What is the term for a sequence of 3 DNA bases?

The term for a sequence of three DNA bases is known as a codon. Codons are fundamental to the process of protein synthesis, where a specific sequence of three nucleotides encodes for a particular amino acid in a protein. In this context, the four different nucleotides in DNA—adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine—combine in groups of three to specify which amino acids will be linked together to form a protein.

The other options refer to different concepts: amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, nucleotides are the individual units that make up DNA and RNA, and genes are larger sequences of DNA that code for proteins or functional RNA. Each of these terms relates to molecular biology but serves distinct roles, with codons playing a crucial part in decoding the genetic information stored within DNA.