What are the components of a nucleotide?

What are the components of a nucleotide?

• A. A nitrogenous base, a sugar, and a phosphate.
• B. A protein, a lipid, and a carbohydrate.
• C. Only a sugar.
• D. A fatty acid chain and a glycerol.

Answer: (A)

Nucleotides are the basic units of DNA and RNA, and they are composed of three parts: a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group. The sugar (deoxyribose in DNA or ribose in RNA) forms the backbone and holds the base in place, while the phosphate group links nucleotides together through phosphodiester bonds to create the sugar-phosphate backbone of the nucleic acid. The nitrogenous base provides the informational "letters" that pair with a complementary base on the opposite strand (adenine with thymine or uracil in RNA, cytosine with guanine), encoding genetic information. The other options describe components of other biomolecules—proteins, lipids, or carbohydrates—and do not reflect the trio of parts that make up a nucleotide. A nucleotide must include a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base to function in genetic material.

Nucleotides are the basic units of DNA and RNA, and they are composed of three parts: a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group. The sugar (deoxyribose in DNA or ribose in RNA) forms the backbone and holds the base in place, while the phosphate group links nucleotides together through phosphodiester bonds to create the sugar-phosphate backbone of the nucleic acid. The nitrogenous base provides the informational "letters" that pair with a complementary base on the opposite strand (adenine with thymine or uracil in RNA, cytosine with guanine), encoding genetic information. The other options describe components of other biomolecules—proteins, lipids, or carbohydrates—and do not reflect the trio of parts that make up a nucleotide. A nucleotide must include a sugar, a phosphate, and a nitrogenous base to function in genetic material.