What types of functional groups are present in an amino acid? A carbohydrate?
1 Answer
An amino acid contains a carboxyl group and an amine group and other groups, depending on its structure.
A carbohydrate contains hydroxyl groups and several other functional groups depending on the structure.
A typical amino acid has the formula
The green NH₂ group is an amino group. The COOH is the carboxyl group.
In addition the R side chain may contain other functional groups such as -SH (sulfhydryl) and -S-S- disulfide).
Glucose and fructose are typical carbohydrates.
They both contain hydroxyl groups, but glucose has an aldehyde group while fructose has a ketone group.
The cyclic forms contain hemiacetal, hemiketal, acetal, and ketal groups.
The cyclic form of glucose has a hemiacetal group at C-1, and fructose has a hemiketal group at C-2.
In lactose, the 1,4-linkage between galactose and glucose is an acetal group.
In sucrose, the 1,2-link between glucose and fructose is an acetal on the glucose side and a ketal on the fructose side.
