Proteins

Subdecks (4)

how do proteins differ from carbohydrates and lipids?
in addition to carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, proteins always contain nitrogen; many also contain sulphur and some contain phosphorus
what are proteins?
they are polymers made of monomers called amino acids
whats a chain of amino acids called?
polypeptide
how many amino acids are used to make up a protein?
about 20 different amino acids are used
how is a proteins shape determined?
its determined by the specific sequence of amino acids in the chain, which is why there are thousands of different proteins
what do all amino acids have in common?
they all have the same basic structure
what does the N-terminal in the amino acid structure mean?
the N-terminal is where the amino group is located, -NH2, at one end of the molecule
what does the C-terminal mean in the amino acid structure?
the C-terminal is where the carboxyl, group -COOH, is located, at the other end of the molecule
does the R group in each amino acid structure change or stay the same?
the R group in each amino acid is always different
what is this a structure of?
a generalised structure of an amino acid
what is this a structure of?
an amino acid as a zwitterion
what happens to the amino group at pH7
it gains an H and becomes positively charged
the carboxyl group is acidic and at pH7 it loses an H, becoming negatively charged
so at pH7, an amino acid has both a negative and positive charge (zwitterion)