Final answer:
The statement is false; hydrogen bonds between base pairs are weaker than the phosphodiester bonds in the sugar-phosphate backbone, allowing DNA to be both stable and flexible for replication and transcription.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the bonds between the base pairs (A, T, C, G) are strong compared to the sugar phosphate links is false. The bonds between complementary base pairs in DNA, such as adenine (A) with thymine (T) and cytosine (C) with guanine (G), are hydrogen bonds, which are relatively weak individual interactions. In contrast, the phosphodiester bonds that form the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA are stronger covalent bonds. This allows the DNA double helix to be flexible enough so that the base pairs can 'unzip' during processes like DNA replication and transcription, while the sugar-phosphate structure provides stability to the overall molecule.