{"id":291,"date":"2016-06-02T15:15:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-02T22:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/?p=291"},"modified":"2020-06-26T11:57:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-26T18:57:31","slug":"mcat-amino-acids-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/mcat\/mcat-amino-acids-know\/","title":{"rendered":"MCAT Amino Acids: What to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MCAT<\/p>\n

On the MCAT, biochemistry<\/a> is the second most tested natural science subject after biology. You might now recall the pain of having to memorize the entire cellular respiration pathway and the structures of all the amino acids for your biochemistry class. It\u2019s true these concepts will be tested on the MCAT but not to as much depth. In this post, we will talk about MCAT amino acids and what you need to know about them for the exam.<\/p>\n

What You Need to Know for the MCAT<\/h2>\n

If you talk to any student that has taken the MCAT, they will tell you that amino acids are a big deal. You need to have all twenty amino acids memorized. This includes the structure of the side chains, the pK<\/em>a<\/sub> of the side chain (if applicable), the one-letter code, and the three-letter code for each amino acid. In addition, you will need to be able to classify each as hydrophobic, hydrophilic, acidic, or basic. Below, we have an example of what you need to know for the acidic amino acid, glutamic acid:<\/p>\n

\"MCAT<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a lot to memorize but, unfortunately, there is more. According to the content outlines for the MCAT<\/a>, you will also need to know:<\/p>\n