Question

Chemically, RNA (i) reactive and (ii) stable as compared to DNA.
A. (i)equally, (ii)equally
B. (i)less, (ii)more
C. (i)more, (ii)less
D. (i)more, (ii) equally

Answer 1

RNA stands for Ribonucleic acid and DNA stands for deoxyribo nucleic acid. Both the DNA and RNA are the nucleic acids and genetic material. DNA found as a genetic material in most animals including humans and RNA found as genetic material in some viruses.

Complete Answer:
- DNA and RNA are the most important molecules in genetics.
- These molecules are responsible for storing the genetic information safely.
- Both of these molecules contain Sugar, Nitrogenous bases, and phosphate but there are some differences between the two molecules.

These differences make it easier to differentiate between them.
Differences between DNA and RNA:
- The RNA contains the Ribose sugar whereas the DNA composed the deoxyribose sugar.
- RNA has Uracil as a nitrogenous base while DNA has Thymine as a nitrogenous base.

Comparison of reactivity and stability of RNA and DNA:
- DNA is more stable but less reactive than that of the RNA. Due to the following reasons-
RNA is single stranded while DNA is double stranded.
- RNA contains the deoxyribose sugar while DNA contains the deoxyribose sugar which means that DNA lacks one Oxygen containing hydroxyl group. So, the presence of an extra –OH group makes RNA more reactive and less stable.
- The nitrogenous bases of both DNA and RNA are hydrophobic (water repelling) while the backbone of both DNA and RNA is hydrophilic (water loving). As RNA is single stranded its nitrogenous bases are not away from the water, that makes it more reactive than that of DNA.
So, it is clear from the above discussion that the RNA is more reactive and less stable as compared to DNA.

Hence, option C is the right answer.

Note: RNA converts the genetic information contained within DNA and them to make proteins with the help of ribosomes. RNA are of three types-
(I) mRNA (messenger RNA)
(II) tRNA (transfer RNA)
(III) rRNA ( ribosomal RNA)