Final answer:
A duplet code, which is a sequence of two nucleotides, can produce 16 base sequence combinations. This is calculated by raising the number of nucleotides (4) to the power of the number of places in the sequence (2). The 16 combinations of a duplet code, however, are not sufficient to code for the 20 common amino acids in proteins.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer your question on how many base sequence combinations a duplet code would produce, we'll need to understand the concept of codons in genetic coding. A single base can form four possible combinations because there are four possible nucleotides (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine). When we talk about duplets, we mean a sequence of two nucleotides.
So, in a duplet code, you would calculate the number of combinations by raising the number of nucleotides (4) to the power of the number of places in the sequence (2). Thus 4^2 equals 16. So, option B - 16 is the correct answer.
Interestingly, a code made up of duplets is not adequate to code for the 20 common amino acids found in proteins. Only when we get to triplet codes, also known as codons, do we have the necessary 64 different combinations (4^3) to cover all 20 amino acids, and more.
Learn more about Duplet Codon Combinations