Question

Amino acids have the generic structure seen below, where R represents different carbon-based side chains.

Describe how the structure of amino acids allows them to be linked into long peptide chains to form proteins.

Short answer

The amino acids are linked to each other into the long peptide chains by forming the peptide bonds with each other to form proteins.

Step-by-step solution

Amino acid structure

Protein is made up of many monomer units called amino acids. The amino acid has an amino group and a carboxyl group attached to the alpha carbon atom. The other two valencies of carbon are filled by attaching with one hydrogen atom and another by a side chain group called the R group.

Peptide Bond

The amino acid joined with each other by forming a peptide bond between them, This is done by the dehydration reaction, in which the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another amino acid are attached together to form a bond by releasing a water molecule. The bond thus formed is called the peptide bond. Thus, many amino acids are linked with each other via peptide bonds and form a polypeptide chain or a protein.