gel electrophoresis Questions And Answers Already Graded A+

What purpose does the buffer serve in gel electrophoresis? - ️️It maintains pH (at 7 which is neutral) and conducts electricity which allows the DNA fragments to migrate through the agarose gel What does "phoresis" mean? - ️️To transmit (move location, migrate) What three gel ingredients are required for gel electrophoresis? - ️️Agarose, buffer, and distilled H2O What is agarose? - ️️A sugar found in seaweed What is a characteristic of agarose? - ️️It is gelatin-like What purpose does agarose serve in gel electrophoresis? - ️️It is the matrix (obstacle course) for DNA fragments (it separates them by size) What is the buffer? - ️️A salt solution What is the purpose of gel electrophoresis? - ️️To separate DNA fragments based on their size using electricity What purpose does the distilled H2O serve in gel electrophoresis? - ️️It is the solvent Why does the H2O need to be distilled? - ️️It contains no chlorine or other contaminants that could damage DNA How is the agarose power measured? - ️️On an electronic balance, after zeroing out the weighing tray How is the distilled H2O measured? - ️️In a graduated cylinder (measured to the meniscus) What equipment is required for gel electrophoresis? - ️️Casting tray (baby gates, combs), chambers, lids, power sources What is the process of gel electrophoresis? - ️️The DNA is loaded into wells formed by combs in the agarose gel, buffer is added, then an electric current is applied and the DNA migrates to the bottomWhy does DNA migrate? - ️️The phosphate groups on DNA have a negative charge and migrate towards the positive electrode (red) because opposites attract What is the purpose of a micropipet? - ️️Measures precise amounts of DNA in microliters How much of a milliliter is a microliter? - ️️A microliter is 1/1000 of a milliliter How do you avoid contamination with a micropipet? - ️️For every sample, use a new tip What is the purpose of the tracking dye? - ️️When the dye reaches the bottom of the gel, we know to turn off the electricity so the DNA doesn't run off of the gel