Nucleic Acid.

You will be introduced to nucleic acids. The details of nucleic acids will be covered later in the school year under the units on genetics.

The monomers of nucleic acids are nucleotides.  Each nucleotide is made of a phosphate group, linked to a 5-carbon sugar. Each nucleic acid chain has a backbone in which phosphate groups alternate with sugar molecules to form a covalently linked polymer. Attached to the sugar ring of each nucleotide by loss of a molecule is one of four nitrogenous bases: A, T, C and G.

If the proteins are the building materials of life, then nucleic acids are the blueprint.  The DNA has the instructions and directs the RNA in functioning of cells and the synthesis of proteins