We have seen that an amide can be formed from a carboxylic acid and an amine. Suppose th...

We have seen that an amide can be formed from a carboxylic acid and an amine. Suppose that you start instead with an amino acid such as alanine. Show how amide formation in this case can lead to a macromolecule of molecular weight several thousands of times that of the starting materials. We will study these polyamides in Chapter 14 (proteins).