Syllabus

Biochemistry I Syllabus
CH 461/561 (3 credit hours)
Time:              MWF 9:00-9:50
Place:              250 Shelby Hall
Instructor:     Kevin Redding
(Office: 343B Shelby Hall; e-mail: Kevin.Redding@ua.edu)

Prerequisites: CH223(quantitative.), CH231/232/237(organic lecture & lab)

Topics covered:

… Introduction

o Cells

ß types of organisms

ß cellular compartments

o Biological molecules & reactions

o Thermodynamics

… Tour of the 4 principal biomolecules and their components:

o amino acids & polypeptides

o carbohydrates & polysaccharides

o nucleotides & nucleic acids

o lipids & membranes

… Protein structure & function

… Enzymes: mechanisms, kinetic analysis, inhibition, and regulation

… Biochemical pathways

o Glycolysis & gluconeogenesis

o TCA (Krebs) cycle

Objectives: Learn the above and more!

Office Hours: The half-hour after class, or by appointment. Appointments are preferred. If you make an appointment, keep it (or, at the very least, cancel in advance).

Text: Principles of Biochemistry (4th edition), Lehninger (Nelcon & Cox), Worth Publishers, 2005. (In addition, some undergraduate biochemistry books have been placed on reserve in the Science & Engineering Library.)

Lectures: You are expected to read the chapter in advance of the lecture(s) that will cover it. Thus, while lecturing, I will assume that you are familiar with the material and I will use the limited lecture time to underline the most important points, indicate implications, and illuminate topics not directly covered in the text.

There is no attendance policy. You are responsible for knowing everything presented during the lectures, including any changes to the schedule. If you show up for the exams only and still manage to pass them, then I will congratulate you. However, if you do not pass, I will have no sympathy for you.

Homework: You are expected to do the problems at the back of each chapter. These will not be graded, but you are well advised to do them all. You are also advised to look over past exams. In order to understand biochemistry, you need to be able to do these problems on your own. If there is sufficient demand, I will hold an extra session (up to once a week) to go over difficult problems and past exam questions.

Grading: Four exams during the semester will account for 100% of the final grade. The first and second exams will be taken in class during the scheduled exam time (Tuesday, 6:30-7:50 PM), cover recent material, and count for 15% and 25%, respectively. The third will be a take-home exam (counting for 30%) that you will have 1 week to complete; some parts of this will involve using a computer. The final exam, which will be comprehensive (but will focus on the material in the last section), will count for 30% of the grade and is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 8:00-10:30 AM.

Percentage grade range	Minimum grade
90-100%	A
80-89%	B
70-79%	C
60-69%	D

Plus and minus letter grades will be given if you are near the top or bottom of the range.

Click for more details on the grading system.

Final grades will not be posted in any public manner; you may request your grade by e-mail, if you provide an e-mail address on the Student Information Form (this is the only one I will use to send grades, in order to prevent someone from obtaining your grades by posing as you).

Policy on Missed Exams: There are no makeup exams. In general, missing an exam will lead to a grade of 0% for that exam. In rare instances, an excusable absence may arise for medical reasons; if this occurs, you will be required to provide documentation such as a notice from Russell Health Center, a local physician, etc. In this case, your grade will be determined by a weighted average of your other exam scores.

Academic misconduct: All acts of dishonesty in any work in this course will constitute academic misconduct. The Academic Conduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.

Disability accommodation: To request disability accommodations, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 348-4285. After initial arrangements are made with that office, contact your professor.

Web site: I maintain a web site for the course (found at http://www.bama.ua.edu/~kredding). It will contain useful information for the class, including class notes, lecture schedule, etc. Your feedback on ways to improve the site is welcome.

Biochemistry II   (not taught by Redding in Spring 2007)
Time:              MWF 9:00-9:50
Place:              150 Shelby Hall
Instructor:     Kevin Redding
(Office: 343B Shelby Hall; e-mail: Kevin.Redding@ua.edu)

Prerequisites: CH461/561 (Biochem I), BSC300, or permission of instructor

Topics covered:

… Bioenergetics

o Fatty acid oxidation

o Amino acid oxidation

o Mitochondrial electron transport chain

… Signal transduction

… Molecular biology

o DNA metabolism

ß Replication

ß Recombination

ß Repair

o RNA metabolism

ß Transcription

ß Splicing

o Polypeptide metabolism

ß Translation

ß Folding

ß Proteolysis

o Regulation

Objectives: Learn the above and more!

Office Hours: The half-hour after class, or by appointment. Appointments are preferred. If you make an appointment, keep it (or, at the very least, cancel in advance).

Text: Principles of Biochemistry (4th edition), Lehninger (Nelcon & Cox), Worth Publishers, 2005. In addition, several undergraduate biochemistry books have been placed on reserve in the Science & Engineering Library. These are excellent sources for study.

There is no attendance policy. You are responsible for knowing everything presented during the lectures, including any change to the schedule. If you show up for the exams only and still manage to pass them, then I will congratulate you. However, if you do not pass, I will have no sympathy for you.

Grading:

Exams: Three exams during the semester will account for 100% of the final grade in CH462 and 95% of the grade in CH562. The first and second exams will be taken in class during the scheduled exam time, cover recent material and count for 30% each. The final exam, which will be comprehensive, is scheduled for ***day, May *, at 8:00-10:30 AM. It will count for 40% of the grade in CH462 and 35% of the grade in CH562.

Presentations: For CH562 students, 5% of their grade will come from a 5-minute presentation they will make on a topic to be decided later. Each student will have a unique topic to explain to the class briefly (see suggested list; more can be added by interested individuals). These will take place before dead week.

CH462 students can elect to give a presentation for extra credit (extra 5%) to raise their grade.

Percentage grade range	Minimum grade
90-100%	A
80-89%	B
70-79%	C
60-69%	D

Plus and minus letter grades will be given if you are near the top or bottom of the range. Click for more details on the grading system.

Web site: I will maintain a web site for the course (found at http://www.bama.ua.edu/~kredding). It will contain useful information for the class, including class notes, lecture schedule, etc. Your feedback on ways to improve the site is welcome.

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