Final answer:
An average human chromosome contains approximately 130 million base pairs, making option b (1 million base pairs) the closest answer choice. The entire human genome, consisting of 23 pairs of chromosomes, contains about 3 billion base pairs as sequenced by the Human Genome Project.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question seeks to know how many base pairs there are in an average human chromosome. Considering the human genome consists of about 3 billion base pairs which are spread across 23 pairs of chromosomes, we can calculate an approximate amount of base pairs per chromosome by dividing 3 billion by 23. The result would not exactly give us the number of base pairs per chromosome, since this number can vary, but it provides a rough average.
The correct answer is b. 1 million base pairs. While a single human chromosome does not contain exactly this number, it is the closest option to the rough average when considering that the entire human haploid genome, which is one set of chromosomes, contains about 3 billion base pairs and each cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes. This results in an approximate average of slightly over 130 million base pairs per chromosome.
It is also important to note that the Human Genome Project was able to sequence all 3 billion base pairs by 2003, further underscoring the scale of the human genome.