If you were to make a library of tripeptides using a random combinatorial method with 20 amino acids, how many unique compounds would you expect to make?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The number of unique tripeptides that can be created using a random combinatorial method with 20 amino acids is 8000.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the problem

There are 20 different amino acids and you need to create a library of tripeptides. A tripeptide means a peptide consists of three amino acids. Meaning, there are three positions to be filled, and for each position, we have 20 potential candidates (amino acids).
02

Apply the permutation principle

The principle of permutations allows us to determine the number of outcomes when we have a number of items and we want to know how many ways they can be arranged in a designated number of places. The permutations formula is \(n^r\), where \(n\) is number of things to choose from, and we choose them \(r\) at a time. In our situation, the number of unique tripeptides we can create through a random combinatorial method can be calculated by \(20^3\).
03

Calculate the number of unique tripeptides

Using the permutation principle, we can calculate that \(20^3 = 8000\). This means that with 20 amino acids, we could potentially create 8000 unique tripeptides using a random combinatorial method.

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