17. replication, transcription, and translation

a.
all refer to the synthesis of macromolecules.

b.
refer to rna synthesis, dna synthesis, and protein synthesis, respectively.

c.
require the synthesis of polysaccharides.

d.
would be expected to be exergonic reactions.

e.
all use nucleotides as building blocks.

The answer is A. all refer to the synthesis of macromolecules.

Let's go through all choices:
A. all refer to the synthesis of macromolecules. - CORRECT - DNA, RNA, and proteins are macromolecules. Replication refers to DNA synthesis, transcription refers to the RNA synthesis, and translation refers to protein synthesis.
B. - INCORRECT - because of the word respectively. It would mean that replication refers to RNA synthesis and transcription refers to the DNA synthesis which is not true.
C. - INCORRECT - none of those molecules requires polysaccharides synthesis.
D. - INCORRECT - exergonic reactions involve releasing of energy while mentioned processes use energy.
E. - INCORRECT - nucleotides are building blocks only for DNA and RNA. Building blocks of proteins are amino acids.