Chemical Structure of Large Biological Molecules: Proteins

1. (1 pt) Describe the defining features of an amino acid.

Use the figure below to answer questions 2 - 5.

2. (1 pt) How many amino acids are present in the peptide pictured above? Draw a vertical
line (l) through each peptide bond.
Four amino acids
3. (1 pt) What is the amino acid sequence of the peptide pictured above? Peptide
sequences are written from N-terminus to C-terminus. Use the three letter amino acid
designation (i.e. alanine would be written Ala).
Leu, Asn, Lys, Ser
4. (2 pt) For each of the amino acids present in the peptide, identify the chemical property
associated with its R group (i.e. nonpolar, polar, acidic, basic) and the type of chemical
bond that is most likely to form (hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, disulfide bonds, or
hydrophobic interaction).
Leu – Nonpolar, hydrophobic
Asn – Polar, hydrophilic, hydrogen bonding
Lys – Polar, Hydrophilic, hydrogen bonding
Ser – Polar, Hydrophilic, Hydrogen bonding