***** 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.