What are the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA?

• A. Fatty acids
• B. Monosaccharides
• C. Nucleotides
• D. Amino acids

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Begin by understanding that DNA and RNA are types of nucleic acids, which are essential macromolecules in biological systems.
2. Recognize that the basic building blocks of nucleic acids are nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of three components: a phosphate group, a sugar molecule, and a nitrogenous base.
3. Identify the sugar molecule in DNA as deoxyribose and in RNA as ribose. This difference in sugar molecules is one of the key distinctions between DNA and RNA.
4. Understand that the nitrogenous bases in DNA are adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G), while in RNA, uracil (U) replaces thymine.
5. Conclude that nucleotides are the correct answer as they form the backbone of DNA and RNA, linking together to create the long chains that make up these nucleic acids.