1. What is DNA?

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid.

2. What are the 4 bases?

Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine. (A, T, C, & G)

3. What 2 pieces of information did the scientists need to resolve the elusive structure of DNA?

One was that the phosphate backbone was on the outside with bases on the inside; another that the molecule was a double helix. It was also important to figure out that the two strands run in opposite directions and that the molecule had a specific base pairing.

4. What are the specific bases?

Adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine

5. How does the pairing rule effect the shape and structure of DNA?

the amount of adenine always equals the amount of thymine. The same goes for the pair guanine and cytosine. With this information at hand Watson was able to figure out the pairing rules. If the bases were paired in this way, each rung of the twisted ladder in the helix would be of equal length, and the sugar-phosphate backbone would be smooth.

6. What does the DNA do during cell division?

During cell division, the DNA molecule is able to "unzip" into two pieces. One new molecule is formed from each half-ladder, and due to the specific pairing this gives rise to two identical daughter copies from each parent molecule.

7. How many base pairs does E.Coli have? How long does it take to replicate? How is the DNA packaged in the cell?

E. coli bacteria is made up of 4 million base pairs. The single-cell bacterium can copy its genome and divide into two cells once every 20 minutes. In E. coli the single circular DNA molecule is curled up in a condensed fashion.

8. How many base pairs does the Human DNA have? How long does it take to replicate? How is the DNA packaged?

The DNA of humans is composed of approximately 3 billion base pairs, making up a total of almost a meter-long stretch of DNA in every cell in our bodies. The human DNA is packaged in 23 distinct chromosome pairs. Here the genetic material is tightly rolled up on structures called histones.