In the pieces of double-stranded DNA shown below, the letters A, C, G and T represent the bases adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine respectively - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 10 - 2008 - Paper 1
Question 10
In the pieces of double-stranded DNA shown below, the letters A, C, G and T represent the bases adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine respectively. Each vertical li... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:In the pieces of double-stranded DNA shown below, the letters A, C, G and T represent the bases adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine respectively - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 10 - 2008 - Paper 1
Step 1
piece most readily separated by heating
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Answer
The piece that is most readily separated by heating is associated with the number of hydrogen bonds between the base pairs. A-T pairs have 2 hydrogen bonds, while C-G pairs have 3. Therefore, Piece 1 has 2 A-T pairs, making it more susceptible to separation by heat.
Step 2
strand of highest molecular mass
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Answer
The strand of highest molecular mass can be determined by counting the number of bases. Piece 2 contains 5 bases (A, T, A, C, G), while Piece 1 contains 4 bases (G, G, C, T). Consequently, the strand with the highest molecular mass is strand Y from Piece 2.