Amino acids are the building blocks for all proteins in our bodies. A structure for the amino acid alanine is

All amino acids have at least two functional groups with acidic or basic properties. In alanine, the carboxylic acid group has K_a = 4.5 × 10^-3 and the amino group has K_b = 7.4 × 10^-5. Because of the two groups with acidic or basic properties, three different charged ions of alanine are possible when alanine is dissolved in water. Which of these ions would predominate in a solution with [H⁺] = 1.0 M? In a solution with [OH^-] = 1.0 M?

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CH 30 | || H₂N-C-C-OH Carboxylic Amino group H acid group