3. Molecular & Cellular Techniques

Nucleic Acid Methods — Quiz

Test your understanding of nucleic acid methods with 5 practice questions.

Practice Questions

Question 1

Which of the following best describes the primary role of a chaotropic salt, such as guanidinium thiocyanate, in nucleic acid extraction protocols?

Question 2

A researcher performs RNA extraction and observes a smear rather than distinct 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA bands on an agarose gel. What does this observation primarily indicate?

Question 3

During the spectrophotometric assessment of nucleic acid purity, what does a high $A_{260}/A_{230}$ ratio (e.g., greater than 2.2) typically suggest?

Question 4

In gel electrophoresis, if the voltage applied across the gel is too low, what would be the primary effect on DNA fragment migration?

Question 5

A researcher needs to separate very small DNA fragments, approximately 20-100 base pairs (bp), with high resolution using agarose gel electrophoresis. Which adjustment to the gel concentration would be most appropriate?