amino acids
Amino acids are the "building blocks" of proteins. There are 20 different common amino acids. The structural formula of the simplest amino acid, called glycine, is shown in Figure below . Other amino acids have a similar structure. The sequence of amino acids and the number of amino acid chains in a protein determine the proteins shape. The shape of a protein, in turn, determines its function. Shapes may be very complex. You can learn more about the structure of proteins at the URL below.