If 30% of the bases in a particular DNA molecule are guanine (G), calculate the percentage of the bases would be thymine (T). Explain your reasoning.
Question
If 30% of the bases in a particular DNA molecule are guanine (G), calculate the percentage of the bases would be thymine (T).
Explain your reasoning.
Solution
In a DNA molecule, the bases pair up in a specific way: adenine (A) pairs with thymine (T), and cytosine (C) pairs with guanine (G). This is known as the base pairing rule or Chargaff's rule.
Given that 30% of the bases are guanine (G), it means that 30% of the bases must also be cytosine (C) because G pairs with C.
So, we have 60% of the DNA molecule accounted for (30% G and 30% C).
The remaining 40% must be made up of adenine (A) and thymine (T), which pair together.
Since A pairs with T, they must be present in equal amounts. Therefore, 20% of the bases would be adenine (A) and 20% of the bases would be thymine (T).
So, if 30% of the bases in a particular DNA molecule are guanine (G), 20% of the bases would be thymine (T).
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