Final answer:
The monomers that build the DNA polymer are called nucleotides, each consisting of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group. These nucleotides form the DNA's structure, encoding genetic information and contributing to inheritance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Monomers of DNA
DNA is a nucleic acid polymer comprised of monomers known as nucleotides. Each nucleotide that builds this polymer consists of three components: a nitrogenous base, a pentose (five-carbon) sugar, and a phosphate group. Together, these monomers combine to form the polynucleotide chains of DNA, which is the fundamental material responsible for heredity.
There are four different nitrogenous bases in DNA nucleotides: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). These bases pair specifically (A with T and C with G) to form the double helix structure characteristic of DNA. The sequence of these bases encodes genetic information, which is essential for protein synthesis and is passed from parents to offspring.
RNA, although similar in structure to DNA, consists of a single polynucleotide chain and uses the sugar ribose instead of deoxyribose. It also has uracil (U) instead of thymine. RNA plays a critical role in the synthesis of proteins using the genetic code carried by DNA.