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Alpha Helix & Beta Sheet Secondary Structure Set©
With our Alpha Helix - Beta Sheet Secondary Structure Set© your students will explore how the repeating N-C-C pattern can result in two such different structures! The plastic, durable two-model set illustrates how both structures form a stable scaffolding for proteins to perform their functions.
The accompanying slide deck gives you the option to guide a whole-class activity or provide a differentiated opportunity for students who want more.
Your students will:
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Compare and contrast four different protein structures – beta globin, green fluorescent, insulin, and zinc finger
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Review four levels of protein structure
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Examine the models, and record their observations and questions
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Find and count the backbone of each amino acid
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Trace the structures from their N-terminus to C-terminus and discover the parallel and antiparallel strands
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Learn the stabilizing importance of hydrogen bonds
Get out any classroom protein models you have and let your students identify the backbone structures or use our Protein Exploratorium – with your subscription to our Digital Modeling Hub – to see backbones of other actual proteins.
This set of secondary structure models does not show the amino acid side chains, which allows students to focus on the backbone structure. The models were lifted from the following proteins:
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The alpha-helix model represents amino acids 99-111 of chain B of the hemoglobin structure file 1a3n.pdb
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The beta-sheet model represents amino acids 13-33 and 119-127 of chain A of the GFP structure file 1emb.pdb
The Alpha Helix - Beta Sheet Secondary Structure Set© complements our Amino Acid Starter Kit©, which primarily focuses on the properties of amino acid side chains and how they drive protein folding. You might want to revisit its second activity, in which your students fold a zinc finger structure with both an alpha helix and beta sheet. The Insulin mRNA to Protein Kit© also gives students the opportunity to fold short segments of alpha helices and beta sheets, while the ß-Globin Folding Kit© is primarily composed of alpha helices.
