The Chemistry Of Biology Practice Test

What is the sugar in DNA?

Ribose Fructose Glucose Deoxyribose

Correct Answer:

Deoxyribose

Explanation:

Deoxyribose is the sugar in DNA. It’s a five-carbon sugar known as 2'-deoxyribose because it lacks the oxygen atom on the 2' carbon; RNA, by contrast, uses ribose, which has a hydroxyl group at that position. That absence of the 2'-OH in DNA makes the backbone more chemically stable. Fructose and glucose are hexoses used for energy, not part of the DNA backbone, and ribose is the sugar in RNA. So the sugar that forms DNA’s backbone is deoxyribose.

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