DNA sequencing of non-human organisms


Example 1

The genome of Mycoplasma pneumoniae contains 816394 DNA bases.

1) Write the number out. 816394
2) Place a decimal point between the first two non-zero parts of the number. 8.16394
3) Jump right towards the original decimal point counting how many spaces were moved, this number will be the power added to the 10. 8.1 6 3 9 4 = 5 = 105
4) Round to three significant figures and construct the number. 8.16 x 105

Task 1

The genome of Streptococcus pneumoniae contains 2160837 DNA bases.

5) Write the number out.
6) Place a decimal point between the first two non-zero parts of the number.

2.160837

7) Jump right towards the original decimal point counting how many spaces were moved, this number will be the power added to the 10.

2.160837 = 6 = 106

8) Round to three significant figures and construct the number.

2.16 x 106

Task 2

The number of bases in the genomes of some significant organisms are shown below. Represent the number of bases in standard form:

  1. The first bacterium sequenced Haemophilus influenzae has 1830137 bases
  2. 1.83 x 106

  3. The first eukaryote sequenced Saccharomyces cerevisiae has 12495682 bases.
  4. 1.25 x 107

  5. The first animal sequenced Caenorhabditis elegans has 100258171 bases.
  6. 1.00 x 108