Answer the question on the basis of the passage given below:

Proteins are the polymers of about twenty different \(\alpha \)-amino acids which are linked by peptide bonds. Proteins perform various structural and dynamic functions in the organisms. Proteins which contains only \(\alpha \)- amino acids are called simple proteins. The secondary or tertiary structures of proteins gets disturbed on change of pH or temperature and they are not able to perform their functions. This is called denaturation of proteins. Enzymes are biocatalysts which speed up the reactions in bio systems. Vitamins are accessory food factors required in the diet. They are classified as fat soluble (A, D, E and K) and water soluble (B and C). Deficiency of vitamins leads to many diseases. Nucleic acids are the polymers of nucleotides which in turn consists of a base, a pentose sugar and phosphate moiety. Nucleic acids are responsible for the transfer of characters from parents to offspring’s. There are two types of nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. DNA contains a five carbon sugar molecule called 2-deoxyribose whereas RNA contains ribose.

RNA and DNA differ due to presence/absence of oxygen at which carbon of sugar moiety?

2^nd

 The correct answer is (3) 2^nd.

RNA and DNA differ due to the presence of an oxygen atom at the 2nd carbon of the sugar moiety in RNA and its absence in DNA.

The sugar moiety in RNA is ribose, while the sugar moiety in DNA is deoxyribose. Ribose has an oxygen atom at the 2nd carbon, while deoxyribose does not.

Here is a diagram of the difference between ribose and deoxyribose:

The presence or absence of the oxygen atom at the 2nd carbon of the sugar moiety has a significant impact on the structure and properties of RNA and DNA. For example, the oxygen atom in ribose makes RNA more flexible than DNA. This flexibility is important for RNA to carry out its many functions, such as protein synthesis and gene regulation.