Question: Consider a simple model for protein folding as shown below. The folded form of the protein is in a non-degenerate ground state with energy 0=

Consider a simple model for protein folding as shown below. The folded form of the protein is in a non-degenerate ground state with energy 0= 3.1001020J/ protein. However, there are several ways for the protein to exist in higher energy unfolded states. The difference in energy between the excited (unfolded) state and the ground (folded) state is =9.000kJ/mol. The unfolded state of the protein has degeneracy g (a) For g=8 and temperature T=298K, calculate: (i) the energy of the unfolded protein states in units of J /protein; (ii) the probability of being in the folded state of the protein; and (iii) probability of being in any of the unfolded excited energy levels. (b) Suppose the same protein could be modified to keep unchanged but to increase the number of the degenerate unfolded states. At temperature T=298K, how large must g become for the unfolded states to have an equal population to the folded states? Keep in mind that g must be an integer. (c) In light of this result, explain why the availability of unfolded states, even though they are high energy states, can lead to diseases associated with protein misfolding
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