The Sides of the "Ladder" That Makes Up a Nucleic

Question

The sides of the "ladder" that makes up a nucleic acid molecule are made of
A) nitrogenous bases.
B) pentose sugars and phosphate groups.
C) purines.
D) pyrimidines.
E) nucleosides.

Accepted Answer

The sides of DNA and RNA molecules are made of alternating pentose sugars (deoxyribose or ribose) and phosphate groups, which form the backbone or framework of the molecule. Nitrogenous bases (purines and pyrimidines) are then attached to the sugars and project inward towards the complementary base on the other strand to form the rungs of the ladder. Nucleosides are made up of just the sugar and base without the phosphate group and are not directly involved in forming the structure of the nucleic acid molecule.