Biotechnological Applications In Medicine

Each cycle of the polymerase chain reaction doubles the number of target DNA molecules, so starting from one molecule the count after n cycles is given by 2 raised to the power n, a quantitative idea underlying the technique described in NCERT Class 12, Chapter 11 (Biotechnology and its Applications). For ten cycles this gives 2 to the power 10, which equals 1024 copies. This exponential amplification is what allows PCR to generate millions to billions of copies in roughly thirty cycles, making even a trace amount of starting material detectable. The value 512 corresponds to 2 to the power 9, which would be the count after only nine cycles, so it underestimates the result. The figure 2048 equals 2 to the power 11, representing eleven cycles, which overshoots the requirement. The number 100 does not correspond to any power-of-two amplification and reflects a misunderstanding of the doubling process. A data-range sanity check confirms the answer: doubling once per cycle for ten cycles must yield 2 to the power 10, namely 1024, which is consistent and lies between the 2 to the power 9 and 2 to the power 11 values offered.