Amino acids behave like salts rather than simple amines or carboxylic acids. Explain.

Explanation

Amino acids i.e., `alpha`- amino acids behave as dipolar ions or Zwitter ions. In fact, there is an internal transfer of a proton `(H^(+))` from carboxyl group (acidic) to amino group (basic). As a result, `alpha`-amino acids rather behave like salts. For example,
`underset(alpha-"amino acid")(R-underset(NH_(2))underset("| ")("C ")H-overset(O)overset(||)(C ))-OH hArr underset(("Zwitter ion"))(R-underset(o+)underset(NH_(3))underset("| ")("C ")H-overset(O)overset(||)(C ))H-O^(Θ)`
These therefore, donot behave as typical acids and bases.