Bridget Dooling,
Connor Forlini,
Emily O’Donnell,
Staci Schaffling
Background
Hershey and Chase were testing two
hypotheses that were both competing
against each other.
 DNA was the genetic material
 Protein was the genetic material.

DNA vs. Protein
Early biologist thought that proteins
carried genetic information
 Was thought that it was protein over
DNA because proteins are more
complex

What caused the experiment
In 1944, an experiment took place that
suggested that DNA was the genetic
material.
 Science community was uncertain on
which was true
 This is why the Hershey and Chase
experiment took place, they wanted to
determine the exact outcome of whether it
was DNA or proteins that carried the
genetic information

Hershey Chase Experiment Video
Explanation

Watch This!
You want to use a radioactive tracer that
will label only the protein in an RNA
virus. Assume the virus is composed
of only a protein coat and an RNA
core. Which of the following would
you use? Be sure to explain your
answer referring to the Hershey
Chase Experiment.
The choices
A) Radioactive P
 B) Radioactive N
 C) Radioactive S
 D) Radioactive C

The Right answer!!
A) radioactive P
 The answer is radioactive P because
when you look at the experiment
radioactive Phosphorus made the DNA
radioactive. Radioactive Sulfur made the
outer shell of the virus(Phage) radioactive
but not DNA.
 We can exclude Radioactive Carbon and
Nitrogen from the beginning because they
were not used in the experiment
