Question
Question: Amino acids are building blocks of: A.Carbohydrates B.Proteins C.Vitamins D.Fats...
Amino acids are building blocks of:
A.Carbohydrates
B.Proteins
C.Vitamins
D.Fats
Solution
Amino acids can be understood as an organic compound which consists of an amino group (), a carboxylic group (−COOH) and an alkyl or aryl group, also known as sidechains. Hence, amino acids contain primarily nitrogen carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.
Complete Step-by-Step Answer:
Before we move forward with the solution of this question, let us first understand some important basic concepts.
The general structures of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and fats differ from each other. Their respective structures can be explained as:
1.Carbohydrate: Carbohydrates can be represented by the general molecular formula (CH2O)n . The general ratio of the number of atoms of carbon to the number of atoms hydrogen to that of oxygen is observed to be 1:2:1 . These compounds are further classified into three categories: monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. We can observe that there are no nitrogen atoms present in the general molecular structure of carbohydrates, which means it does not have amino groups.
2.Vitamins: Vitamins range over a wide array of different categories and are classified into 13 major molecules. But neither of these molecules are formed by keeping amino acids as the base structure.
3.Fats: Fats have general molecular characteristics which include one glycerol chain along with three fatty acid tails or terminals. A glycerol molecule can be understood as a molecule with three hydroxyl groups. On the other hand, the fatty acid molecules consist of long chain hydrocarbons which are attached to a carboxyl group. Hence, there are no nitrogen atoms present in the general molecular structure of carbohydrates, which means it does not have amino groups.
4.Proteins: Proteins on the other hand consist of a linear chain of amino acids. This chain is referred to as a polypeptide. The primary sequence of a protein is the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. Proteins are made up of amino acid monomers linked together by peptide bonds.
Hence, Option B is the correct option
Note: The protein backbone is characterized by the “ N−C−C−N−C−C . . .” pattern. The “ends” of the protein can be identified by the N-terminus (amino group) end and the C-terminus (carboxyl group) end.