Final answer:
To replicate a 1.2 million base pair genome twice in a prokaryote with a replication rate of 900 nucleotides per second, it would take 44.44 minutes. This was calculated by multiplying the total number of base pairs by 2 to get the total number of nucleotides needed and then dividing that by the rate of replication.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the time required for the replication of a prokaryote's genome, we must understand that replication involves adding nucleotides to the DNA strand at a certain rate. Given that the replication rate of this prokaryote is 900 nucleotides per second and the entire genome is 1.2 million base pairs, we can do the following calculation:
Total number of nucleotides to replicate = 1.2 million base pairs x 2 (for both copies) = 2.4 million nucleotides.
Now, to find the time taken, we can divide the total nucleotides by the rate of replication:
Time (seconds) = 2.4 million nucleotides / 900 nucleotides per second.
Time (seconds) = 2666.67 seconds.
To convert seconds into minutes, we divide by 60:
Time (minutes) = 2666.67 seconds / 60 seconds per minute.
Time (minutes) = 44.44 minutes.
Hence, it would take 44.44 minutes to make two copies of a 1.2 million base pair genome at the given rate of replication in a prokaryotic cell.