AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -DNA replication is semiconservative, meaning that each strand in the DNA double helix acts as a template for the synthesis of a new, complementary strand. This process takes us from one starting molecule to two “daughter” molecules, with each newly formed double helix containing one new and one old strand.

Detailed explanation-2: -The experiment done by Meselson and Stahl demonstrated that DNA replicated semi-conservatively, meaning that each strand in a DNA molecule serves as a template for synthesis of a new, complementary strand.

Detailed explanation-3: -One strand, which is complementary to the parental DNA strand, is synthesized continuously toward the replication fork so the polymerase can add nucleotides in this direction. This continuously synthesized strand is known as the leading strand.

Detailed explanation-4: -This process is known as semi-conservative replication because two copies of the original DNA molecule are produced, each copy conserving (replicating) the information from one half of the original DNA molecule. Each copy contains one original strand and one newly-synthesized strand.