Question

The three chemically distinct components in a nucleotide are

• A. a heterocyclic compound, a disaccharide and a phosphate group
• B. a heterocyclic compound, a disaccharide and a hydroxyl group
• C. a heterocyclic compound, a monosaccharide and a phosphate group
• D. a heterocyclic compound, a monosaccharide and a hydroxyl group

Answer 1

The correct option is C a heterocyclic compound, a monosaccharide and a phosphate group

The three chemically distinct components in a nucleotide are -
a heterocyclic compound, which is a nitrogenous base,
a monosaccharide, which is a pentose sugar, and
a phosphate group or phosphoric acid.

The heterocyclic compounds in a nucleotide are the nitrogenous bases named adenine, guanine, uracil, cytosine and thymine.
The pentose sugar is a five carbon monosaccharide. It may be a ribose sugar (in case of RNA) or a deoxyribose sugar (in case of DNA).