Final answer:
An amino acid is a specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA that codes for a specific sequence of amino acids. The genetic code, based on codons, determines the sequence of amino acids in a protein.
Step-by-step explanation:
An amino acid is a specific sequence of nucleotides in a strand of DNA that codes for a specific sequence of amino acids. Each amino acid is defined within the mRNA by a triplet of nucleotides called a codon.
The relationship between an mRNA codon and its corresponding amino acid is called the genetic code. The sequence of these triplet codons in the mRNA dictates the sequence of the amino acids in the protein.
The genetic code is based on the fact that each amino acid is coded for by a distinctive series of three nucleic acid bases called a codon.