Regarding DNA length & Quantity

[MrTIMarshall2512]

I am currently in the process of composing a highly psychophysical piece of text of which I do not yet know of what my end goal is upon completion. It is designed to question the world as we see it and furthermore open up the mind of the reader speaking of scientific research which shows that the colour we all call "Green" for instance, to some people actually see as "Blue" however because we've always been told from birth it is called as such, people don't question.

 

I am at a part of my work of which speaks about how complex our body is, speaking of human DNA and I would like to ask the scientific community of these forums;

 

1. If a single strand of DNA was of the same circumference of a standard water slide, what would be the length of the DNA?
2. To the best guess approximation of our current development and research, how many strands of DNA does the average human have?
3. What is the most commonly accepted size of a DNA strings actual size and if combined with the above, what would be the total length?

I am not an expert when it comes to anything scientific, I only have a moderate understanding compared to many people of these forums however somewhat more than the average person. I do apologize for my questions upon them not being specific if this is the case, of which I will amend upon any feedback.

 

Best Regards,

Tim

[EdEarl]

You will need to specify the width of the water slide.

 

There are two strands of DNA per cell, I think, on mitochondrial, same as your mothers, and one in your cell nucleus, a combination of father and mother.

 

A strand of DNA is about a meter long with about 3 billion (3 thousand million) base pairs.

 

IDK the diameter of human DNA; some here should.

Edited March 16, 2016 by EdEarl

[MrTIMarshall2512]

You will need to specify the width of the water slide.

 

There are two strands of DNA per cell, I think, on mitochondrial, same as your mothers, and one in your cell nucleus, a combination of father and mother.

 

A strand of DNA is about a meter long with about 3 billion (3 thousand million) base pairs.

 

IDK the diameter of human DNA; some here should.

 

Thank you for your reply EdEarl. Taking part the DNA and piecing altogether, I would guess equals around 3 meters? This would mean to the nearest decimal, this could wrap around the Earth 75 times...

 

As for an average water slide measurements, I am struggling to find this information myself

 

Best Regards,

Tim

[Strange]

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell, so 46 DNA molecules.

 

This page has some more detail: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/StevenChen.shtml

"The total length of DNA present in one adult human is ... 2.0 × 10¹³ meters ... the equivalent of nearly 70 trips from the earth to the sun and back."

From that previous link: "On the average, a single human chromosome consists of DNA molecule that is about 2 inches long."

 

From: http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/158858/ " The width of a single DNA molecule is approximately 22 to 26 Angstroms" (lets say 25 to keep it simple)

 

Let's guess a water slide is 1 metre wide (for simplicity) then typing 2 inches * 1 metre / 25 Angstroms into Google gives 20,320 km. (What a great mix of units! So, just for the hell of it: 101,010.101 furlongs)

[MrTIMarshall2512]

There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each cell, so 46 DNA molecules.

 

This page has some more detail: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1998/StevenChen.shtml

"The total length of DNA present in one adult human is ... 2.0 × 10¹³ meters ... the equivalent of nearly 70 trips from the earth to the sun and back."

From that previous link: "On the average, a single human chromosome consists of DNA molecule that is about 2 inches long."

 

From: http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/158858/ " The width of a single DNA molecule is approximately 22 to 26 Angstroms" (lets say 25 to keep it simple)

 

Let's guess a water slide is 1 metre wide (for simplicity) then typing 2 inches * 1 metre / 25 Angstroms into Google gives 20,320 km. (What a great mix of units! So, just for the hell of it: 101,010.101 furlongs)

 

You have just COMPLETELY blown my mind. 70 times to the Sun and back, so complex and quite a lot of people are monkey see monkey do so to speak. This is going to be not just going to be the icing on the cake but all the sprinkles in the world and so much more.

 

Thank you very much!