Question

The pitch of an α-helix is 5.4 Å. The approximate length of the α-helix consisting of 15 amino acids in Å is .............. (decimal digits up to 1 place)

Hint:

To calculate the length of an α-helix, multiply the pitch by the number of amino acids in the helix.

Answer 1

Correct Answer: 22.4

Step 1: Formula for the length of an α-helix.
The length of an α-helix can be calculated by multiplying the pitch by the number of amino acids in the helix: \[ \text{Length of α-helix} = \text{pitch} \times \text{number of amino acids}. \]

Step 2: Apply the formula.
Given that the pitch of the α-helix is 5.4 Å and the number of amino acids is 15, the length is: \[ \text{Length of α-helix} = 5.4 \, \text{Å} \times 15 = 81.0 \, \text{Å}. \]

Step 3: Conclusion.
The approximate length of the α-helix consisting of 15 amino acids is 81.0 Å.