*****
Fundamentals of Biochemistry CH 369 - Fall 2013 *****
Everything
on this page is tentative,
including exam dates.
Instructor: David W.
Hoffman,
Associate Professor, Dept of Chemistry
& Biochemistry
Office hours: Mon 1-2
pm, Tues
& Thurs 7:30 - 8:30 pm, or by appointment, in Welch 4.230C.
Email: dhoffman
"at" mail.utexas.edu. office phone:
512-471-7859
Class meeting: Tuesday &
Thursday, 6 pm - 7:30 am, in Welch
3.502
Unique number:
69775
Class web page:
http://hoffman.cm.utexas.edu/courses/index369_f13.html
You may register for this course at the UT Extension web site. Register through UT Extension
Course description: This
is a one semester course that covers the major concepts in
biochemistry, including the types of biomolecules, protein and enzyme
structure, membranes, and metabolism. The course may be of
interest to students who are on a path toward a health related field,
or anyone interested in how living things work at the molecular level.
Textbook: "Essential
Biochemistry" by Charlotte Pratt & Kathleen Cornely.
I'm recommending the 2nd edition, there is also a first edition.
Computer access: There
will be a class web page, and some class notes will usually be posted
on the web page after each class. It will therefore be necessary
to have access to a computer and internet.
Textbook: "Essential
Biochemistry" by Charlotte Pratt & Kathleen Cornely.
Officially, its the 2nd edition. There is also a first edition,
which is very similar, and you may find suitable.
Class attendance will not
effect grades. However, I think it will be extremely difficult to do
well in the course without attending class regularly.
Exams will be given during the
regular class time. Plan to take the exams on the scheduled time. If
you need to miss an exam due to extraordinary circumstances, inform me
as soon as possible so that other arrangements may be made.
Schedule for Fall 2013
Tues Sept 3 Course organization;
chemical basis of life (Chapter 1)
Thur Sept 5 Aqueous chemistry (Chapter
2)
Tues Sept 10 From genes to proteins
(Chapter 3 and 4)
Thur Sept 12 Proteins & protein structure
(Chapter
4)
Tues Sept 17 Proteins & protein structure
(Chapter 4
& 5)
Thur Sept 19 Protein function (Chapter 5)
Tues Sept 24 Mid-term
exam #1 (covers chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
Thur Sept 26 Introduction
to enzymes (Chapter
6)
Tues Oct 1 Enzymes, kinetics and
inhibition
(Chapter
7)
Thur Oct 3 Lipids & membranes
(Chapter 8)
Tues Oct 8 Lipids & membranes
(Chapter 8 & 9)
Thur Oct 10 Membrane transport
(Chapter
9)
Tues Oct 15 Membrane transport, review
(Chapter
9)
Thur Oct 17 Mid-term
exam #2 (covers
chapters 6-9 of 2nd edition)
Tues Oct 22 Introduction to carbohydrate metabolism
(Chapter
11-12)
Thur Oct 24 Glucose metabolism (Chapter 12,13)
Tues Oct 29 The citric acid cycle
(Chapter
14)
Thur Oct 31 Oxidative
phosphorylation (Chapter
15)
Tues Nov 5 Oxidative
phosphorylation (Chapter
15)
Thur Nov 7 Metabolism topics (Chapters
13-15)
Tues Nov 12 Mid-term
exam #3 (covers
chapters 11-15 of 2nd edition)
Thur Nov 14
Photosynthesis.
(Chapter
16)
Tues Nov 19 Lipid metabolism (Chapter
17)
Thur Nov 21
Topics in lipid metabolism.
Tues Nov 26 Nitrogen metabolism (Ch.
18)
Thur Nov 28
Thanksgiving
holiday
Tues Dec 3 Topics from chapters 19, 20, 21,
22. DNA replication, transcription, translation.
Thur Dec 5
Topics from chapters 19, 20, 21, 22.
DNA replication, transcription, translation.
Final exam: Covers the
entire course, and is required.
The final exam time and date is set by
UT extension, and will be on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 6 pm.
Grading: Midterm exams
are
100
pts each; the final exam will be 160 pts.
Your grade will be based on the total points you earn on the midterm
exams, plus the final exam.
The final exam is required. Grades will
be as follows:
A 92 % of possible points ; A- 90%
of possible points
B+ 87% to 90% ; B 83% to 87% ; B- 80 to
83 %
C+ 77% to 80% ; C 73% to 77% ; C- 70 to
73 %
D+ 67% to 70% ; D 63% to 67% ; D- 60 to
63 %
F < 60 % of possible points
Incomplete grades will only be given in the case of truly extraordinary
circumstances.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic
accommodations from the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement,
Services for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259.
Regarding exam regrades:
I you believe there has been an error in grading your exam, I am
willing to consider re-grade
requests. Submit regrade requests in
writing
along with your graded exam; include a brief written description of the
grading
error. Re-grade requests should be submitted within one week of
when the exam is returned.
UEX Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty: In promoting a high standard of academic
integrity, the University
broadly defines scholastic dishonesty—basically, all conduct that
violates this standard, including any act designed to give an unfair or
undeserved academic advantage,
such as falsifying academic records, cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized
collaboration, collusion, misrepresenting facts (e.g., providing false
information to
postpone an exam, obtain an extended deadline for an assignment, or
even gain an unearned financial benefit). Any other acts (or attempted
acts) that violate the basic standard
of academic integrity (e.g., multiple submissions—submitting
essentially the same written assignment for two courses without
authorization to do so). Several types of scholastic
dishonesty—unauthorized collaboration,
plagiarism, and multiple submissions—are discussed in more detail on
this Web site to correct common misperceptions about these particular
offenses and suggest ways to avoid committing them. For the University’s official definition
of scholastic dishonesty, see Section
11-802, Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities.
Miscellaneous stuff that may be useful:
my
handy vitamin review (PDF)
diagram of the EM spectrum (PDF)
I like to read daily science news at Science
Daily
Every day I look at Astronomy
Picture of the Day
Positive thought: Try to make the world a slightly
better place, one day at a time, one person at a time.