Name: Andrew
Status: Student
Grade: 6-8
Location: IL
Country: United States
Date: November 2007
Question:
I am doing a science fair project based on the
question"are there amino acids on a meteorite?" I have all my
research done, except that I have the small problem of finding
out how to test for the amino acids on the meteorite. So, my
question is, "How would I test for amino acids on a meteorite?"
Replies:
You would have employ a method that can distinguish between D and
L forms of amino acids because if you detected L form amino acids
you would not be able to rule out contamination of your test samples
with amino acids formed on Earth. You will have to have access to an
amino acid analyzer. Google Murchison meteorite to research the method
of amino acid analysis that was used.
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
