The number of cells in an average-sized adult human is on the order of 1014
Use this information, and the estimate that the length of DNA contained in each cell is 2 m, to do the following calculations (look up the necessary distances and show your working):
A. Over how many miles would the total DNA from the average human stretch?
B. How many times would the total DNA from the average human wrap around the planet Earth at the Equator?
C. How many times would the total DNA from the average human stretch from Earth to the Sun and back?
D. How many times would the total DNA from the average human stretch from the Earth to Pluto and back?
A. 2 × 1014 m = 124,274,238,447 miles.
B. The Earth's circumference at the Equator is 24,902 miles. The length of DNA from the average human body could wrap around the Earth 4,990,532 times.
C. The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is 93,000,000 miles. So, the round-trip distance is 186,000,000 miles. The length of DNA from the average human body could stretch from the Earth to the Sun and back 668 times.
D. The distance from the Earth to Pluto is, on average, about 39 × 93,000,000 miles. So, the round trip distance is 78 × 93,000,000 miles. The length of DNA from the average human body could stretch from the Earth to Pluto and back 17 times.
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