Electrophoresis enables you to distinguish DNA fragments of different lengths. DNA is negatively charged, therefore, when an electric current is applied to the gel, DNA will migrate towards the positively charged electrode. Shorter strands of DNA move more quickly through the gel than longer strands resulting in the fragments being arranged in order of size. The use of dyes, fluorescent tags, or radioactive labels enables the DNA on the gel to be seen after they have been separated. They will appear as bands on the gel. A DNA marker with fragments of known lengths is usually run through the gel at the same time as the samples. By comparing the bands of the DNA samples with those from the DNA marker, you can work out the approximate length of the DNA fragments in the samples.