Question 1

What is the net charge of the predominant form of Arg at pH 1.0?

1
At pH 5.0?
0
At pH 10.5?
-1
At pH 13.5?

Question 2

There are several amino acid side chains which are always charged at physiological pH. These
are:

a. Glu, Asp, Lys, and His.

b. Gln, Asn, Glu, and Asp.
c. Glu, Lys, Asp, His, and Arg.
d. Glu, Asp, Lys, and Arg.
e. none of the above.

Answer: D

Question 3

Which one of the following sequences of five amino acids would most likely be located in the
interior of a globular soluble protein?
a. Glu-Asn-Ser-Thr-Gln
b. Tyr-Phe-Glu-Asn-Leu
c. Val-Ala-Val-Glu-Val
d. Met-Cys-Pro-His-Tyr
e. Met-Phe-Pro-Ile-Leu

Answer: E

Question 4

Why is Gly considered achiral?

a. Because Gly is the smallest amino acid.

b. Because Gly has four different substituents attached to the carbon atom.
c. Because Gly is normally found exposed on the protein surface.
d. Because Gly's sidechain is a H atom.

Answer: D

Question 5

What would be the net charge for the peptide below at pH 7.0?

Asn-Asp-Cys-Tyr-Ser-Val-Lys

a. -2
b. +2
c. -1
d. 0
e. +1

Answer: 0
Question 6

Which amino acid(s) could be used to make a buffer at pH 4.0?

a. Asp and Gln

b. Glu
c. Asp
d. Gln
e. Asp and Glu

Answer: E

Question 7

How many chiral carbon atoms does Ile contain?

a. 0
b. 2
c. 1
d. 3

Answer: 2

Question 8

How many functional groups does the peptide MDFGRKCDE have that can be titrated?
a. 8
b. 7
c. 5
d. 6

Answer: 8

Question 9

Using the titration curve shown, identify the amino acid being titrated in this experiment.
a. Tyrosine
b. Arginine
c. Lysine
d. Cysteine

Answer: b

Question 10

Biological systems usually produce a single enantiomer, whereas chemical synthesis produces
a

Racemic mixture
.

Question 11

GABA is a neurotransmitter derived from

Glutamate
.

Question 12
Which of the following statements is true?

a. Amino acids can be derived from purines.

b. Purines and pyrimidines can be derived from amino acids.
c. Corn contains all 20 standard amino acids.
d. Amino acids can be derived from pyrimidines.
e. none of the above

Answer: B
Question 13
The ionization of amino acids depends on the pH and the pKas of the ionizable groups. The
pK1 and pK2 for the amino acid shown below are 2.1 and 8.8, respectively. At what pH is the
amino acid ionized predominantly as shown?

a. pH 1.0
b. pH 2.1
c. pH 5.5
d. pH 8.8
e. pH 10.0

Answer: a

Question 14
The pK1, pK2, and pKR for the amino acid arginine are 1.8, 9.0, and 12.5, respectively. At pH
7.0 arginine would be charged predominantly as follows:

a. -carboxylate +1, -amino -1, guanidino -1, net charge -1

b. -carboxylate +1, -amino 0, guanidino -1, net charge 0
c. -carboxylate -1, -amino +1, guanidino +1, net charge +1
d. -carboxylate -1, -amino 0, guanidino +1, net charge 0
e. -carboxylate 0, -amino 0, guanidino +1, net charge +1

Answer: c
Question 15
The pK1, pK2, and pKR for the amino acid glutamate are 2.1, 9.5, and 4.1, respectively. At pH
11.0, glutamate would be charged predominantly as follows:

a. -carboxylate +1, -amino 0, -carboxylate +1, net charge +2

b. -carboxylate —1, -amino +1, -carboxylate —1, net charge —1

c. -carboxylate 0, -amino 0, -carboxylate 0, net charge 0

d. -carboxylate +1, -amino —1, -carboxylate +1, net charge +1

e. -carboxylate —1, -amino 0, -carboxylate —1, net charge —2

Answer: e

Question 16
The tripeptide glycylarginylglutamate contains four ionizable groups with pKas of 2.1, 4.1,
9.8, and 12.5. Calculate the pI for this molecule.

a. 3.1
b. 6.4
c. 7.0
d. 7.3
e. 8.3

Answer: c

Question 17
The side-chains of amino acids have
a. a positive charge in every situation.
b. pKas that assure the solubility of every protein.

c. constant pKas no matter what aqueous environment they are found in.

d. different pKas in peptides as compared to the free amino acids.

e. polar functional groups.

Answer: d

Question 18
Ribosomes use L amino acids to synthesize proteins.These amino acids are called “L” because

a. they are chiral.

b. they turn polarized light to the left.
c. they have a configuration of groups around the C that can be related to the
configuration of groups around the asymmetric carbon in L-glyceraldehyde.
d. they are all (S)-amino acids.
e. they are all (R)-amino acids.

Answer: c

Question 19
All the standard amino acids except ____ are optically active.

a. Pro
b. Arg
c. Trp
d. Gly
e. Phe

Answer: D
Question 20
The __________ character of most standard amino acids causes solutions of amino acids to
rotate the plane of polarized light.

a. chiral
b. zwitterionic
c. polar
d. hydrophobic
e. none of the above

Answer: A

Question 21
What is the name of this molecule?
a. GABA
b. -carboxyglutamate

c. glutathione
d. epinephrine
e. thyroxine

Answer: c

Question 22

Glutamic acid has pK values of 2.10, 4.07, and 9.47 for its -carboxyl group, -carboxyl
group, and -amino group, respectively. What is its estimated pI?

a. 6.77
b. 4.07
c. 3.085
d. 5.785

Answer: c

Question 23

Why is the pK of the carboxyl group of glycine (2.35) so much lower than that of acetic acid
(4.76)?

a. because the positively-charged amino group of glycine stabilizes the carboxylate group
b. because the positively-charged amino group stabilizes the protonated carboxyl group
c. because the neutral amine of glycine stabilizes the carboxylate group
d. because the positively-charged amino group of glycine destabilizes the carboxylate
group

Answer: a
Question 24

D-amino acids are found in the short polypeptides of some

bacterial
cell walls.

Question 25

A tripeptide that helps inactivate oxidative compounds is

glutathione
.