Flexi Says: A nucleic acid is an organic compound, such as DNA or RNA, that is built of small units called nucleotides. Many nucleotides bind together to form a chain called a polynucleotide. The nucleic acid DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) consists of two polynucleotide chains. The nucleic acid RNA (ribonucleic acid) consists of just one polynucleotide chain. Each nucleotide consists of three smaller molecules: sugar, phosphate group, and a nitrogen base.