Chapter 1, Problem 7RQ

Summary Introduction

To review:

Definition of the following biological terminologies:

(a) nucleotide

(b) purine

(c) pyrimidine

(d) nucleic acid

(e) ribose

Introduction:

The organic molecule which is the building block of nucleic acids (deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] as well as ribonucleic acid [RNA]) is called nucleotide. The nitrogenous bases in a nucleotide can either be a purine or a pyrimidine. A pentose carbohydrate sugar (ribose) with the formula C₅H₁₀O₅ is a part of the nucleotides. The polymeric form with long chains of nucleotides is known as nucleic acid.