Final answer:
The parts of a nucleotide are correctly listed as 5-carbon sugar, nitrogenous base, and phosphate group. Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA and do not include enzymes like helicase.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the student's question 'Which of the following correctly lists the parts of a nucleotide?' is option (c) 5-carbon sugar, nitrogenous base, and phosphate group. A nucleotide is composed of three main components: a phosphate group, a nitrogenous base, and a 5-carbon sugar (pentose), which is deoxyribose in DNA and ribose in RNA. Enzymes, such as helicase, are not part of a nucleotide structure; they are proteins involved in the process of DNA replication and repair but are not components of the nucleotide itself. Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids like DNA and RNA, where they form long chains via bonds between the phosphate group of one nucleotide and the 3' hydroxyl group of the sugar in another nucleotide. The nitrogenous bases, categorized as purines (adenine and guanine) with a double ring structure, and pyrimidines (cytosine, thymine, and uracil) with a single ring, pair specifically to encode genetic information.