Where is the nucleic acid located?

In eukaryotes, such as plants and animals, DNA is found in the nucleus, a specialized storage device associated with a membrane in the cell, or in some other organelles (for example, mitochondria and chloroplasts in plants). In prokaryotes, such as bacteria, DNA is not enclosed in a membrane envelope, although it is located in a specialized area on the cell called the nucleoid.
In eukaryotes, DNA is broken down into long, linear fragments called chromosomes, while in prokaryotes, such as bacteria, chromosomes are smaller and often circular (ring-shaped). The chromosome contains many thousands of genes, each of which gives instructions on how to make the specific product that the cell needs.