Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides

1. The amino and carboxyl groups of amino acids are bonded to which carbon?
a. Both are bonded to the α-carbon.
b. Both are bonded to the β-carbon.
c. The amino is bonded to the α-carbon, and the carboxyl is bonded to the β-carbon.
d. The amino is bonded to the β-carbon, and the carboxyl is bonded to the α-carbon.

2. Chiral objects
a. are cyclic compounds in the chair form.
b. are not superimposable on their mirror images.
c. never occur in nature.
d. do not form crystals.

3. The absolute configuration of amino acids are denoted by their relationship to the L- or D- forms of
a. glyceraldehyde
b. glucose
c. tartaric acid
d. alanine

4. Which of the following is an amino acid not found in proteins?

a. asparagine
b. ornithine
c. isoleucine
d. proline

5. Which amino acid has the three-letter symbol asn?

a. aspartic acid
b. asparagine
c. alanine
d. arginine

6. Which amino acid has a benzene-like ring?

a. Glutamic Acid
b. Histidine
c. Isoleucine
d. Serine
e. Tyrosine

7. Which group consists only of amino acids with polar side chains?
a. serine, threonine, and leucine
b. serine, threonine, and cysteine
c. serine, threonine, and valine
d. serine, threonine, and isoleucine

8. Which of the following amino acids has a side chain that can make hydrogen bonds to other molecules?
a. Leu
b. Ser
c. Ala
d. Gly

9. Thr and Ser both have hydroxyls as side chains.

a. True
b. False

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Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides
10. Which group consists only of amino acids with carboxylate side chains?
a. glutamate and cysteine
b. aspartate and glycine
c. glutamate and lysine
d. aspartate and glutamate

11. Which amino acids contain sulfur?

a. cysteine and lysine
b. cysteine and methionine
c. arginine and methionine
d. cysteine and isoleucine

12. Which amino acid takes on a positive charge when the R-group gains a proton?
a. Glutamic Acid
b. Histidine
c. Glutamine
d. Tyrosine
e. Glycine

13. Which is the correct one-letter designation for tryptophan?

a. E
b. T
c. W
d. Q
e. none of the choices

14. Which amino acid has the least polar R-group?

a. Glutamic Acid
b. Histidine
c. Isoleucine
d. Serine
e. Tyrosine

15. Which amino acid would likely be least water-soluble at pH 7.0

a. Histidine
b. Lysine
c. Isoleucine
d. Serine
e. Tyrosine

16. Which of the following is not considered an uncommon amino acid?

a. thyroxine
b. Hydroxylysine
c. Hydroxyproline
d. Tryptophan

17. Which amino acid has a basic R group?

a. Glutamic Acid
b. Histidine
c. Isoleucine
d. Serine
e. Tyrosine

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Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides
18. Which of the following can be considered a unique characteristic of histidine?
a. Its side chain is attached to the alpha carbon
b. It has a basic side chain
c. It has a side chain that is chemically basic but has an acidic pKa
d. It is technically an “imino” acid

19. What is the charge on the tetrapeptide lys-lys-his-glu at pH 7?

a. 0
b. +1
c. +2
d. −1

20. The pKa values of the side chains of the common amino acids
a. are always at low pH
b. are always at high pH
c. depend on the chemical nature of the side chain
d. are not known

21. The isoelectric pH of glycine is closest to

a. pH 4
b. pH 6
c. pH 8
d. pH 10

22. Which of the following amino acids has a net charge of +1 at pH 4 and a net charge of 0 at pH 8?
a. glu
b. arg
c. his
d. tyr

23. What is the predominant form of the amino acid abbreviated R at pH 7?

a. positive
b. neutral
c. negative

24. What is the predominant form of the amino acid abbreviated E at pH 7?

a. positive
b. neutral
c. negative

Exhibit 3A

Amino acid α-carboxyl group pKa α-amino group pKa R-group pKa
Ala 2.3 9.7
Arg 2.2 9.0 12.5
Asn or Gln 2.1 9.0
Asp or Glu 2.2 9.8 4.0
Cys 1.7 10.8 8.3
His 1.8 9.2 6.0
Ser 2.2 9.2
Tyr 2.1 9.1 10.1

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Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides

25. Refer to Exhibit 3A. The pI of an amino acid is the pH at which it has a zero net charge. What is the increasing order
of isoelectric points (low pI to high) for these three amino acids ALA, HIS and ASP??
a. ALA, HIS, ASP
b. ASP, ALA, HIS
c. HIS, ALA, ASP
d. ALA, ASP, HIS
e. ASP, HIS, ALA

26. Refer to Exhibit 3A. Which one has the R-group with the highest pKa?
a. Alanine
b. Arginine
c. Histidine
d. Cysteine
e. Aspartic Acid

27. Refer to Exhibit 3A. What is the order of the pIs in increasing order (from acid to base)?
a. Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Cysteine, and Aspartic Acid
b. Aspartic Acid, Alanine, Asparagine, Cysteine, and Arginine
c. Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Asparagine, Alanine, and Arginine
d. Arginine, Alanine, Asparagine, Cysteine, and Aspartic Acid
e. Aspartic Acid, Cysteine, Arginine, Alanine, and Asparagine,

28. Refer to Exhibit 3A. Calculate the pI of CYS?

a. 1.7
b. 5.0
c. 8.3
d. 9.6
e. 10.8

29. At its isolectric pH, glycine will have

a. both of its ionizable functional groups dissociated.
b. neither of its ionizable functional groups dissociated.
c. only its carboxyl group dissociated.
d. only its amino group dissociated.

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Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides
Exhibit 3B
A titration curve.

30. Refer to Exhibit 3B. Which points on the graph represent pK's?
a. 1 and 7
b. 2, 4 and 6
c. 3 and 5
d. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
e. The pKs cannot be determined without more information.

31. Refer to Exhibit 3B. At which point would the amino acid have its maximum negative charge?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 4
d. 6
e. 7

32. Refer to Exhibit 3B. The point labeled #1 represents:

a. The fully protonated form
b. The pH with maximum negative charge
c. The end point of titration with base (OH−)
d. The pI of the amino acid
e. None of these

33. How many possible tetrapeptides can be made using all four of the amino acids D, W, F, and R?
a. 4
b. 6
c. 12
d. 24
e. none of the choices

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Chapter 03 - Amino Acids and Peptides
34. This amino acid displays a free amino group in the peptide ALA-GLN-ARG-SER-HIS:
a. ALA
b. GLN
c. SER
d. HIS

35. Which is the C-terminal amino acid in the peptide ALA-GLN-ARG-SER-HIS?

a. ALA
b. GLN
c. ARG
d. SER
e. HIS

36. The peptide bond

a. is planar
b. can be written as a resonance hybrid
c. is the basis of protein structure.
d. all of the above

37. Oxytocin and vasopressin

a. differ from each other by a single amino acid
b. do not contain sulfur
c. are peptide hormones
d. are tripeptides

38. Which of the following is the most similar between oxytocin and vasopressin?
a. their biological function
b. their amino acid sequences
c. their isoelectric point
d. their overall structure

39. Which of the following types of amino acids has uncharged side chains at neutral pH?
a. Nonpolar amino acids
b. Acidic amino acids
c. Polar-neutral amino acids
d. Basic amino acids

40. Explain how thyroxine differs from its parent amino acid, tyrosine.

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