Final answer:
Carbons 1'- 4' are connected to an oxygen atom to form a five-sided ring in the structure of sugars like ribose and deoxyribose. The ring is a furanose, important in nucleic acid structure. 5'C is joined to 4'C, forming a closed ring essential for stability and function.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carbons 1'- 4' are joined to an oxygen atom to form a five-sided ring, while the 5'C is joined to the 4'C. This describes the structure of ribose or deoxyribose sugars found in nucleotides, which are the building blocks of DNA and RNA. In ribose, all carbons are connected to hydroxyl (-OH) groups except for 2', which differentiates it from deoxyribose which has a hydrogen atom instead at this position.
The five-membered ring formed by four carbon atoms and one oxygen atom is known as a furanose ring, a type of cyclic ether. This ring structure is crucial for the stability and function of nucleic acids. Also, the carbonyl group mentioned in the question, which is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom, can typically be found on the second carbon (2'C) in the mentioned structure.