How many different tripeptides that contain one leucine, one glutamate, and one tryptophan are possible?

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the amino acids involved: leucine (L), glutamate (E), and tryptophan (W).
2. Recognize that a tripeptide is a sequence of three amino acids.
3. Determine the number of possible sequences by considering the permutations of the three amino acids.
4. Use the formula for permutations of n distinct items: n! (n factorial), where n is the number of items.
5. Calculate 3! to find the number of different tripeptides possible.

Key Concepts

Amino Acids

Amino acids are organic compounds that serve as the building blocks of proteins. Each amino acid has a specific structure, consisting of a central carbon atom, an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain (R group) that determines its properties. In this question, leucine, glutamate, and tryptophan are specific amino acids that will be combined to form tripeptides.

Tripeptides

Tripeptides are molecules formed by the linkage of three amino acids through peptide bonds. The sequence and arrangement of these amino acids are crucial, as they determine the tripeptide's properties and functions. In this case, the tripeptides will consist of one leucine, one glutamate, and one tryptophan, and the order in which they are arranged will affect the total number of unique tripeptides possible.

Permutations

Permutations refer to the different ways in which a set of items can be arranged or ordered. In the context of the question, the three distinct amino acids can be arranged in various sequences, and the number of unique arrangements can be calculated using the factorial of the number of items. For three amino acids, the number of permutations is 3! (3 factorial), which equals 6, indicating the total different tripeptides that can be formed.