Category: Biology

Finding an excellent amino acid chart that is also a good reference and well suited for your needs can be a challenge. However, there are great charts and study guides available that use diagrams, videos, and text to quickly deliver information in a succinct and organized manner.

Amino Acids

Learning about amino acids and finding good charts and study guides can be a challenge, but there are reliable resources available. Our list includes some of the best reference charts and most diverse study guides to fit a variety of learning styles and other preferences.

Whether you are a beginner or a more advanced user, these charts and guides can be helpful in accelerating learning and testing the knowledge that you already possess. For those studying for the MCAT, having these tools at your disposal can help supplement your other materials and verify your knowledge by presenting content in alternative forms.

What Are Amino Acids? What Do They Do?

Amino acids are a class of organic compounds that include at least one carboxyl group, and one amino group. Amino acids are one of 20 different components that go into assembling proteins and are frequently referred to as “building blocks.”

There are a total of seven amino acids which are called “essential” because they must be obtained from the diet and the human body is unable to manufacture them. They include:

7 Amino Acids

• Isoleucine
• Leucine
• Lysine
• Valine
• Tryptophan
• Threonine
• Phenylalanine

Amino acids are also procured from a healthy diet, and many can be taken as an oral supplement as needed. The proteins that amino acids create are an essential part of just about every biological process in your body.

Amino acids are responsible for carrying out bodily functions and making cells such as muscles and other tissues in the body. They also help give those cells structure and play vital roles in the transference and storage of nutrients to different parts of the body.

How your organs, tendons, arteries, and glands function also depend on different amino acids. Wound healing, tissue repair, and skin and hair growth are also related to how amino acids perform in the body.

Amino acids are responsible for building and transporting many substances within the body, but they also work to remove waste and other deposits that are produced as part of the body’s functions and metabolism.

Having an appropriate quantity of the needed amino acids also helps to regulate the body’s metabolism in different ways and can prevent disease, tissue damage, organ damage, and other health issues.

Helpful Reference: Amino Acid Chart

There are many different amino acids, and the way that they can combine leads to an even more significant number of potential compounds. In addition to that, each amino acid has a 3-letter symbol, 1-letter symbol, formula, molecular weight, and structure.

Different charts present information about amino acids in different ways, and our list of amino acid charts offers a variety of different formats to suit different needs. Having an amino acid chart on hand may help save time and prevent mistakes.

DTU Bioinformatics

The amino acid chart provided on the DTU Bioinformatics website is straightforward and offers up the 1-letter symbol, and the DNA codons. It lists 20 amino acids found in proteins, along with the 64 available 3-letter symbols that correspond to each respectively.

Although this table is somewhat bare-bones, it’s easily printed and hung up where it is convenient for reference. If all you need is some basic information about amino acids, then this chart is ideal for you.

This chart may not have all of the information necessary for an introduction to the subject, but it succinctly provides essential information without frills, distracting colors, icons, or logos, and comfortably fits on one page.

Oregon State

The amino acid chart provided by Oregon State is a color-coded table that makes it possible to translate different parts of mRNA code into a sequence of amino acids. The simple 3 step directions indicate that you first need to select the nitrogenous base, and then match it to the first letter on the table.

After that, you follow the row until it leads you to the second and third letter required for the sequence, and each letter is color coded in black, blue, red, or green.

Although the table looks complicated at first, once you go through the steps a few times it becomes a rather quick way to look up an amino acid sequence without needing to do an online search each time.

The table also does a great job of narrowing down the available options, so if you are unsure of one of the bases, you can at least get an idea of what the possible options are which may be all you need to figure it out.

This table is also relatively compact, and provided you have access to a color printer it could be beneficial to have printed out and on hand for when you need it.

Sigma- Aldrich

The amino acid charts provided by Sigma-Aldrich are much more extensive and present the information in both chart and structure format. You can quickly look up the drawn structure of an amino acid complete with different side chains, or you can scroll down to the tables that have more information about the amino acid properties.

This page has a wealth of information about the amino acids and lists them in different groupings and categories for convenience. You can peruse the chart that talks explicitly about properties such as symbols, weights, molecular formula, or residue formula, and you can also view them based on how hydrophobic they are.

The bottom of the page also lists some relevant technical articles that relate to amino acids, and there is a link that allows you to read the abstracts from those papers. This website also features a wealth of other information and charts related to medical science, biology, genetic research, and life science.

GenScript

The GenScript website offers some clean and easy to read charts that detail amino acid related information such as symbols, formula, weights, isoelectric points, and structure. There are small illustrative diagrams for the various structures, and each chart categorizes the amino acids according to type.

