The structure of RNA differs from DNA in that
A) the backbone of RNA contains ribose.
B) RNA contains pyrimidines but not purines.
C) RNA contains purines but not pyrimidines.
D) DNA contains pyrimidines but not purines.
E) DNA contains purines but not pyrimidines.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The backbone of RNA contains ribose, which is a 5-carbon sugar, while the backbone of DNA contains deoxyribose, which is a similar sugar but with one less oxygen atom. The other choices are incorrect because both RNA and DNA contain both purines (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidines (cytosine and uracil in RNA and thymine in DNA).

The Structure of RNA Differs from DNA in That