Final answer:
The correct order from smallest to largest of the genetic components is nitrogen base, nucleotide, codon, gene, and chromosome. Nitrogen bases make up nucleotides, which form codons, and a sequence of codons make up a gene, which is located on a chromosome.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the student's question, we need to put the genetic components in order from the smallest to the largest. Working from the smaller to the larger structure, we have: nitrogen base, nucleotide, codon, gene, and chromosome. An individual nitrogen base is the smallest unit among the options provided.
Nitrogen bases bond together to form nucleotides, which in turn line up to create strands of DNA and RNA. A codon is a specific sequence of three nucleotides in mRNA that specifies an amino acid or a start/stop signal during protein synthesis. A gene is comprised of a longer strand of DNA that contains the information to construct a specific protein. Finally, a chromosome is a structure that contains a very long single molecule of DNA, which is coiled and organized with proteins called histones to fit within the cell nucleus and includes many genes.