There are also links on the page that will navigate to other helpful charts, formulas, and calculators and the site offers many different genetics related reference charts. The page details universal genetic codes along with 20 standard residues that can be found in nature.

SmartDraw

SmartDraw is a unique website that isn’t specifically science oriented but offers a wide variety of charts and visual illustrations for reference material. It covers a wide range of topics, but the amino acid charts are both easy to see and can be uploaded into the SmartDraw website for customization.

The templates offered are fully editable, so you can make your own custom notes, color code, and make other customizations easily. It’s also possible to make a chart of your own with the information of your choosing.

Study Guides and Resources

An amino acid chart is somewhat quick to find, but a reliable study guide that is easy to use can be harder to locate. Luckily there are a few good sources available that offer just enough information to be helpful, without weighing you down with opaque content.

Albert

This site offers some helpful study tips when it comes to learning about amino acids, and even includes helpful diagrams and a complete study guide. If you like to learn by reading and viewing visual pictures, this site may be beneficial for you.

At various parts of this site, you’ll find summaries, and the content is broken up with practice questions to help you test your understanding. Everything is well organized and ideal for beginners looking to learn quickly.

Sporcle

Sporcle is a site specifically for quizzing yourself about amino acids and other content created by users in the community. While this would not be ideal as your only source of information and exposure to amino acids, the fun quizzes can help accelerate learning in a fun way.

There are a number of quizzes related to biology, and other sciences that are free for visitors to take. In the end, you get a score out of a total of 20 points which can help you track your progress as you learn.

Cliffs Notes

Cliffs Notes on amino acids don’t contain many diagrams, so this may be a better source for those that like to read exclusively. However, it does provide a good summary of the relevant information related to a number of different scientific categories.

In fact, there are well-categorized chapters available that discuss many different biological and other scientific concepts, and many of these come directly from books, or classroom approved study guides.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy offers a wealth of lectures, videos, diagrams, and other content that is posted by some of the brightest minds at the most well-renowned universities. The topics are widespread and feature a number of different categories included study guides specifically for amino acids, MCAT, and other science-related subjects.

For those that are stuck in their learning and want to speed up the process, the free content on Khan Academy can help liven up your studies with fun and interactive learning that you can take on at your own pace. The videos are generally very high quality and easy to watch, and the instructors are typically quite good at dissecting a topic, so it’s easy to understand.

A lesson plan template can help save time but can also assist with creating an engaging and thought-provoking opportunity for students to learn. Using customizable templates, our list offers up multimedia content resources suitable for all grade levels and biology subjects.

8 Lesson Plan Template Resources for Biology Teachers

Lesson plan templates can help save teachers time and also improve their ability to successfully teach students without the hassle of starting from scratch for every lesson. Teachers around the world have grouped to share content on various platforms, and now students and educators alike can reap the benefits.

Lesson plans are also an excellent way to organize ideas and plan subject matter out in advance without having to memorize lectures or assemble multiple lists of resources. Creating a sound lesson plan complete with links, handouts, and thought-provoking questions can make learning fun, and create time for essential teaching moments.

Effective Use of Lesson Plans

Lesson plans can be a helpful guide for delivering engaging and thought-provoking lessons that help students understand the material and take an interest in the subject matter. A well thought out lesson plan also has the ability to serve as a reference to make sure a lecture stays on track and within a preset time limit.

Using a lesson plan template effectively can be a bit more of a challenge since it is likely that you’ll be working with formatting done by another person who may think differently about how to put together an engaging lesson for students.

However, there are many benefits to using a lesson plan template, including:

• Discovering how other educators organize and deliver information
• Innovative solutions to common problems
• Time savings and efficiency

There’s no shame in managing your own time by using a lesson template, and frequently it can help you assess how reliable or efficient different templates can be in a real-world scenario. Lesson plans also can limit the amount of multi-tasking that you’ll be doing while trying to teach students which can simplify and space out learning opportunities.

Clear lesson plans also include enough time for questions, reflection, and opportunities to encourage in-depth student thinking to enhance learning. Assignments can then be coordinated to be purposeful instead of becoming just busy work that doesn’t reinforce the essentials discussed in class.

8 Lesson Plan Template Resources

There are a number of lesson plan template resources available online for a variety of subjects but finding the right one can be time-consuming. Here’s our list of recommended resources to get you started and connect you with content that is both functional and applicable to biology instruction at all grade levels.

