Part A:descirbe how the general structure of a nucleic acid difference from the general structure of a carbohydrate.

Nucleic acids are made up of long chains of nucleotides, linked together by the phosphate group. On the other hand, carbohydrates are made up of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) with the general formula (CH2O)n.

Explanation:

Nucleic acids are macromolecules formed by linear polymers of nucleotides, linked by phosphate ester bonds, with no apparent periodicity. It is composed of the repetition of a type of nucleotides, each one composed of the following: A pentose (sugar) that can be deoxyribose or ribose. Nitrogenous Bases are those that contain genetic information. In the case of DNA, the bases are two Purines and two Pyrimidines. The purines are A (Adenine) and G (Guanine). The pyrimidines are T (Thymine) and C (Cytosine). As they are aromatic, both puric and pyrimidine bases are flat, which is important in the structure of nucleic acids and a phosphate group, derived from phosphoric acid. On the other hand, carbohydrates are compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in 6: 12: 6 ratios. During metabolism they are burned for energy, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). Carbohydrates can be divided into three groups: monosaccharides, eg glucose, fructose, galactose; disaccharides, eg, sucrose (table sugar), lactose, maltose; and polysaccharides, eg, starch, glycogen (animal starch), cellulose.