Answer to Question #348026 in General Chemistry for Han

Question

Draw and explain the structure of an amino acid. Explain how it is possible for proteins to vary extensively when there are only 20 naturally occuring amino acids and what determines this variety.

Answer 1

Aminoacids contains two functional groups, amino and carboxyl, the R group stands for a substituent, which can vary. The variety of proteins is determined by the length of it, specifically by the amount of aminoacids it contains (up to tens of thousands). Therefore combination of different aminoacids makes possible the existence of millions of proteins.