1.

Creating the Shampoo Solution: To create the shampoo solution, you would need to mix a
couple of spoonfuls of shampoo with twice as much water. This means if you use 1 spoonful
of shampoo, you should add 2 spoonfuls of water. After mixing the shampoo and water, you
then add two to three pinches of salt to the solution.

2. The role of shampoo in the solution is to break down the cell membranes and the proteins
that surround the DNA in the fruit. Shampoo contains detergents that can disrupt the lipid
bilayer of the cell membrane, allowing the DNA to be released from the fruit cells.

3. The salt plays a role in this extraction process by neutralizing the negative charges of the
DNA phosphate backbone. This helps to reduce the electrostatic repulsion between the
negatively charged DNA molecules, allowing the DNA to come out of solution more easily.

4. Mashing the Fruit: Mashing the fruit is essential in DNA extraction because it helps to break
down the cell walls and release the cellular contents, including DNA, into the water. The fruit
pulp contains the cells that hold the DNA, and by mashing the fruit, you break these cells
open, releasing the DNA into the water.

5. Adding Fruit Pulp-Water Mixture to Shampoo-Water-Salt Solution: The amount of water you
added to the shampoo initially determines the amount of fruit pulp-water mixture you need
to add. By adding the fruit pulp-water mixture to the shampoo-water-salt solution, you are
combining the mashed fruit, which contains the released DNA, with the shampoo solution.
This helps to solubilize and stabilize the DNA, making it more accessible for extraction in the
subsequent steps.

6. The shampoo in the solution helps to break down cell membranes and proteins, as
mentioned earlier. The salt neutralizes the charges on the DNA molecules, allowing them to
come out of solution and precipitate later in the process.

7. Filtering the Mixture: Filtering the mixture is necessary to separate the liquid from the solid
parts of the fruit pulp. The coffee filter acts as a sieve, trapping the solid fruit pulp while
allowing the liquid (containing the DNA) to pass through. This step helps to remove any solid
debris and cell remnants from the solution, leaving behind the extracted DNA in the liquid.

8. Adding Alcohol to the Filtered Liquid: When you add alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) to the
filtered liquid containing the DNA, you will notice a white, stringy, or cloudy material form at
the interface between the alcohol and the liquid. This cloudy material is the extracted DNA
precipitating out of the solution.

9. Alcohol does not mix well with water, and when you add it to the filtered liquid, the DNA
becomes less soluble in the alcohol compared to the water-shampoo solution. As a result,
the DNA precipitates, or comes out of solution, forming visible strands or clumps. This
happens because the DNA is less soluble in alcohol, and it is less likely to stay dissolved in the
alcohol-water mixture. The extracted DNA will appear as a white or cloudy substance at the
boundary between the alcohol and the liquid containing the DNA.

10. Overall, the DNA extraction lab aims to release the DNA from the fruit cells, purify it through
filtering, and then precipitate it using alcohol. The extracted DNA can be observed as a
visible substance due to its accumulation when it comes out of solution