1. A nitrogenous base: This is a nitrogen-containing molecule that can be either a purine (adenine or guanine) or a pyrimidine (cytosine, thymine, or uracil).

2. A five-carbon sugar: This is a pentose sugar, either ribose (in RNA) or deoxyribose (in DNA).

3. A phosphate group: This is a molecule composed of phosphorus and oxygen atoms.

These three components are linked together in a specific way:

* The nitrogenous base is attached to the 1' carbon of the sugar.

* The phosphate group is attached to the 5' carbon of the sugar.

Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids, like DNA and RNA. They play crucial roles in various cellular processes, including energy storage (ATP), coenzyme functions (NADH, FADH2), and genetic information transfer.