2. The percentage composition of a nucleic acid molecule found in bacterial cells is 32.3% adenine, 30.7% thymine, 19.1% cytosine and 17.9% guanine. The molecule is most likely to be:

Question

2. The percentage composition of a nucleic acid molecule found in bacterial cells is 32.3% adenine, 30.7% thymine, 19.1% cytosine and 17.9% guanine. The molecule is most likely to be:

a. Double-stranded DNA
b. Mitochondrial DNA
c. Messenger RNA
d. Double-stranded RNA
e. Single-stranded DNA

Answer 1

a. Double-stranded DNA

This is because the percentages of adenine and thymine are roughly equal, as are the percentages of cytosine and guanine. In double-stranded DNA, adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine through hydrogen bonding, leading to roughly equal amounts of adenine and thymine, as well as cytosine and guanine.