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Course Syllabi for: Chemistry
160A Macromolecular Structure and Function
Fall 2000, Roberts
Text:
Fundamentals of Biochemistry by Voet, Voet, and Pratt. Wiley
Publishers, 1999.
Course Goals and Requirements
Biochemistry is a demanding and fascinating area of study. This
course begins an extensive introduction to biochemistry by exploring
the structure and function of the important molecules and macromolecules
of living organisms. We will examine the chemical, physical, and
biological properties of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic
acids. We will try to understand the function of these molecules
in the context of cells and of integrated systems in higher organisms.
Prerequisites
Since we will focus extensively on the chemistry of biological
molecules, the chemistry requirement for this course is NOT negotiable.
You must have completed Chem 124 (or equivalent) with a C-
or better to take this course. Concurrent enrollment in Chem 124
is not accepted as a mechanism of fulfilling the chemistry
requirement. Proof of completion of the requisite chemistry courses
must be presented in the first week of class.
Attendance
It has been my experience that students perform better when
they attend lecture on a regular basis so I encourage 100% attendance.
I will take attendance every class meeting as a means of getting
to know you but attendance will NOT be graded.
Office Hours
I will formally hold three office hours for this class each
week. However, I am available to students pretty much anytime, provided
I'm not busy with something else, and I encourage you to just drop
in. I can also schedule appointments outside of office hours, if
so desired. As a student, I found it helpful to visit my professors
periodically to clarify and expand on material from lectures.
Review Sessions
I will typically hold a late afternoon or evening review session
prior to exams. Since everyone's schedules vary, I may hold two
of these sessions. If the interest demands, review sessions may
also be given on a regular basis throughout the semester.
Homework
There will be 6 homework assignments; several of these will
be multi-part, comprehensive assignments involving the use of the
Internet and readings from the scientific literature. The best five
assignments will be used in grading at the end of the semester.
The course outline contains recommended problems from the text for
each chapter we will be covering. We will work some of these problems
together in class. Although I will not collect or grade these problems,
I strongly encourage you to complete them as an aid to learning
the material.
Quizzes
A very short (one minute or so) quiz will be given at the start
of every lecture. Grading will be as follows:
0 late or absent from class or answer is completely
incorrect
1 answer indicates partial understanding of the quiz problem
2 answer indicates a full understanding of the quiz problem
There will be approximately 40 quizzes given; the worst five scores
will be dropped.
Exams
There will be two exams during the semester and a cumulative
final during finals week. Exam times and dates are not negotiable
and make-up exams will not be given except for very unusual circumstances.
Gradin
| Homework |
20% |
| Quizzes |
20% |
| 2 semester exams |
40% |
| Final exam |
20% |
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COURSE OUTLINE |
| Date |
Topic |
Chapter (problems, study exercises) |
| Section I - Review of Fundamentals |
| Aug. 28 |
Cells |
1 (1-4) |
| Aug. 30 |
Major classes of biomolecules |
1 |
| Sept. 1 |
Origin of life theories |
1 |
| Sept. 6 |
Organismal evolution |
1 (1-3) |
| Sept. 8 |
Thermodynamic principles |
1 (5-10, 4-7) |
| Sept. 11, 13 |
Water, acids and bases, pH |
2 (1-10, 1-7) |
| Section II - Amino Acids and Proteins |
| Sept. 15, 18 |
Amino acids and their derivatives |
4 (1-3, 5-7, 10-12, 1-5) |
| Sept. 20, 22, |
Proteins - primary structure, sequencing |
5 (1,2,6,7, 6-9) |
| Sept. 25, 27 |
Proteins - secondary and tertiary structures |
6 (1-3, 5,6, 1-4, 6-9) |
| Sept. 29 |
Protein purification |
5 (3-5, 2-5) |
| Oct. 2 |
Protein folding |
6 (8, 11-13) |
| Oct. 4 |
Protein function (myoglobin and hemoglobin) |
7 (1-5, 1-6) |
| EXAM # 1 - OCTOBER 6 - Cells through Proteins |
| Section III - Enzymes |
| Oct. 9 |
General properties of enzymes |
11 (1-7, 1-5) |
| Oct. 11,13 |
Catalysis |
11 (8-10, 8-14) |
| Oct. 16, 18 |
Kinetics, inhibition, and regulation |
12 (2-4,6,8,10,11, 1,2,4,5,7-9) |
| Section IV - Carbohydrates |
| Oct. 20 |
Monosaccharides |
8 (1-5, 1, 2) |
| Oct. 23, 25 |
Polysaccharides |
8 (6-9, 3) |
| Oct. 27, 29 |
Glycoproteins and proteoglycans |
8 (10, 4, 5) |
| Section V - Lipids and Membranes |
| Nov. 1 |
Lipid classes and structures |
9 |
| Nov. 3 |
Properties of lipid aggregates |
9 (1,3-6,8-10, 1-5) |
| Nov. 6 |
Membrane structure |
10 (1-3, 1-4) |
| Nov. 8, 10 |
Membrane transport and bioenergetics |
10 (6-12, 8-10) |
| Nov. 13 |
Lipoproteins |
10 (7) |
| Nov. 15 |
Protein targeting |
10 (5,6) |
| EXAM # 2 - NOVEMBER 17th - Enzymes, Carbohydrates
and Lipids |
| Section V1 - Nucleic Acids |
| Nov. 20 |
Introduction and historical perspectives |
| Nov. 22 |
Base structures and properties |
3 (2,3, 1) |
| Nov. 27 |
Nucleic acid structures, properties, purification |
23 (1,6-8,10,11, 1,2,4-7) |
| Nov. 29 |
Supercoiling, histones and chromosomes |
23 (3,4, 3,8) |
| Dec. 1 |
Nucleic acid sequencing |
3 (7, 7) |
| Dec. 4, 6 |
Molecular cloning |
3 (5,6,8-10, 6) |
| Dec. 8 |
Catch up, review |
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| CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAM - DEC. 15th, 8 a.m.
- 10 a.m. |
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