The Phosphate Group
Defined as a functional group characterized by a phosphorus atom bonded to four oxygen atoms. The role of the phosphate group is to creates a covalent bond with the sugar molecule of the adjacent nucleotide to form a long chain of the nucleotide monomers. The sugar-phosphate groups form the backbone in the single strand of DNA.
Deoxyribose Sugar
Refers to a 5 carbon sugar biological molecule. When a deoxyribose sugar and a phosphate group are fused together they create the backbone for a DNA strand. Deoxyribose sugars are only found in DNA while a sugar ribose is only found in RNA.