Professor Susan White

Rm. 202

Phone:610-526-5107

e-mail swhite@brynmawr.edu

Office Hours Wed & Thurs. 2-4, or by appt.

Text--Biochemistry 3nd edition by Matthew and van Holde (or any similar text)

Biological Chemistry is the chemistry of living systems. All forms of life are composed of many of the same kinds of molecules and we will spend the first half of the semester learning about these important, universal molecules. The structure and functions of nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids will be examined. In the second half of the semester we will discuss some of the myriad of chemical reactions which are required for life.

Text--Biochemistry (3nd Edition) by Matthews and van Holde

All biochemistry texts are massive and are destined for diverse audiences which include Chemistry and Biology undergraduates, medical and nursing students, and graduate students. Please keep up with the reading and spend time understanding the illustrations--they are very important (and the authors are much better artists than your instructor!). Biochemists are not very good at writing texts for novice biochemists--so ask lots of questions. Many students find it useful to read a second text and other texts are on Collier's reserve shelf. No biological background is presumed for this course. If simple biology is confusing please consult any text or the instructor. Questions are welcome during class and lab, by e-mail, and during office hours.

Lectures--

Due to the vast amount of information in the text, little additional material will be presented. This year, as a result of student evaluations, we will attempt to cover more material and less introductory information. We will attempt to integrate the lab and lecture portions of the course and we hope to draw on your knowledge of physical chemistry (kinetics, thermodynamics, spectroscopy). You are strongly encouraged to complete reading assignments before class.

Each Friday one or two question or problem will be assigned and collected, but not graded. Each student should be prepared to present the problem to the class. The first three problem assignments are listed on the syllabus.

For each Monday's class each student should write a paragraph in which you react to that week's reading assignment. Do you have questions? What is the most important point of this chapter? Do you see a connection to physical, organic, or inorganic chemistry? Is what you've read so nonsensical that life shouldn't exist? Or so elegant that you that you wonder why it took so long to discover? For most of you, Biochemistry will be an entirely new language and this is an opportunity to share your thoughts informally. It is important to develop fluency in the language of biochemistry. Your first paragraph is due Wed. Jan. 24 on Chapter 4.

Grading--

Lecture 67%

Midterm 1 25%

Midterm 2 25%

Metabolism Projects 10%

Problems and Paragraphs 07%

The midterms will be take home exams having both open and closed book portions. For each midterm, you may prepare two 8.5 x 11 sheets of notes in your own hand for use during either portion of the exam. Questions may be drawn from both the lab and lecture portion of the course. You should study and discuss the problems at the end of each chapter. You are encouraged to work together to understand the lectures, reading, labs, and problems.

NAME_____________________________

TOPIC_____________________________

One page summaries are due:

Projects on metabolism and other topics--

During class we only have time to cover a few critical metabolic topics so this project is designed to give you the opportunity to study a topic of your own choosing in depth. Each student will select a textbook-based metabolism project from the list below and will prepare her own oral presentation. In April, you will present your findings as a 10-15 minutes talk during the laboratory period. A one-page summary, including references, will be handed in and distributed to your classmates. Your projects should emphasize the metabolic pathway, that is the series of organic reactions and mechanisms, enzymes, and regulation. Aside from your text, you may consult other texts on reserve.

Fat and Cholesterol--627

Fatty Acid Oxidation--640

Fatty Acid Biosynthesis--650

Cholesterol Biosynthesis--686

Prostaglandins--700

Nitrogen Cycle and fixation--707

Ammonia--714

Amino Acid Synthesis and transamination--719

Glutamate etc. 746

Sulfur-containing amino acids--752

Aromatic amino acids--760

Porphyrin--776

Purine Biosynthesis--797

Purine Degradation--803

Pryimidines--806

Deoxynucleotides--808