Question

unit 2 biomolecules in cells test honors - 50pts
part 1: a vegan bodybuilder
patrick baboumian is an iranian - born strongman and bodybuilder living in germany. in 2009, he set the world record by lifting a log that weighed 180kg (396 pounds) over his head. in 2011, he won the title “germany’s strongest man”. in addition to being incredibly strong, baboumian has been a vegetarian since 2005 and a vegan since 2011. vegans do not eat meat, eggs or any dairy products.
you will investigate specific processes of biosynthesis to understand how vegans like patrick baboumian make the proteins they require through a series of chemical reactions. biosynthesis is the production of complex molecules within living organisms or cells.
meat is primarily made of proteins which are made of connected amino acids. the human body requires 20 amino acids. the structure of three amino acids are shown below.
what patterns do you notice in the three amino acids - how are they similar? (note: each question is actually worth 0.5 points)
a. true (this is how they are similar) b. false (this is not how they are similar)

1. they contain all the same elements.
2. they all have the exact same structure of how all the atoms are joined together.
3. they have the same number of atoms of each element.
4. they all have a base structure of a central carbon connected to a carbon with two oxygens and one nitrogen connected the same way.
5. they contain atoms that are joined by bonds.

what patterns do you notice in the three amino acids - how are they different? (note: each question is actually worth 0.5 points)
a. true (this is how they are different) b. false (this is not how they are different)

1. they contain different elements.
2. they have different amounts of each element.
3. they have different side chains attached to the central carbon.
4. they are all basic.
5. they are all positively charged.

Explanation:

1. Analyze the elemental composition of serine ($C_3H_7NO_3$), histidine ($C_6H_9N_3O_2$) and tryptophan ($C_{11}H_{12}N_2O_2$). They all contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O), but not in the same amounts of each element.
2. The overall atomic - bonding structure is not identical for all three. However, they all have a general amino - acid base structure with a central carbon connected to an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen and a side - chain. Atoms are joined by bonds in all of them.
3. For differences, they have different side - chains attached to the central carbon, different amounts of each element. They are not all basic or positively charged.

Answer:

1. a. True
2. b. False
3. b. False
4. a. True
5. a. True
6. b. False
7. a. True
8. a. True
9. b. False
10. b. False