What would be the percentage of thymine in a double stranded DNA samp...
Given:
- Total bases in the DNA sample = 100%
- Percentage of cytosine (C) = 20%
To find:
- Percentage of thymine (T) in the DNA sample
Explanation:
DNA is a double-stranded molecule, where the two strands are complementary to each other. This means that the amount of adenine (A) on one strand will be the same as the amount of thymine (T) on the other strand, and the amount of guanine (G) on one strand will be the same as the amount of cytosine (C) on the other strand.
Key points:
- In DNA, the base pairs are always A-T and G-C.
- The total percentage of bases in DNA should add up to 100%.
- The percentage of A is the same as the percentage of T, and the percentage of G is the same as the percentage of C.
Steps to calculate the percentage of thymine (T):
1. Since the percentage of cytosine (C) is given as 20%, the percentage of guanine (G) will also be 20%.
2. The total percentage of cytosine-guanine (C-G) base pairs is 40% (20% C + 20% G).
3. The remaining percentage of adenine-thymine (A-T) base pairs will be 60% (100% - 40%).
4. Since A-T base pairs have an equal percentage of A and T, the percentage of thymine (T) will also be 60%/2 = 30%.
Therefore, the percentage of thymine (T) in the DNA sample is 30%.
Answer:
Option c) 30%
What would be the percentage of thymine in a double stranded DNA samp...
Cytosine pairs with guanine and adenine pairs with thymine. If there is 20% cytosine, guanine will also be 20%. Hence, the remaining 60% of bases will be adenine (30%) and thymine (30%).