Question

14.11 The Organic Chemistry of Biomolecules: Aromaticity and DNA 14.48 A strand of nucleic acid is defined by its sequence of nucleotides: A, C, T, and G. How many different sequences are possible for a nucleic acid that is 200 nucleotides long? How does that number compare to the estimated number of atoms in the universe, which is approximately 1080? CHAPTER 14 Orbital Interactions 2 720

Answer 1

The number of different sequences that are possible for a nucleic acid that is 200 nucleotides long = 200*4! (! = factorial)

Here, 4! = 4*3*2*1 = 24

Therefore, 200*4! = 200*24 = 4800

This (4800) is very less when compared to the estimated no. of atoms in the universe (10⁸⁰)