Charged Letters

Ask your students to arrange the amino acids in such a sequence that the charges automatically assemble a specific letter. This activity supports the idea that one can change the entire 3D shape of the molecule simply by changing the primary structure of the string. For example, you might ask, "What sequence of charges will generate a U? What do you need to convert a U to a L? or into a more complex letter such as a Z?"

First we asked our students to make predictions on pieces of paper. They then used the model to see if their constructions worked.

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