Comparing DNA and RNA
1. What sugar is found in DNA? deoxyribose
2. What sugar is found in RNA? ribose
3. Look at the structures of ribose and deoxyribose shown below. Find the difference between the two
sugars and circle it.
4. If the prefix “de-“ means “without one” and “oxy-“ refers to oxygen explain how is the difference
between these two sugars is described by the name “deoxyribose”?
Deoxyribose has the same structure as ribose except that it has one less oxygen. (literally, “without one
oxygen”)
5. How many strands does RNA usually have? 1
6. How does this compare to DNA? DNA is generally double stranded
7. Circle the nucleotides below that could be found in DNA: (R = ribose, D = deoxyribose,
= phosphate)
R
A
D
D
U
R
D
T
R
A
R
G
U
D
G
T
8. Draw a rectangle around the nucleotides above that could be from RNA.
(The two that are not circled would not be found in either DNA or RNA)
R
C
9. Fill in the chart below to summarize the similarities and differences between DNA and RNA. If
something is the same for both, write “same” in the box.
Sugar
Phosphate
Bases
# Strands
DNA
Deoxyribose
Same
A, G, C, T
2
RNA
Ribose
Same
A, G, C, U
1
OTHER SIMILARITIES:
 Both are nucleic acids
 Both are polynucleotides (made of many nucleotides)
 Both are found in the nucleus of a cell
OTHER DIFFERENCES:
 RNA is also found in the cytoplasm, but DNA is not