| S. No. | Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) | Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) |
| (i) | Found in chromosomes of the nucleus. | Found in the cytoplasm, in nucleolus and nucleoplasm and associated with chromosomes. |
| (ii) | They are double stranded structure; two strands coiled spirally in opposite direction. | They are single-stranded polynucleotide chains; strand in RNA is coiled on itself and may be united by hydrogen (H) bonds. |
| (iii) | The sugar is deoxyribose. | The sugar is ribose |
| (iv) | Four nitrogenous bases in it are : (i) Adenine, (ii) Guanine, (iii) Cytosine, (iv) thymine. | Four nitrogenous bases in it are : (i) Adenine, (ii) Guanine, (iii) Cytosine, (iv) Uracil. i.e., in RNA, thymine is replaced by uracil. |
| (v) | Purines and pyrimidines occur in equal proportion. | Not occur in equal proportion/ratio. |
| (vi) | DNA is the hereditary material. | It is not the hereditary material except in few viruses. |
| (vii) | Can replicate and makes its copy. | Cannot replicate; it is made from DNA. |
| (viii) | Controls structure, metabolism, differentiation and inheritance. | Helps in protein synthesis; function as a messenger and translates messages coded in DNA into protein. |
| (ix) | Very long molecule; with very high molecular weight. | Relatively short molecule with low molecular weight. |
| (x) | Genetic material in all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. | Genetic material only in some viruses. |
