Question

Dna has unique properties that allow it to accurately retain genetic information, even after multiple rounds of replication. one aspect of dna that allows it to accurately store genetic information is the base pairing from chargaff\'s first rule of the four nucleotide bases. if the a content of a dna molecule is 16%, what are the percentages of the remaining bases?

Answer 1

There are four different bases that make the DNA molecule:
Adenine, Cytosine, Guanine, and Thymine.
Due to chemical properties of the bases, there are two pairs of bases that are complementary, Adenine and Thymine and Guanine and Cytosine.
So, if we have 16% of Adenine, there must be the same amount of Thymine, since they only appear in a pair.
16% of Adenine + 16% of Thymine - 32 %
the rest of the abundance of the bases can be calculated by subtracting the 32% out of the 100%: 100-32 = 68
So, Guanine and Cytosine make up 68% of the bases, and a half of that number is the amount each of the bases has in the total amount. 68/2= 34
16% Adenine -  16% Thymine
34% Guanine - 34% Cytosine