The colors shown above are used to highlight the dot surface of the amino acid R-groups when the "Polarity" button is clicked. Sidechain polarity is measured as the relative solubility of the R-groups in organic vs aqueous solvents. At neutral pH, the range is about 1000-fold. The divisions marked above correspond to 10-fold differences on this scale from the most hydrophobic (tryptophan) to the most hydrophilic (arginine) amino acid. (Put the mouse over the other colors for a complete list in the window status bar.)
Ready for a practice quiz on the amino acids?
Identify the amino acids by name, abbreviation, and/or one-letter code (with grading and correction of your answers):
Amino Acid Identification Quiz.
Pages with Chime images of these building blocks:
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