What would be the first step in using pcr to copy a gene?
a. dna polymerase adds nucleotides to separate strands.
b. various strands of dna are allowed to cool.
c. dna is heated to seperate stands.
d. copied strands are used as templates to make more copies.

The best answer is C - DNA is heated to separate the strands. PCR proceeds in three steps. 1. Denaturation - The DNA strands, which are bound together in the double helix, must be separated to allow replication to take place so the first step of PCR is to separate them. This is done by heating up the sample, breaking the hydrogen bonds between the strands. 2. Annealing - sample is cooled just enough to allow primers to bind to the ends of each of the two template strands. 3. Extension - DNA polymerase attaches to the primers and makes a copy of each template strand.