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A gene is 13,066 nucleotides long. This is:

a) The number of amino acids it codes for
b) The total number of nucleotides in a chromosome
c) The length of the coding region only
d) The size of the entire DNA molecule

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The gene that is 13,066 nucleotides long codes for 4,355 amino acids, with each amino acid being represented by a triplet of nucleotides known as a codon.Option A is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

A gene that is 13,066 nucleotides long corresponds to the length of its coding region, assuming that the entire length of the gene is dedicated to encoding a protein. The genetic code is based on a triplet code, where each amino acid is represented by a set of three nucleotides called a codon. Therefore, to determine the number of amino acids coded by a gene that is 13,066 nucleotides in length, we divide by three (since there are three nucleotides per amino acid).

13,066 nucleotides ÷ 3 nucleotides per amino acid = 4,355 amino acids.

This number represents the number of amino acids that the gene codes for, not the total number of nucleotides in a chromosome, the size of the entire DNA molecule, or any other specification. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is:

(a) The number of amino acids it codes for

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