Nucleic acids include RNA and DNA. The monomers of these molecules are ____.

a
monosaccharides
b
nucleotides
c
amino acids
d
fatty acids

b. nucleotides

b. nucleotides

The correct answer is b) nucleotides.

To arrive at this answer, we first need to understand the concept of monomers. Monomers are small molecules that combine to form larger molecules called polymers. In the case of nucleic acids, the polymers are RNA and DNA, and the monomers are nucleotides.

Nucleotides are composed of three main components: a nitrogenous base, a sugar molecule, and a phosphate group. The nitrogenous base can be adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T) in DNA, or uracil (U) in RNA. The sugar molecule is either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA. The phosphate group is a molecule made up of phosphorus and oxygen atoms.

So, when we talk about the monomers of nucleic acids, we are referring to nucleotides. These nucleotides link together through covalent bonds to form the long chains of RNA and DNA.