Question

Nucleic acids are polymers of
(a) Nucleotides
(b) Nucleosides
(c) Amino acids
(d) Nitrogen bases

Answer 1

Hint: Nucleic acids are the macromolecules found in the cell. The nucleic acid is a polymer molecule that is made up of several monomeric subunits. These monomeric subunits contain three parts that help in bond formation and form the backbone of double-helix DNA. The nucleic acids in the cell are present in the form of DNA and RNA.

Complete answer:
Nucleic acids are macromolecules that are present as polymers called polynucleotides. As the name suggests, each polynucleotide is made up of monomers known as nucleotides. A nucleotide is composed of a purine or pyrimidine nitrogenous base joined by pentose sugar in the D configuration which is then linked with a phosphate group to form nucleotides. Nucleic acids are used in storing information and they transmit and help express hereditary information in the next generation.

Additional Information:

-The two types of nucleic acids, DNA, and RNA enable living organisms to reproduce their complex components from one generation to the next.
-DNA is the genetic material that the organism inherits from the parents.
-There is only one phosphate group attached to monomers in each nucleotide. The part of a nucleotide excluding the phosphate groups forms a nucleoside.
-There are two types of nitrogenous bases: pyrimidines and purines. A pyrimidine has one six-membered ring made up of carbon and nitrogen atoms. The two types of pyrimidine are cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).
-Purines are larger than the pyrimidine as they have a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring. The purines are adenine (A) and guanine (G).
-The sugar present in DNA is a deoxyribose sugar and the sugar in RNA ribose sugar. The deoxyribose lacks an oxygen atom on the second atom.
So, the correct answer is ‘Nucleotides.’

Note: Genes are known as the unit of inheritance. Watson and Crick suggested the double-helical structure of DNA. Erwin Chargaff did a quantitative analysis of DNA and gave the base equivalent rule stating that the molar concentration of adenine is equal to thymine and the concentration of guanine is equal to cytosine.