How many amino acids can be coded by a sequence of 15 nucleotides?

• A. 5
• B. 15
• C. 10
• D. 20

Answer: (A)

A sequence of nucleotides codes for amino acids through a specific process in which triplet codons (groups of three nucleotides) correspond to each amino acid. Since each amino acid is encoded by a set of three nucleotides, to determine how many amino acids can be coded by a sequence of 15 nucleotides, one can divide the total number of nucleotides by 3.

Calculating it out, 15 nucleotides divided by 3 gives 5. Thus, a sequence of 15 nucleotides is capable of coding for 5 amino acids. Understanding this principle is crucial in molecular biology, especially when studying protein synthesis and the genetic code, as it highlights the relationship between nucleotide sequences and the amino acid chains that they encode.