Final answer:
The building blocks of individual DNA strands are called nucleotides, which consist of a deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, forming the structure that encodes genetic information.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individual strands of DNA are composed of building blocks called nucleotides. These nucleotides are connected in a chain to form the DNA molecule, which is the genetic material in cells
A nucleotide comprises three components: a five-carbon sugar known as deoxyribose, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. There are four types of nitrogenous bases in DNA nucleotides: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The sequence of these bases along the DNA strand is what encodes genetic information. During DNA synthesis, nucleotides are joined by polymerization reactions, establishing a sugar-phosphate backbone with nitrogenous bases projecting from the side. This structure eventually forms the iconic double helix shape of the DNA molecule.