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Can an answer be calculated when given a mole fraction without a total mole concentration?

If I am given a mole fraction of 0.54 for A and 0.23 for G for one strand of a double helix and asked to find the composition on the same strand for T, C and T+C and then the composition for all base pairs on the other strand can I do that without knowing the complete mole concentration? Do I assume that the total mole concentration is 77? HELP!

It doesn’t matter what the total mole is. If the mole fraction for A is 0.54, that means the strand is 54% A. It is 23% G. T+C is 100 - (54+23). 23% (or 0.23). For the other strand, since A pairs with T, it will be 54% T. 23% C. 23% A+G.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 11:47 am and is filed under fraction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Can an answer be calculated when given a mole fraction without a total mole concentration?”

  1. Hden Says:
    November 20th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    It doesn’t matter what the total mole is. If the mole fraction for A is 0.54, that means the strand is 54% A. It is 23% G. T+C is 100 - (54+23). 23% (or 0.23). For the other strand, since A pairs with T, it will be 54% T. 23% C. 23% A+G.
    References :

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