Science quiz
The 20 amino acids: essential and nonessential
Twenty amino acids build every protein in the body. Nine must come from food; the other eleven the body can make for itself. Type them in any order and each drops into its box.
- Format
- Type them all
- Items
- 20 answers
- Limit
- 5:00
- Level
- Hard
- Checked
- 2026.10.03
- Answers
- 20
- Time limit
- 5:00
- Order
- Any order
- Matching
- Case and accents ignored
- Type an answer; it files itself the moment it matches.
- One answer can fill several slots.
- Give up at any time to see what you missed.
- Pause whenever you like (Esc). The board hides while the clock is stopped.
Name the 20 standard amino acids.
Essential (9)0/9
- 1Not found yet
- 2Not found yet
- 3Not found yet
- 4Not found yet
- 5Not found yet
- 6Not found yet
- 7Not found yet
- 8Not found yet
- 9Not found yet
Nonessential (11)0/11
- 1Not found yet
- 2Not found yet
- 3Not found yet
- 4Not found yet
- 5Not found yet
- 6Not found yet
- 7Not found yet
- 8Not found yet
- 9Not found yet
- 10Not found yet
- 11Not found yet
About this quiz
An essential amino acid is one the body cannot make, so it has to come from food. The nonessential ones are just as necessary, but the body can build them itself.
- Nine amino acids are essential and eleven are nonessential.
- Some nonessential amino acids, such as arginine and glutamine, become essential during illness or stress and are called conditionally essential.
- Aspartate and glutamate are accepted for aspartic acid and glutamic acid.
Sources
- [1]MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Amino acids.
Last checked October 3, 2026
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