What elements are found in dna?

DNA, or Deoxyribonucleic acid to give it its full name, is comprised of five elements: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus.

These elements, in various forms, make up the 'building blocks' of the DNA, known as nucleotides, come in six different groups: Deooxyribose, a type of sugar made of hydrogen and oxygen; a phosphate group, formed of three oxygen atoms to one of phosphorous; and the four nitrate groups, each with their own special name.

The Four Nitrate Groups of DNA

Adenine - comprised of hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen atoms (C₅H₅N₅)

Guanine - identical to Adenine, but with the addition of one oxygen atom (C₅H₅N₅O)

Thymine - the same elements as Guanine, but with a different atomic composition (C₅H₆N₂O₂)

Cytosine - the more unstable member of the nitrogen group (C₄H₅N₃O)

It takes millions of these nucleotides to 'build' a single molecule of DNA. The nitrate groups form the interior of the strand, with the sugar and phosphorous groups an exterior 'backbone' to the strands.

YouTube users, often science geeks, make it their mission to help people understand complicated scientific matters. And there's nothing so complex, and yet as simple, as what all living things are made of: