Which base pair forms three hydrogen bonds?

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Multiple Choice

Which base pair forms three hydrogen bonds?

Explanation:
Hydrogen bonding between complementary DNA bases drives how the bases pair. The guanine–cytosine pair forms three hydrogen bonds because their structures offer three compatible sites that can donate or accept hydrogen bonds with each other. This makes GC pairs more stable than adenine–thymine pairs, which form only two hydrogen bonds. Other pairings, like adenine with cytosine or thymine with guanine, don’t provide the right pattern of donors and acceptors for a stable, canonical pair. So, the base pair that forms three hydrogen bonds is guanine–cytosine.

Hydrogen bonding between complementary DNA bases drives how the bases pair. The guanine–cytosine pair forms three hydrogen bonds because their structures offer three compatible sites that can donate or accept hydrogen bonds with each other. This makes GC pairs more stable than adenine–thymine pairs, which form only two hydrogen bonds. Other pairings, like adenine with cytosine or thymine with guanine, don’t provide the right pattern of donors and acceptors for a stable, canonical pair. So, the base pair that forms three hydrogen bonds is guanine–cytosine.

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