Final answer:
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins performed their experiment to understand the structure of DNA. Franklin's X-ray diffraction images of DNA provided crucial information that allowed Watson and Crick to confirm that DNA forms a double helix.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins performed their experiment to understand the structure of DNA. Their hypothesis was that DNA consists of two forms: a long, thin fiber formed when wet (type "B") and a short, wide fiber formed when dried (type "A"). Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction images of DNA provided crucial information that allowed Francis Crick and James Watson to confirm that DNA forms a double helix.