The only achiral amino acid is which of the following?

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Multiple Choice

The only achiral amino acid is which of the following?

Explanation:
Chirality in amino acids depends on whether the alpha carbon is a stereocenter with four different substituents. Glycine is the only one where the alpha carbon bears two hydrogens, so it cannot have four distinct groups around it and lacks a stereocenter, making it achiral. The other listed amino acids each have four different substituents at the alpha carbon—the amino group, the carboxyl group, a hydrogen, and a unique side chain—so they are chiral and exist as non-superimposable mirror images (biologically, the L form is the one used in proteins). Thus glycine is the sole achiral amino acid among these options.

Chirality in amino acids depends on whether the alpha carbon is a stereocenter with four different substituents. Glycine is the only one where the alpha carbon bears two hydrogens, so it cannot have four distinct groups around it and lacks a stereocenter, making it achiral. The other listed amino acids each have four different substituents at the alpha carbon—the amino group, the carboxyl group, a hydrogen, and a unique side chain—so they are chiral and exist as non-superimposable mirror images (biologically, the L form is the one used in proteins). Thus glycine is the sole achiral amino acid among these options.

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