Amino Acid

A small moleculeCollection of atoms held together by chemical bonds into a discrete, finite structure. One way molecules are represented is by a chemical formula where symbols for the elements are used to indicate the types of atoms present and subscripts are used to indicate the relative numbers of atoms. For example, Click on Term to Read More containing and amine group (–NH₂) at one end and a carboxylic acid group (–COOH) at the other. They link up with various other amino acids to form proteins. Because they are used to build proteins, most of the human body consists of amino acids with their abundance second only to water. Amino acids are considered the building blocks of life and are present in many meteorites.