A nucleotide is made up of three components:

* A nitrogenous base: Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), or Thymine (T) in DNA, or Uracil (U) in RNA.

* A five-carbon sugar: Deoxyribose in DNA or Ribose in RNA.

* A phosphate group: This provides the molecule with its acidic properties.