Amino Acids
MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach)
MedSchoolCoach
4.6 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 22 October 2024
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Amino acids are the building blocks of life and an essential topic for the MCAT.
In this episode, host Sam Smith takes us through the key concepts of amino acids, including their structures, naming conventions, and roles in protein formation. We’ll cover the differences between hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, how to memorize single-letter abbreviations, and the importance of charged amino acids in physiological conditions. Additionally, Sam touches on mutations and how they can affect protein folding and enzyme function.
Visit medschoolcoach.com for more help with the MCAT.
Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Intro
(01:47) Amino acids naming conventions and abbreviations
(04:49) Hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic amino acids
(05:39) Charged and uncharged amino acids
(10:14) Explanation of mutation notation
(11:53) Mutations affecting the substrate pocket of enzymes
(13:15) Mutations impacting enzyme functionality
(15:58) Role of amino acids in protein tertiary structure
(17:15) Salt bridges and protein stability
(20:47) Quiz
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to MCAT Basics, your ultimate guide to the essential topics you need to master for the MCAT, |
| 0:06.2 | brought to you by the physicians at med school coach. Every week, Sam Smith breaks down high-yield |
| 0:11.5 | MCAT topics, ensuring you're primed for success on test day. Join Sam as we explore the most |
| 0:17.2 | crucial subjects outlined by the AAMC, pulled from official practice materials |
| 0:21.6 | and third-party resources. |
| 0:23.4 | Get ready to elevate your MCAT game with topics tailored to maximize your score potential. |
| 0:28.7 | Hello, I'm Sam Smith. |
| 0:31.6 | This podcast covers amino acids, which are a very important topic. |
| 0:36.1 | You'll probably see about 10% of the questions asked |
| 0:38.3 | will be something regarding amino acids. |
| 0:41.6 | And so amino acids will show up on two out of the four MCAT sections. |
| 0:45.1 | It will show up on the chemical and physical foundations of biological systems. |
| 0:49.7 | And it will also show up on biological and biochemical foundations of living systems. So I hope this |
| 0:56.0 | podcast helps you when you're studying. Enjoy. So the first thing I'm going to go over is |
| 1:07.7 | naming and also the structure and the abbreviations of the amino acids. |
| 1:12.4 | But before I start all that, there's one little piece of information you should probably know |
| 1:17.3 | for them, and that is that the average molecular weight of an amino acid is 110 kilodontons. |
| 1:24.4 | Just keep that fact in your back pocket. |
| 1:26.6 | All right, so, you know, on the test, |
| 1:29.3 | you're going to be given the amino acids usually in their one-letter code abbreviation. So |
| 1:34.7 | don't pay too much attention to the three-letter codes. Just really focus on the single-letter |
| 1:39.1 | codes. And so most of these one-letter codes correspond to the first letter of the amino of the amino |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from MedSchoolCoach, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of MedSchoolCoach and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.