Final answer:
Nucleotides are made up of a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and phosphate groups, which all have relevant pKa values. The phosphate groups generally have pKa values around 0 to 2 and 6 to 7, while the nitrogenous bases have pKa values that vary depending on the specific atom's location within the base.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the relevant pKa values of the components of a nucleotide. A nucleotide is comprised of three main components: a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and one or more phosphate groups. The pentose sugar can be either deoxyribose or ribose and is linked to a nitrogen-containing base such as adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, or uracil. The acidic protons in a nucleotide that dissociate and have measurable pKa values are typically found on the phosphate groups and the nitrogenous bases. For nucleotides, the phosphate group has a pKa value around 0 to 2 in the first dissociation, and around 6 to 7 in the second. The pKa values for the nitrogenous bases vary, with adenine's N1 having a pKa of around 4.2, cytosine's N3 around 4.5, guanine's N7 around 2.2, thymine's N3 around 9.8, and uracil's N3 around 9.2. It's important to note that these pKa values depend on the environment and may differ slightly in physiological conditions.