUGAAGUUUGGCUAA code?