An alpha amino acid is composed of what?
A central carbon atom called the alpha carbon
An alpha amino acid is composed of four key elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Specifically, it has a central carbon atom (also called the alpha carbon) bonded to a hydrogen atom, an amino group (-NH2), a carboxyl group (-COOH), and a variable side chain (also called R-group) that determines the unique chemical properties and physical characteristics of the amino acid. These variable side chains can range from a simple hydrogen atom (as seen in glycine) to complex functional groups (as seen in cysteine, which has a sulfhydryl group). The amino acids can bind together in a peptide bond to form a protein chain.
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