IMMACULATE CONCEPTION COLLEGE – ALBAY

Daraga, Albay
MC2 (BIOCHEMISTRY)
1st Semester (Finals)
A.Y.: 2022-2023
Module: AMINO ACIDS: BUILDING BLOCKS OF PROTEIN
Name: Francine Dominique M. Collantes Course & Year: BSN – 1 Date: December 20, 2022

I. PRELIMINARY ACTIVITY
Complete the table by writing the corresponding abbreviation and symbol of the given amino acid.
Name Abbreviation Symbol
1. Aspartic Acid Asp D
2. Arginine Arg R
3. Asparagine Asn N
4. Valine Val V
5. Phenylalanine Phe F
6. Glutamic Acid Glu E
7. Histidine His H
8. Threonine Thr T
9. Leucine Leu L
10. Alanine Ala A
11. Isoleucine Ile I
12. Glutamine Gln Q
13. Methionine Met M
14. Proline Pro P
15. Tryptophan Trp W
16. Cysteine Cys C
17. Serine Ser S
18. Tyrosine Tyr Y
19. Glycine Gly G
20. Lysine Lys K

II. ASSESSMENT
A. Answer the following questions.
1. What are amino acids?
❖ Amino acids are described as the "basic building blocks of protein" since they are left over after
proteins are digested or broken down. The human body requires amino acids to build proteins,
which aid in digestion, growth, tissue repair, and a variety of other bodily processes. They can also
be used as an energy source by the body. They are carbon compounds that are made of two
functional groups: the amino group (―NH2) and the carboxylic acid group (―COOH). The side
chain connected to the molecule gives amino acids a distinct set of properties. The term
"proteinogenic amino acids" refers to the group of 20 amino acids that the body uses to create
protein. The most popular methods of categorizing amino acids are as follows: essential and non-
essential, polar, and non-polar, and depending on the structure of the side chain. The term amino
acid is short for α-amino [alpha-amino] carboxylic acid.

2. Enumerate the basic components of an amino acid.

❖ The basic components of an amino acid are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
 3. What is stereochemistry?
❖ Stereochemistry is the branch of chemistry that involves in the “study of the three‐dimensional
structure of molecules.” It also deals with the manipulation of the arrangement of these atoms. This
branch of chemistry is commonly referred to as 3-D chemistry since it focuses on stereoisomers, it
is chemical compounds with the same chemical formula but a different spatial arrangement in three
dimensions. Stereochemistry is the ‘chemistry of space ‘, that it deals with the spatial arrangements
of atoms and groups in a molecule.

4. Why is it important to specify the 3-dimensional structure of amino acids?

❖ The distinctive arrangement of amino acids, or the protein's basic structure, is significant because it
determines the 3-D conformation that the folded protein will take. The functionality of the protein
will be determined by this conformation. The general structure of amino acids was already
presented. 3-dimensional shape, or stereochemistry, is one of the most important properties of the
amino acids.

5. Amino acids contains side chains represented by “R”, why are amino acid side chains important?
❖ At this point, each amino acid is joined to a distinct chemical group, known as its side chain. Each
amino acid has a distinct side chain that gives it its own set of chemical characteristics. Based on
the characteristics of their side chains, amino acids can be categorized. The side chain's polarity or
non-polarity and the presence of an acidic or basic group in the side chain are two particularly
crucial criteria.

B. Draw the chemical structure of the 20 amino acids. In your drawing, specify the different parts of an
amino acid particularly the R group.
Name Chemical Structure

1. Aspartic Acid

2. Arginine

3. Asparagine

4. Valine
5. Phenylalanine

6. Glutamic Acid

7. Histidine

8. Threonine

9. Leucine

10. Alanine

11. Isoleucine

12. Glutamine

13. Methionine

14. Proline
 15. Tryptophan

16. Cysteine

17. Serine

18. Tyrosine

19. Glycine

20. Lysine

C. Complete the table below by filling the box with the appropriate amino acids that fits the classification.
Include all the amino acids that fits the classification.
Classification Amino Acids
1. Histidine (H)
2. Isoleucine (I)
3. Leucine (L)
4. Lysine (K)
1. Essential 5. Methionine (M)
6. Phenylalanine (F)
7. Threonine (T)
8. Tryptophan (W)
9. Valine (V)
1. Alanine (A)
2. Arginine (R)
3. Asparagine (N)
4. Aspartic Acid (D)
5. Cysteine (C)
2. Non-Essential 6. Glutamic Acid (E)
7. Glutamine (Q)
8. Glycine (G)
9. Proline (P)
10. Serine (S)
11. Tyrosine (Y)
 1. Arginine (R)
2. Asparagine (N)
3. Aspartic Acid (D)
4. Cysteine (C)
5. Glutamine (Q)
3. Polar 6. Glutamic Acid (E)
7. Histidine (H)
8. Lysine (K)
9. Serine (S)
10. Threonine (T)
11. Tyrosine (Y)
1. Alanine (A)
2. Glycine (G)
3. Isoleucine (I)
4. Leucine (L)
4. Non-Polar 5. Methionine (M)
6. Phenylalanine (F)
7. Proline (P)
8. Tryptophan (W)
9. Valine (V)
1. Aspartic Acid (D)
5. Acidic
2. Glutamic Acid (E)
1. Arginine (R)
6. Basic 2. Histidine (H)
3. Lysine (K)
1. Alanine (A)
2. Asparagine (N)
3. Cysteine (C)
4. Glycine (G)
5. Glutamic Acid (E)
6. Isoleucine (I)
7. Leucine (L)
7. Neutral
8. Methionine (M)
9. Phenylalanine (F)
10. Proline (P)
11. Serine (S)
12. Threonine (T)
13. Tyrosine (Y)
14. Valine (V)
1) Phenylalanine (F)
8. Aromatic 2) Tyrosine (Y)
3) Tryptophan (W)
1) Alanine (A)
2) Isoleucine (I)
3) Leucine (L)
9. Aliphatic
4) *Methionine (M)
5) Proline (P)
6) Valine (V)
1) Cysteine (C)
10. Sulphur Containing
2) Methionine (M)
 1) Alanine (A)
2) Arginine (R)
3) Asparagine (N)
4) Aspartic Acid (D)
5) Cysteine (C)
6) Glycine (G)
7) Glutamic Acid (E)
8) Glutamine (Q)
9) Histidine (H)
10) Isoleucine (I)
11. Amino Acid
11) Leucine (L)
12) Lysine (K)
13) Methionine (M)
14) Phenylalanine (F)
15) Proline (P)
16) Serine (S)
17) Threonine (T)
18) Tryptophan (W)
19) Tyrosine (Y)
20) Valine (V)

Note:
*Methionine is sometimes considered an aliphatic amino acid even though the side chain contains a sulfur atom
because it is non-reactive like the true aliphatic amino acids.