Major components:
* Carbon (C): Forms the backbone of the nucleic acid molecule.
* Hydrogen (H): Present in the sugar and phosphate groups.
* Oxygen (O): Found in the sugar and phosphate groups.
* Nitrogen (N): Part of the nitrogenous bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil).
* Phosphorus (P): Forms the phosphate groups that link the sugar molecules together.
Minor components:
* Sulfur (S): Present in some modified bases, such as dihydrouracil.
These atoms are arranged in specific molecules that make up the structure of nucleic acids:
* Sugar: A 5-carbon sugar, either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA).
* Phosphate group: A negatively charged group containing phosphorus and oxygen atoms.
* Nitrogenous base: A nitrogen-containing molecule that can be either purine (adenine or guanine) or pyrimidine (cytosine, thymine, or uracil).
The sequence of nitrogenous bases in a nucleic acid molecule determines the genetic information it carries.
