Here's a breakdown:
* DNA is a double helix: Imagine two twisted ladders. The sides of the ladder are made of sugar-phosphate backbones, and the rungs are made of nitrogenous bases.
* Base pairing: The nitrogenous bases are connected by hydrogen bonds. Specifically, adenine (A) forms two hydrogen bonds with thymine (T), and guanine (G) forms three hydrogen bonds with cytosine (C).
* Specificity: This specific pairing is crucial because it ensures the correct replication of DNA.
So, the hydrogen bonds are not within the DNA strand itself, but rather between the bases of the two strands, holding the double helix together.
