Biochem Help

[ForensicPath]

So I have a biochem test on tuesday. The concepts and whatnot are not that difficult, but I am having a helluva time memorizing the 20 amino acids and their structures/properties/etc.. Does anyone have a good method or website that might help me out? Any help would be appreciated.

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[jacksonchan85]

this is what worked for me:

i grouped them into their characteristics - ie polar, non-polar, acidic and basic and special aa's (this would be cysteine i believe)

as i'm sure you know, aspartic acid and aspartate are very similar, just as glutamic acid and glutamate are

i think the key is just to write out structures, names, and single-letter abbreviations a good 5-10 times and you should be fine

hope that helped a bit..

really no way to get around it other than WRITING IT OUT TONS OF TIMES

good luck

 

[TRUE]

You'll see that many of them are extremely similar with one added carbon or an added group off the chain. Memorizing their structures based on these differences can be helpful. When I memorized them, I didn't bother to write them out over and over again, but I didn't so well and I would highly recommend doing this.

 

[ASDIC]

here is a really good website that helped me memorize the 20 amino acids: its actually a learning game...and its so much fun!

http://www.wiley.com/legacy/college/boyer/0470003790/animations/acideroids/acideroids.htm

 

[drlexygoat]

Originally posted by thekegalman
here is a really good website that helped me memorize the 20 amino acids: its actually a learning game...and its so much fun!

hahaha.. never used amino acids and fun in the same sentence before.

 

[Paws]

Great game for learning the aa's!

Flash cards are good too, just the structures on one sided and then their characteristics on the other. Also, writing them out is crucial.

Good luck you can do it !

 

[group_theory]

A is for ALANINE, three carbons long;
C is for CYSTEINE, with a sulfhydryl prong.
D is ASPARTATE, a good proton source,
And E, GLUTAMATE, is one also, of course.

F, PHENYLALANINE, has benzene on board;
GLYCINE, or G, wins the small-size award.
H is for HISTIDINE. What a great buffer!
And water prompts I, ISOLEUCINE, to suffer.

K: LYSINE's high on the pKa scale;
L is for LEUCINE, with its long Y-shaped tail.
M is METHIONINE, that sulfury lout,
And N is ASPARAGINE, an amide, no doubt.

P: PROLINE flaunts its odd ring like a bride;
Q, GLUTAMINE, is another amide.
R, ARGININE, has four nitrogens in all.
And S is for SERINE, a petite alcohol.

T is for THREONINE, similar to S;
V is for VALINE. Aliphatic? Why, yes!
W -- that's TRYPTOPHAN -- has rings at the end,
And Y, TYROSINE, is the kinases' friend

 

[BubbleBobble]

Originally posted by group_theory
A is for ALANINE, three carbons long;
C is for CYSTEINE, with a sulfhydryl prong.
D is ASPARTATE, a good proton source,
And E, GLUTAMATE, is one also, of course.

F, PHENYLALANINE, has benzene on board;
GLYCINE, or G, wins the small-size award.
H is for HISTIDINE. What a great buffer!
And water prompts I, ISOLEUCINE, to suffer.

K: LYSINE's high on the pKa scale;
L is for LEUCINE, with its long Y-shaped tail.
M is METHIONINE, that sulfury lout,
And N is ASPARAGINE, an amide, no doubt.

P: PROLINE flaunts its odd ring like a bride;
Q, GLUTAMINE, is another amide.
R, ARGININE, has four nitrogens in all.
And S is for SERINE, a petite alcohol.

T is for THREONINE, similar to S;
V is for VALINE. Aliphatic? Why, yes!
W -- that's TRYPTOPHAN -- has rings at the end,
And Y, TYROSINE, is the kinases' friend

That's awesome!

 

[dutchmaster]

Just bring a bunch of paper with you to the library and draw the structures along with their names, three letter abbreviations and one letter abbreviation over and over again. You'll memorize them eventually.

 

[TTSD]

Dutchmaster is right now. Take a bunch of paper and just redraw the suckers out again and again until the mere sight of those amino acids make you puke.

 

[Bad Mojo]

Flashcards, baby. Flashcards.