Fall 2006 syllabus for CHEM437
General information
Chem437 is a team taught course. Dr Colin Garvie will teach the first half of the course and Dr Allen Bush will teach the second half.
Instructor information Dr Colin Garvie
Email Garvie@umbc.edu
Mail box Chemistry Office (1st floor Chemistry)
Office Room 475D, Chemistry
Office Tel. 410 455-2512
Dr Allen Bush
Email bush@umbc.edu
Mail box Chemistry Office (1st floor Chemistry)
Office Room , Chemistry
Office Tel. 410 455-2506
Office hours No specific office hours. Arrange appointments by email (in order to best fit in with the students and professors schedule). The professor will be available after the class for general questions.
Website The course will have a website on Blackboard
Overview of the course and details of the lectures
CHEM437 provides the basic information required to understand cellular processes at the molecular level. A large range of material is covered since this will prepare the students for study in a wide variety of biochemical areas. CHEM437 in particular prepares the students for the more complex topics given in CHEM438, which goes into more detail about the intricacies of molecular processes in the cell.
Lectures will be in Lecture Hall V in Engineering on Tuesday and Thursday between 5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. There will be a brief break in the middle of the lecture. The format of the course is primarily lecture based, but the students are strongly encouraged to ask questions during class. The aim of the course is to encourage understanding, not to cover as many topics as possible (although a lot of topics do need to be covered). It is the student’s responsibility to inform the lecturer if they are going too fast.
The following outline is not fixed and is subject to change depending on how much material we get through,
1. Chapter 2. Properties of Water Aug 31st CG
2. Chapter 3. Thermodynamics in biochemistry. Sept. 5th, 7th, CG
3. Chapter 4. Amino acids. Sept. 12th CG
Quiz (sections 1-3) Sept. 14th CG
4. Chapter 5. Protein primary structure. Sept. 14th, 19th CG
5. Chapter 6 Protein 3D structure Sept. 21st, 26th, 28th CG
Quiz (sections 5-6) Oct 3rd CG
6. Chapter 10 Nucleotides and Nucleic acids. Oct. 3rd, Oct. 5th CG
7. Chapter 11. DNA and RNA structure. Oct. 10th, 12th CG
8. Chapter 12. Recombinant DNA Oct. 17th CG
9. Chapter 7. Carbohydrates and glycoconjugates Oct. 19th, 26th AB
10. Chapter 8. Lipid structure. Oct. 31st , Nov 2nd AB
11. Chapter 9. Membrane Structure Nov. 7th, 9th AB
Quiz (sections 9-11) Nov. 14th AB
12. Chapter 13. Enzyme kinetics and specificity Nov. 14th, 16th, AB
13. Chapter 14. Mechanisms of enzyme action Nov. 23rd , 28th AB
14. Chapter 15. Enzyme regulation Nov. 30th, Dec.5th, 7th AB
Review Dec. 12th AB
Final exam: Covers sections 9-15 only Dec. 14th AB
“Biochemistry” by Garrett and Grisham is the required text for this course. This is a good all round biochemistry textbook that covers the material discussed in both CHEM437 and CHEM438. Although the 3rd edition is more preferable, as it is updated in several areas, the 2nd edition will also serve adequately for CHEM437.
“Introduction to Protein Structure” by Branden and Tooze is an excellent textbook that covers protein structure in far greater detail. The lectures will contain material from this textbook, although it is not required for the course.
Handouts will be given where necessary. While they will cover key points, THE HANDOUTS ARE NOT COMPREHENSIVE. You will still have to take notes during class. Do not just rely on the handouts and the book. Exams will be based on the material in the lectures.
There will be four quizzes in total, two in each half of the course. The quizzes will cover the topics in the previous weeks or since the last quiz. The lowest scoring quiz will be dropped in the calculation of the final grade. The quizzes will be 30-40 minutes long. The three quizzes will contribute 20% to the final grade.
The midterm and final will be two hour exams. They will each be worth 40% of the final grade. The midterm will cover material from the first half of the course and the final will cover material covered in the second half of the course, i.e. the final exam will not be comprehensive. It should be noted that some of the information from the first half of the course will be necessary for the second half anyway (such as chemical properties of amino acids).
CHEM437 provides the basic foundations with which students can go on to study cellular processes at the molecular level. The unfortunate side to CHEM437 is that a large amount of information has to be memorized. Details such as the name, structure and properties of amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleotides and their derivatives. The earlier you practice identifying and drawing these structures, the better. Students should try all the questions suggested from the textbook as these are similar to what will be asked in the exams. Past exam questions will also be supplied on the blackboard website. Questions will occasionally be given during lectures for students to try before the next lecture. Setting up a study group is a great idea. Within the group you can discuss the information in the lectures, quiz each other, and answer the questions. If you get stuck at a question there is a chance someone else may have figured it out and can help. You can also discuss answers to questions with the Professor by arranging a meeting, either individually or as a group. Don’t come expecting to be just given the answer, we will expect you to have tried the question and, where possible, steer you in the right direction.
If you miss an exam or quiz for medical reasons, make sure you obtain a note from your doctor or from student health. The Chemistry office will confirm the information.
If you believe a question needs to be regarded, write down on a piece of paper the reason why you believe it should be regarded, attach it to your paper, and give it to the instructor or place it in their mail box. You will not get the paper back so you should make a copy of it if you want it for reference. The instructor will look over the paper and regrade when the final grading is done.