Think About This.
We used a necklace with different colored beads in the previous Things To Think About section to represent different amino acid molecules making up the primary structure of a protein. If we imagine that certain beads on the necklace are sticky and are attracted to each other, we can begin to see how secondary structure comes about.
The picture below shows the same necklace from before, but this time with secondary structure. The pink and blue beads stick together and force the necklace to adopt a more complex shape.