Final answer:
The number of unique proteins that could be formed from just a few amino acids depends on the order and arrangement of those amino acids. With just 3 amino acids, there are already 8,000 possible combinations. As the number of amino acids increases, the number of unique proteins exponentially increases.
Step-by-step explanation:
Proteins are made up of hundreds or thousands of amino acids. The number of unique proteins that could be formed from just a few amino acids depends on the order and arrangement of those amino acids. Since there are 20 common amino acids and they can be arranged in different combinations, the number of possible unique proteins is vast. For example, with just 3 amino acids, there are already 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 possible combinations. As the number of amino acids increases, the number of unique proteins exponentially increases.