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Multiple Choice
Thymine (T) makes up 28% of the nucleotides in a sample of DNA from an organism. Approximately what percentage of the nucleotides in this sample will be guanine (G)?
A
14%
B
56%
C
22%
D
72%
Verified step by step guidance
1
Understand that DNA is composed of four types of nucleotides: adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). According to Chargaff's rules, in DNA, the amount of adenine is equal to thymine, and the amount of cytosine is equal to guanine.
Given that thymine (T) makes up 28% of the nucleotides, according to Chargaff's rules, adenine (A) will also make up 28% of the nucleotides.
Calculate the combined percentage of adenine and thymine in the DNA sample: 28% (A) + 28% (T) = 56%.
Since the total percentage of all nucleotides must equal 100%, subtract the combined percentage of adenine and thymine from 100% to find the combined percentage of cytosine and guanine: 100% - 56% = 44%.
Divide the remaining percentage equally between cytosine (C) and guanine (G) because they are present in equal amounts: 44% / 2 = 22% for guanine (G).