$$\begin{array}{l}
\text { Exhibit } \mathbf { 3 A } \text { (for this chapter) }\
\begin{array} { l l l l }
\text { Amino acid } & \boldsymbol { \alpha } \text {-carboxyl group pK a } & \boldsymbol { \alpha } \text {-amino group pK a } & \text { R-group pK } \
\hline \text { Ala } & 2.3 & 9.7 & \
\text { Arg } & 2.2 & 9.0 & 12.5 \
\text { Asn or Gln } & 2.1 & 9.0 & 4.0 \
\text { Asp or Glu } & 2.2 & 9.8 & 8.3 \
\text { Cys } & 1.7 & 10.8 & 6.0 \
\text { His } & 1.8 & 9.2 & \
\text { Ser } & 2.2 & 9.2 & 10.1
\end{array}
\end{array}$$
-Refer to Exhibit 3A. The pI of an amino acid is the pH at which it has a zero net charge. What is the increasing order of isoelectric points (low pH to high) for these three amino acids?

Question

$$\begin{array}{l}
\text { Exhibit } \mathbf { 3 A } \text { (for this chapter) }\
\begin{array} { l l l l } 
\text { Amino acid } & \boldsymbol { \alpha } \text {-carboxyl group pK a } & \boldsymbol { \alpha } \text {-amino group pK a } & \text { R-group pK } \
\hline \text { Ala } & 2.3 & 9.7 & \
\text { Arg } & 2.2 & 9.0 & 12.5 \
\text { Asn or Gln } & 2.1 & 9.0 & 4.0 \
\text { Asp or Glu } & 2.2 & 9.8 & 8.3 \
\text { Cys } & 1.7 & 10.8 & 6.0 \
\text { His } & 1.8 & 9.2 & \
\text { Ser } & 2.2 & 9.2 & 10.1
\end{array}
\end{array}$$
-Refer to Exhibit 3A. The pI of an amino acid is the pH at which it has a zero net charge. What is the increasing order of isoelectric points (low pH to high) for these three amino acids?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The isoelectric point (pI) is calculated as the average of the pKa values that surround the zwitterionic form. For ASP, the pI is around 3.0 (average of 2.2 and 3.9), for ALA it is around 6.0 (average of 2.3 and 9.7), and for HIS it is around 7.6 (average of 6.0 and 9.2). Thus, the increasing order is ASP, ALA, HIS.