Chapter 4 – Nucleic Acids

This chapter introduces nucleic acids – DNA and RNA. The reading guide is here

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The following is a short stretch of DNA. You should be able to identify:

1. The sugar-phosphate backbone
   1. Which is the ribose sugar?
   2. Which is the phosphate?
   3. How are the carbon atoms in the ribose numbered?
2. The two antiparallel strands
   1. identify the direction of each.
3. A purine (with 9-membered double rings)
4. A pyrimidine (with a single ring)