I need to memorize the 20 amino acids, preferably by Monday, or failing that sometime within the semester. Also the matching 1 and 3 letter codes. I suppose I could just keep writing them down until I remember them, but I was hoping there's an easier way. Maybe an online quiz?

 

Oh, and also the 5 nucleic acids, but I more or less have those memorized already.

Sounds like you attend TU/e? Join the club

http://www.molecularsciences.org/structural_bioinformatics/amino_acids

 

The following tips were devised by my biochemistry 101 buddies and myself. They seem rather awkward but they help us avoid confusion to this day. It is amazing as to how often, people confuse the amino acids.

• The first step is to start with the logical ones. A C G L I M P S T V. Memorize them back and forth between names, 3 letter abbreviations and 1 letter abbreviations.
• Once you got them right, you can move to the ones which have a sound related to the abbreviation. F N R Y. Repeat Phenylalanine, Arparagine, Arginine, Tyrosine stressing the F N R and Y.
• Now on to the confusing ones. Leucine-Lysine (L-K) and Glycine-Glutamine (G-Q). I refer to Lysine as Kysine and to Glutamine and Qutamine.
• D and E are the two acidic ones. A in Asp comes before in G in Glu, so Asp gets a D and Glu gets an E

Thanks Ringer. Their organization of the material does make things a little easier.