Final answer:
RNA has a hydroxyl group at both the 2' and 3' positions of the ribose sugar, unlike DNA which has a hydroxyl group only at the 3' position and a hydrogen at the 2' position.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sugar backbone of ribonucleic acid (RNA) consists of ribose units, which distinguish it from DNA. Ribose is a pentose sugar with a key structural difference: it has a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to both the 2' and 3' carbon atoms. In contrast, deoxyribose, found in DNA, lacks the hydroxyl group at the 2' carbon, having instead a hydrogen atom there. Thus, RNA indeed has 2' OH and 3' OH groups, contributing to its single-stranded, less stable nature compared to DNA's double-stranded structure. Additionally, RNA nucleotides are connected by 5'-3' phosphodiester linkages, with the phosphate group forming a bond between the 3' hydroxyl group of one nucleotide and the 5' hydroxyl group of another.