Nucleic Acids
By: Adrienne A and Larson P
Monomer and Polymer
Nucleic acids are made up of monomers called nucleotides. This monomer has 3 main regions. The five carbon sugar, the phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. The polymer is the nucleic acid.
Examples
There are two types of nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. Also known as deoxyribonucleic acid ribonucleic acids
Functional groups
The functional groups are phosphate, 5- carbon sugar, and nitrogenous base.
Common functions
Nucleic acids function is to store information. The acids allow for organisms to transfer genetic information. The DNA are used when passing DNA down to offspring, and RNA is used in the synthesis of proteins.
How does its structure allow for its function?
The structure makes it easy to store the genetic and hereditary information. The sequence of bases in the chain has special pairs that create a double helix structure. The pairs have a mechanism that makes it easy to copy genetic material from one chain to a new one.