Question

Most simple amino acid is _ _ _ _
A) Tyrosine
B) Lysine
C) Glycine
D) Aspartic acid

Answer 1

Hint: Amino acids are simple organic molecules which consist of a basic amino group, an unique organic side chain and an acidic carboxyl group. There are 20 amino acids, and tyrosine, lysine, glycine and aspartic acid are a few examples of amino acids.

Complete answer:
The basic structural formula of every amino acid is written as $^{+}N{{H}_{2}}CH(R)COOH$ , and every amino acid differs by the “R” group attached to 2nd carbon in the amino acid formula. The simplest element in the periodic table is “H”.
Option A: Tyrosine contains “R group: $-C{{H}_{2}}-{{C}_{6}}{{H}_{4}}-OH$ , while the simplest amino acid contains hydrogen atom in its structure. Hence Option A is incorrect.
Option B: Lysine contains “R group: $-{{(C{{H}_{2}})}_{4}}-N{{H}_{2}}$ , but the simplest amino acid contains hydrogen atom in its structure. Hence Option B is incorrect.
Option C: The simplest element in the periodic table is hydrogen and Glycine contains “R group: $-H$ ”. Hence Option C is correct.
 Option D: Aspartic acid contains “R group $-C{{H}_{2}}-COOH$ so the same reason applied here the simplest amino acid contains hydrogen atom in its structure while the group attached in aspartic acid is much complex than the hydrogen atom. Hence Option D is incorrect.

Additional information: Glycine is the simplest one out of 20 natural amino acids. Due to its small size and small side chain, it can fit at any place where other amino acids cannot fit. It is named glycine because of its sweet taste (in Greek glykos means sweet).

Thus, the correct option is Glycine (option C).

Note: Amino acids generally represented by a three-letter or one-letter symbol. Glycine’s three-letter symbol is (Gly) and one-letter symbol is (G). The uses of glycine are as follows,
-They are used in treating stroke, metabolic disorders, schizophrenia, etc.
-They are also used to protect the kidneys from side effects of certain drugs used during organ transplantation.