What is the monomer for nucleic acids?

Nucleic acids, which include DNA and RNA, are composed of monomers known as nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three components: a phosphate group, a five-carbon sugar (ribose in RNA and deoxyribose in DNA), and a nitrogenous base (which can be adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine, or uracil). These nucleotides link together through phosphate groups and sugar molecules, forming the backbone of the nucleic acid strands, while the nitrogenous bases extend from this backbone and participate in base pairing, facilitating the encoding of genetic information.

In contrast, the other options refer to different classes of biological molecules. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, simple sugars are the monomers for carbohydrates, and fatty acids are components of lipids. Understanding the distinct roles of these monomers is essential for grasping the structural and functional diversity of macromolecules in biological systems.