Proteins: Structure of Amino Acids | A-level Biology | OCR, AQA, Edexcel 

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The key points covered in this video include:
1. Introduction to Proteins
2. Structure of Amino Acids
3. R groups
Introduction to Proteins
Proteins are organic molecules that have many important functions including: Structural roles, Metabolic roles, Transport roles. Like carbohydrates and lipids, proteins are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. However, they also contain other elements such as nitrogen and sometimes sulphur and phosphorus.
Structure of Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks used to make proteins - they are monomers. All amino acids have the same basic structure. They have a central carbon (C) atom bonded to a carboxyl group (-COOH), an amino group (-NH2), a hydrogen atom (-H) and an R group (-R). There are 20 naturally occurring amino acids that each have a different R group. Amino acids are the monomer units used to make proteins. All amino acids have the same basic structure with different R groups.
R groups
Each amino acid has a different R group which can vary in: Size, Polarity, Charge. This gives every amino acid different properties.
Summary
Proteins are organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
The R groups of amino acids can also contain sulphur and phosphorus
Amino acids are the monomer units used to make proteins
Amino acids contain a central carbon which is bonded to a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydrogen and an R group
There are 20 naturally occurring R groups which can vary in size, polarity and charge