<P> Nucleic acids are the biopolymers , or small biomolecules , essential to all known forms of life . The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA . They are composed of nucleotides , which are the monomers made of three components : a 5 - carbon sugar , a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base . If the sugar is a compound ribose , the polymer is RNA ( ribonucleic acid ) ; if the sugar is derived from ribose as deoxyribose , the polymer is DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid ) . </P>
<P> Nucleic acids are the biopolymers , or small biomolecules , essential to all known forms of life . The term nucleic acid is the overall name for DNA and RNA . They are composed of nucleotides , which are the monomers made of three components : a 5 - carbon sugar , a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base . If the sugar is a compound ribose , the polymer is RNA ( ribonucleic acid ) ; if the sugar is derived from ribose as deoxyribose , the polymer is DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid ) . </P>
a monomer of nucleic acids is called what
a monomer of nucleic acids is called what
nucleotides
nucleotides