What is the key difference between the sugars ribose and deoxyribose? Ribose is neutrally charged. Deoxyribose has one less oxygen atom than ribose has. Ribose does not bind to nitrogenous bases. Deoxyribose has an OH group at carbon #2 while in ribose, a hydrogen is attached to carbon #2 of the pentose.

## Step 1The key difference between ribose and deoxyribose sugars is in their molecular structure, specifically in the number of oxygen atoms they contain.## Step 2Ribose is a pentose sugar with the formula , while deoxyribose has the formula .## Step 3Deoxyribose lacks one oxygen atom that is present in ribose. In ribose, each of the five carbons is attached to an oxygen atom.## Step 4In deoxyribose, the second carbon atom (\#2) is attached to a hydrogen atom instead of an oxygen atom, making it one oxygen atom short compared to ribose.