Answer
ATP is similar to DNA and RNA nucleotides in the sense that it possesses a ribose sugar, a nitrogen base (adenine), and a phosphate group (ATP possesses three phosphate groups).
Work Step by Step
1. Nucleotides are defined by three traits: they possess a ribose sugar; they possess one of five nitrogen bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine, and uracil); and they possess one or more phosphate groups.
2. RNA, or ribonucleic acid, is a single-stranded nucleic acid that has nucleotides which possess a ribose sugar, any of the nitrogen bases excluding thymine, and a phosphate which links to the sugar of another nucleotide via covalent bonding.
3. DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a double-stranded nucleic acid that has nucleotides which possess a ribose sugar, any of the nitrogen bases excluding thymine, and a phosphate which links to the sugar of another nucelotide via covalent bonding.
4. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is a nucleotide which possess a ribose sugar, only the nitrogen base adenine, and three phosphate groups. When one of these phosphate groups is subject to hydrolyzation, a large amount of chemical energy is released to fuel a number of cellular activities.
5. So while ATP functions differently to the nucleic acids, it does bear a great deal of structural similarity to both RNA and DNA (i.e. ribose sugar, nitrogen base, phosphate group).
