About how many rounds of PCR are required to produce a million DNA molecules from a single molecule, assuming that the PCR works perfectly?
A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 100
E) 1,000

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

PCR amplifies DNA exponentially, doubling the amount of DNA with each cycle. To calculate the number of cycles needed to reach at least a million copies from one, use the formula 2^n = 1,000,000, where n is the number of cycles. Solving for n gives n ≈ 20.

About How Many Rounds of PCR Are Required to Produce