Two nucleotide bases would not be sufficient to code for the amino acids because two bases would sequence only

To determine how many amino acids can be coded by two nucleotide bases, it is important to understand the relationship between nucleotides and amino acids in the genetic code. Each amino acid is encoded by a sequence of three nucleotide bases, known as a codon.

Since there are four possible nucleotide bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine), the total number of possible combinations of two bases is calculated as follows:

With two nucleotide bases, we can create the following combinations:

1st base: 4 options (A, C, G, T)

2nd base: 4 options (A, C, G, T)

Multiplying these together gives us 4 x 4 = 16 different combinations. However, each of these combinations corresponds to just a pair of nucleotides, not the complete coding required for those amino acids.

Remember, amino acids are coded by triplets of nucleotides (codons), not pairs. Hence, with two nucleotide bases, while we can create 16 different combinations, those combinations do not correspond to any complete amino acids since at least three bases are required for a single amino acid.

Therefore, two nucleotide bases are insufficient to code for any amino acids