Question

An ordered series of events occurs each time the DNA polymerase adds a nucleotide to the growing DNA chain?

Answer 1

During elongation in DNA replication, DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to the growing DNA chain using the template strands. This process occurs in the 5' to 3' direction and results in the synthesis of a leading strand and lagging strand.

Step-by-step explanation:

Elongation is the stage of DNA replication where DNA polymerase adds nucleotides to the growing DNA chain. Each strand of DNA becomes a template for a new complementary strand, and DNA polymerase brings in the correct nucleotides to complement the template strand, building a new strand base by base.

This process continues until the new strand fully complements the template strand. DNA polymerase can only add nucleotides in the 5' to 3' direction, so one strand, known as the leading strand, is synthesized continuously, while the other strand, known as the lagging strand, is synthesized in short fragments called Okazaki fragments.