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Assembling the Original DNA: You start with a double-stranded DNA molecule. One strand has the sequence 5'-GCAT-3', and it's paired with its complementary strand, which is 3'-CGTA-5'. Remember, A always pairs with T, and G always pairs with C.
Separating the Strands (Helicase): This is like the job of the enzyme DNA helicase. It unwinds and separates the double-stranded DNA into two single strands.
Building Daughter Strands
: Each of the original strands now serves as a template for building a new, complementary strand. This is what DNA polymerase does. It adds nucleotides to the 3' end of the new strand, following the base-pairing rules. So, for the template 5'-GCAT-3', the new strand will be 3'-CGTA-5'. And for the template 3'-CGTA-5', the new strand will be 5'-GCAT-3'.
Disassembling the Model: This just refers to taking apart the physical model you built to represent the DNA. It's not a step that happens in actual DNA replication in a cell.
Final Answer: DNA replication steps: assembling original DNA, separating strands (helicase), building daughter strands (DNA polymerase), and disassembling the model.