Answer/Explanation:
Each amino acid is coded for by three nucleotides of mRNA during the process of translation. These three nucleotides are called codons.
Therefore, if the MC1R gene has 317 amino acids, then there were 3 x 317 nucleotides coding for the gene. 3 x 317 = 951.
The additional 3 nucleotides that make up the 954 nucleotides in the coding sequence come from the stop codon, which does not code for an amino acid but instead signals the end of translation.