The Teacher’s Guide

The Teacher’s Guide may look a little outdated, but the lesson content provided includes free worksheets, lesson templates, and other planning materials that have been created by other teachers. You can view the material by subject, and grade level recommendations are also listed.

Many of the links go to a webpage that includes other helpful information, diagrams, links, and handouts to help you create a more engaging lesson. These pages can easily be copied into a word document, uploaded to google drive, or used on a laptop as is.

Share My Lesson

Share My Lesson is another excellent website where content is provided by other educators for free, and there are comments and ratings to help you navigate among the material.

Finding the best content is easier with the ratings, but there are also descriptions, and lesson tags to help you find what you need more quickly so you can assess your options.

The content itself is also listed by grade level, and you can use the search filter options to see what is available without having to click through countless pages. Many of the lessons include PowerPoints, word documents, handouts, and note how many times the content has been downloaded.

The comments on the page are also a helpful resource that can let you know the thoughts of other educators, and you can share any content you find via the helpful social media buttons located on each page. You can also email the content to yourself or others, and upload documents to google drive.

The Biology Corner

This super basic lesson plan template from the Biology Corner is great for planning out your lessons week by week, but it doesn’t offer the same detailed breakdown as other templates. What it does do is provide a simple model that you can download as a pdf or save to google docs and use over and over.

Although it is simple, it can also be edited to have different headings and include more information. It will also save you from having to buy an expensive lesson plan book that you have to lug around day in and day out.

Science Teacher Program.org

The Science Teacher Program website is a treasure trove of templates listed by year and grade for a variety of different subject matter. If you have a specific topic in mind, this cohesive list can help you get a ton of material together and get started on a lesson plan quickly.

Each lesson plan is unique, and many of them include helpful diagrams and details that you can copy and paste into slides as a visual during the less. The lessons are also in a simple webpage format, so they are easy to convert to word documents or view on your laptop as is.

Slide Share

SlideShare is an exciting resource where people can upload presentations and slides on any subject they choose to share with the rest of the web. This website offers up tons of original content that works for other presenters, teachers, educators, speakers, and even conferences.

The wealth of material also provides ample inspiration and many times you can download the slides for your own personal use. Not only can this save you a considerable amount of time when creating your lesson plan, but you can also get new ideas for how to present information.

There are also ratings, statistics, and other information about how many people have clipped, downloaded, or viewed the slides so you can get an idea for how popular the format is. There are also comments and notes towards the bottom which can provide more detailed information.

NASA

The NASA site is chalk full of information related to science, but lesson plan templates are probably not the first thing that comes to people’s minds when they think about the organization. In fact, the website offers several different files and lesson plan examples for different subjects and a vast number of grade levels.

Each template includes a fillable area for organizing your thoughts and ideas about the lesson contents, and the template allows for a considerable number of notes. Subject matter can efficiently be arranged in a number of different ways based on teaching style, and the headings allow for quick reference during more extended sessions.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Pay Teachers is an innovative site to get a lesson plan template that has been designed by another teacher. These downloads are often very inexpensive, typically around $1 or so, and offer a preview of the document before you purchase.

There are details about what the template is for, and how it is meant to be used. Many of them indicated a time frame for how many hours and minutes each part of the lesson should take, and the template is completely customizable as well.

Most of the templates are word documents which makes them easy to download and edit. Many of them are also suitable for a wide range of grade levels and include a rating based on the feedback from other teachers who have used the template.

One Note

This Microsoft application is standard as part of the Windows 10 operating system, and the website offers a number of lesson plan templates suitable for different subjects. There are many fun and interactive templates that can be found and downloaded for free, and the tutorials make it a breeze to get caught up on all the features.

The best part about OneNote for teachers is that it allows them to easily save and collate previous lesson plans for reference, so they have all their information and links at their fingertips at all times. For busy teachers working on material for several subjects at a time, they can even have multiple digital notebooks that can each be customized for their intended use.

Additionally, One Note receives regular updates from Microsoft which mean that you can expect regular upgrades to both content and functionality, and the website is full of new material that arrives regularly.

For cutting-edge learning material, and excellent visualizations, you can’t beat One Note which has STEM material, Minecraft, Skype, and other apps that make it the most versatile and customizable option available for free.

If you’re worried about keeping your wealth of material safe, worry no longer because you can create a Microsoft account and backup all of your files as you create them to ensure you’ll always have access even if you don’t have your computer on hand.

You can even share your lessons with others and view pre-made lessons from other educators on hundreds of different topics. There is also a function on OneNote for a virtual career day, a toolkit for school leaders, and specific content for higher education.