Question

oswald avery did experiments to determine which substance in cells transfers heritable information. he used the s and r strains of pneumococci bacteria. the diagram below shows averys experimental setup. heat - killed s cells, remove lipids and sugar. destroy proteins. destroy rna. destroy dna. add r cells. add r cells. add r cells. results. results. results. he looked for living s bacterial cells in each of the three batches that contained living r cells. how did averys experiment determine that proteins do not transfer heritable information? a. when dna was destroyed, living s strain bacteria appeared in the sample. b. the samples with destroyed rna still produced living s strain bacteria. c. the sample with destroyed proteins still produced living s strain bacteria. d. samples with intact proteins produced no living s strain bacteria.

Explanation:

Avery's experiment aimed to find the hereditary - transferring substance. By destroying different components (proteins, RNA, DNA) in heat - killed S cells and adding R cells, he observed the results. If proteins were the hereditary material, destroying them should prevent the formation of living S cells. Since the sample with destroyed proteins still produced living S strain bacteria, it shows that proteins are not the substance that transfers heritable information.

Answer:

C. The sample with destroyed proteins still produced living S strain bacteria.