Abstract
Experiment 11 used a titration curve to determine the identity of an unknown amino acid. The initial
pH of the solution was 1.96, and the pKa's found experimentally were 2.0, 4.0, and 9.85. The accepted
pKa values were found to be 2.10, 4.07, and 9.47. The molecular weight was calculated to be 176.3 while
the accepted value was found to be 183.5. The identity of the unknown amino acid was established to be
glutamic acid, hydrochloride.
Introduction
Amino acids are simple monomers which are strung together to form polymers (also called proteins).
These monomers are char…