CH411-01: BIOCHEMISTRY I

FALL 2007

MWF 1:00-2:15 PM, SC-102

Instructor: Dr. Pamela J. Trotter

Office: SC-407 Lab: SC-427

Phone: 794-3469 Phone in Lab: 794-3491

E-mail: pamtrotter@augustana.edu

Course Overview: Welcome to biochemistry!!! The discipline of biochemistry lies at the fascinating interface of chemistry and biology—it is the study of chemical aspects of life or the explanation of life from a molecular point of view. Learning biochemistry requires a firm understanding of general and organic chemistry, as well as a familiarity with the origin and design of organisms/cells in which the chemistry occurs. It is my hope that you will leave this course with a genuine appreciation for the intricacies of the “chemistry of life”.

Course Objectives: Students should…

1. Appreciate the relationship(s) between the structures of biomolecules and their function(s).

2. Understand, in particular, protein structure, function and regulation.

3. Be able to apply concepts of structure/function to chemical groups found in biomolecules.

4. Know the major metabolic pathways required for cellular energy production and storage and recognize how these pathways are integrated.

5. Develop skills for solving problems and case studies in biochemistry.

6. Gain experience in interpretation of journal articles from primary literature in the field of biochemistry.

Course Content: The textbook for this course is Essential Biochemistry by Pratt and Cornely. In class, I will cover three general sections: introduction and review (Chapters 1-3), proteins and enzymes (Chapters 4-8) and metabolism (Chapters 9-16). This will provide you a good background in biochemistry. Chapters 1-3 should be review. Although I may not discuss all of the material presented in each chapter in class, I will expect you to read the assigned chapters and work through the problems on your own. (Chapters 17-20, the end of the text, will be covered in CH412 – Biochemistry II in the winter term.)

Public Folders/Moodle: Announcements, handouts, lecture slides and other materials will be posted in a public folder (and Moodle) for the course. You can print the files in public folders immediately or you can save them to your own disk to print later.

The path to access the public folder is as follows:

• Open “Outlook” – that, is your e-mail
• At the left side underneath your “inbox” find “Public Folders” and click
• Then, follow this path to the class folder: public folders/all public folders/academic/chemistry/pamela trotter/ch411-biochemI
• YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BEING AWARE OF THE INFORMATION POSTED IN THE Announcements FOLDER.

Slides will also be posted on Moodle (I am just learning how to use it!):

• The URL is http://moodle.augustana.edu/
• Click on CH – Chemistry and then CH411-01

Help Sessions: Help sessions can be scheduled if there is sufficient interest. PLEASE LET ME KNOW!! Extra help is ALWAYS available on an individual basis.

Office Hours: I am usually on campus from 8:30am-5:30pm, or so, and my door is open when I am available! If you want to be sure I am there, let me know you are coming! I can easily make arrangements to meet you at specific time.

Grading Policy: Your grade will be determined based upon your performance on two exams, a collaborative project, in-class participation, and the final exam with the following distribution.

Exams	40%
3-P Assignment and Poster	20%
Participation/Quizzes	15%
Final exam	25%

Memorization alone is a poor way to learn biochemistry.

The BEST way to learn biochemistry is to apply the concepts

by working through problems!!!!!!

*Homework Assignments: Problems from chapters have been recommended (see Public Folders). These homework assignments will not be collected. However, I STRONGLY recommend that you complete these assignments since they will aid you in preparing for exams.

*Textbook CD: Your textbook comes with a CD containing a number of very helpful study tools. Although I will not require that you utilize the CD, I encourage you to take advantage of it.

Exams: The two exams are scheduled for Oct. 3^rd and Oct. 24^th . The exams are intended to require about 1 hour to finish. You will have up to 1 hour 20 minutes. The format will be objective, short answer and essay. Problems from the textbook will be an important source for exam questions. There will be some “memory” work required, but many exam questions will stress problem-solving. So, memorizing without understanding is not sufficient. Please contact the instructor within 24 hours if you miss an exam. Make-up exams will be permitted only for valid reasons (as determined by the instructor) and must be completed before the exam is returned to the class.

Protein Parenting Project (3-P) & Poster Presentation: This part of your grade will be based upon collaborative work completed in groups. One-half of the grade will be based upon written work and the other one-half will be based upon your poster presentation.

· Written Work: During the term there will be 5 due dates (see schedule) regarding the written portion of the 3-P assignment – to be described later. This project is intended to give you an opportunity to integrate the material from class, gain experience in using biochemistry literature and to learn about a protein in which you have an interest.

· Poster: Each group will present a poster covering their entire 3-P assignment to the class in poster form at a session during class on November 7^th.

· More information on the poster project, group formation and grading policies will come in a separate handout.

The Cost for Late Papers: Late papers will not be accepted after they have been handed back to the class and will be docked 10% per day.

In-Class Participation and Quizzes: On random days throughout the term there will be short, in-class written assignments that will be collected at the end of lecture. The purpose of these exercises is to help you apply your new knowledge before leaving lecture…..that is before you have forgotten it! My opinion is that this part of your grade is almost a “free-bee”, so long as you come to class and complete the required work. Thus, it is in your best interest to be in class. These assignments cannot be “made-up”. In addition there are two days (see schedule) when an in-class project will be completed and account for the remaining ½ of your participation grade. These projects must be completed. You may make up these projects only for valid reasons (as determined by the instructor). These in-class assignments will count for ½ of your participation/quiz grade. There will be quizzes at the beginning of class on Mondays of non-exam weeks (see schedule). These quizzes will require less than 10 minutes and the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. Quizzes will account for the remaining ½ of your participation/quiz grade.

Final Exam: Every student is required to complete the final exam. The final will include new material covered after Exam #2, as well as comprehensive/cumulative topics.

Final percentages will be rounded to the nearest 1/10^th of a percent and then grades will be assigned as follows:

Grade	Overall %	Grade	Overall %
A+	100-99.0	C+	79.9-77.0
A	98.9-93.0	C	76.9-72.0
A-	92.9-90.0	C-	71.9-67.0
B+	89.9-88.0
B	87.9-83.0	D	66.9-55.0
B-	82.9-80.0	F	<55.0

PLEASE NOTE:

***I reserve the right to use a less strict grading scale.***

Ethics: It is assumed that all students will practice academic honesty. The College’s policy on plagiarism and cheating is outlined in the student handbook, “Inside Augustana”.