Final answer:
After 30 cycles of PCR, theoretically 134,217,728 copies of the initial DNA strand are produced, calculated using the formula 2⁰.
Step-by-step explanation:
After 30 cycles of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), the number of copies of the DNA sequence generated is calculated using the formula 2n, where n represents the number of cycles. If we start with one DNA molecule and assume perfect efficiency, after 30 cycles, the number of DNA copies would be 230.
However, since it's common to start with more than one copy, assuming the initial number of DNA molecules after the third cycle is 2, we calculate this as 2 × 230-3 = 227 which is approximately 134,217,728 copies of the target DNA.
Each cycle of PCR doubles the amount of DNA, leading to an exponential increase. So in theory, a PCR with 30 cycles has the potential to produce millions to billions of copies, making PCR an incredibly powerful tool in molecular biology for DNA amplification.