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Type: Multiple-Choice
Category: Nature and Science (Stories)
Level: Grade 6
Author: szeiger
Created: 6 years ago

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Nature and Science (Stories) Question

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Have you ever thought about why you are who you are in detail? For example, why your hair is the color it is, why you are short or tall, why your skin is a certain color, why your eyes are a certain color, why you act the way you do, why you like the things you like, and so on. Well the reason is that all these characteristics are encoded in numerous amounts of DNA that make up your entire body.

DNA coils up very tightly and condenses to make structures called chromosomes. These chromosomes are the determining factors of your personality, skin type, eye color, bone structure, and everything else that makes you who you are. Now here comes the interesting part.

Humans have 46 chromosomes. Each human being inherits 23 chromosomes from their father and 23 chromosomes from their mother. The biologically proven odds that you could get any one assortment of one your parent’s chromosomes is 2 raised to the 23rd power which is approximately 8.4 million different possibilities. Now if you pair that with your other parent, that’s 8.4 million possibilities times 2 which is approximately 16.8 million different chromosomal possibilities. The possibilities for your unique traits do not stop there.

Think about all the possibilities of your past generations. Everyone in your family tree had the same amount of chromosomal possibilities meaning that each of them had a chromosomal assortment unique to themselves and traveling down through the family tree to you, the possibility that you would have the specific chromosomal assortment that you do is almost numerous. Everything about you is unique. There never has been someone that is the same or is even close to the same as you and there never will be.

Even identical twins have different chromosomal assortments. They make look the same, but they are unique on a genetic level.

Never think that you are worthless. The reality is that you are priceless. There never has been and never will be anyone exactly like you which means that you are one of the rarest treasures in the universe. Biologically, you are a miracle. The odds of you being you are 1 to a number so large it wouldn’t be able to fit on this paper. Live every day knowing that your genetic make up makes you uniquely you and that comparing yourself to others is pointless because they are not like you and never will be.

Grade 6 Nature and Science (Stories)

When DNA coils up and condenses into a structure, what is that structure called?
  1. condensed DNA
  2. chromosomes
  3. chromozymes
  4. coiled DNA