| Qu 1: | Why are the non-polar side chains unreactive ? | 
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| Qu 2: | Does L-cysteine have R- or S- absolute configuration ? | 
|  |  L-cysteine | 
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| Qu 3: | Regular carboxylic acids such as ethanoic acid, have pKas around 5,
while in α-amino acids, the carboxyl pKa =2. 
Why is this ? | 
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| Qu 4: | The amino acid histidine has two potentially basic N sites in the side
chain, which one is more basic and why ? | 
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| Qu 5: | What is the isoelectronic point, pI, of each of the following hypothetical
amino acids for which you are given their pKa values ? | 
|  | (pKa1 = carboxyl,  pKa2 = ammonium, pKa3
= side chain functional group) (a) pKa1 = 2.0,  pKa2 = 10.0 
(b) pKa1 = 2.0,  pKa2 = 10.0,  pKa3
= 4.0
 (c) pKa1 = 2.0,  pKa2 = 10.0,  pKa3
= 8.0
 |