How many nucleotides are required for a DNA sequence coding for a protein that is 60 amino acids long?

• A. 60
• B. 120
• C. 180
• D. 240

Answer: (C)

A protein is composed of amino acids, which are encoded by codons in the DNA sequence. Each codon consists of three nucleotides. Therefore, to determine the number of nucleotides required to code for a protein consisting of 60 amino acids, you would multiply the number of amino acids by the number of nucleotides per codon.

In this case, since each amino acid is represented by a sequence of three nucleotides, the calculation is straightforward:

60 amino acids x 3 nucleotides per amino acid = 180 nucleotides.

This means that a DNA sequence coding for a protein that is 60 amino acids long requires 180 nucleotides. This calculation demonstrates the relationship between the length of a protein and the corresponding length of the DNA sequence that encodes it.