Explain how an amine group near a carboxyl group can become positively charged while the carboxyl group becomes negatively charged.
An amino acid contains an amine group and a carboxy group on the same carbon. Now, in neutral form of most of amino acids, the hydrogen ion moves from OH at carboxyl group leaving an O- there, to N of NH2 group forming an NH3+ there. The new structure formed is called zwitter ion. Zwitter ion as a whole is neutral, but in its structure, there is +ve charge on amine group and -ve charge on carboxyl group.
This is shown in diagram given below-
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