Question

______ affects the atoms in living cells and thereby damages their genetic material (DNA).
1. Chlorinated water
2. Chloroform
3. Benzene vapours
4. Ionising radiation

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : Ionising radiation

The correct answer is Ionizing radiation.

• Ionizing radiation affects the atoms in living cells and thereby damages their genetic material (DNA).
• Ionizing radiation can affect the atoms in living things, so it poses a health risk by damaging tissue and DNA in genes.
• When cells are exposed to ionizing radiation, radiochemical damage can occur either by direct action or indirect action.
• Direct action occurs when alpha particles, beta particles, or x-rays create ions that physically break the base pairs of the DNA.
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth, and reproduction of all known organisms.
• American biologist James Watson and English physicist Francis Crick discovered DNA.