Nucleic acids...This is how I want you to know it for tests!
It makes it easy!

Nucleic Acids
o Are what created the proteins
o Allow organisms to transfer genetic information from one generation to the next.
o Nucleic acids are found in every living thing – plants, animals, bacteria, viruses, fungi.

o Just like carbohydrates and proteins, nucleic acids consist of long chains that are called nucleotides.
* Nucleotide's are the subunits which you will tie together to make nucleic acids. The acids are the end result of the combination of nucleotides.*

Nucleotides have three parts:
• A Nitrogenous Base (purine or pyrimidine)
• A Five-Carbon Sugar
• A Phosphate Group



Purines- consists of Adenine and Guanine
Pyrimidines – consist of Cytosine, Thymine


There are two types of nucleic acids:
o deoxyribonucleic acid better known as DNA. DNA holds the genetic code of all living things.
o ribonucleic acid, better known as RNA. RNA is involved in the synthesis of proteins. "Information" is typically passed from DNA to RNA to the resulting proteins


DNA is made up of four different nucleotides; Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Thymine.


Adenine will always pair with Thymine,
Cytosine will always pair with Guanine wen building DNA

RNA is made up of Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, Uracil.

Notice in the above diagram here that RNA is a single chain made up of single nucleotides.

Here is a crude analogy to hopefully help:

In essence, DNA is the recipe for all of the proteins and other molecules
that make up our bodies. RNA is the chef who reads the recipe and makes the
compounds.The purpose of RNA is to take genetic information from DNA and translate it into
proteins, which subsequently fold-up to become enzymes, which make all of
the compounds from which we are formed.