1.

Glutamic acid and glycine are both -amino acids that occur widely in living organisms.
Their structures are shown below.

H
H 2N

C O O H

CH

CH

H 2N

C O O H

C O O H
g lu ta m ic a c id

(a)

(i)

g ly c in e

State the general formula for an -amino acid.

...............................................................................................................
[1]

(ii)

Explain how glutamic acid and glycine both fit the general formula given in
part (i)
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
[2]

(b)

Amino acids react with both acids and alkalis.

Draw structures below to show how the glutamic acid molecule is changed in the
presence of excess acid and alkali.

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H
H 2N

excess
H C l( a q )

CO O H

C H

C H

excess
N a O H (a q )

CO O H
g lu ta m ic a c id

[5]

2 | Page