How do you interpret gel electrophoresis results?

When a gene mutation causes a restriction enzyme to cut DNA in two, the mutated DNA strand will split into smaller pieces, while the unmutated DNA strand will remain in one large piece. When current is applied to the gel, the DNA (because it is negatively charged due to its phosphate backbone) will be pushed down the gel; the longer stand will face more resistance, and thus move less than the two shorter strands. If the exact restriction sites are known, then by comparing it to a reference

Gel electrophoresis results are interpreted by analyzing the bands formed on the gel. Each band represents DNA fragments of different sizes. The smaller fragments travel faster and migrate farther down the gel, while larger fragments move slower and stay closer to the top. By comparing the band positions to a DNA ladder of known sizes, one can determine the size of the DNA fragments in the sample. Additionally, the intensity of the bands correlates with the amount of DNA present in each fragment.