THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry: Chem 32002 / Spring 2021 Prof. Christine Chrissian (she/her/hers) – cchrissian@ccny.cuny.edu Class times: Tuesday & Thursday at 5:00-6:15pm via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Date Feb Mar April May Chapter -Intro to course 3 Amino acids, Peptides, Proteins 3 Amino acids, Peptides, Proteins 3 Amino acids, Peptides, Proteins 4 3D Protein Structure 4 3D Protein Structure 4 3D Protein Structure 5 Protein Function 2 4 9 11 16 18 23 25 Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th 2 4 9 11 16 18 23 25 30 Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th Tu 5 5 6 6 6 ----- Protein Function Protein Function Enzymes Enzymes Enzymes Assignment presentations *EXAM 1* Assignment presentations Spring break – no class 1 6 8 13 15 20 22 27 29 Th Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th Tu Th --14 14 14 15 15 15 16 Spring break – no class Assignment presentations Extra credit quiz; Glycolysis Presentation; Glycolysis Glycolysis Metabolic Regulation Metabolic Regulation Metabolic Regulation Citric Acid Cycle 4 6 11 Tu Th Tu 16 17 19 Citric Acid Cycle Fatty Acid Oxidation Oxidative Phosphorylation Suggested HW Problems 1-3, 5, 6, 9-11, 19 1, 2, 4-10 1-6 1, 3, 4, 6-13, 19 1, 10-16, 19, 24-28 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11 16, 18, 19, 30, 32 8, 9, 23, 24, 27 2, 4, 9, 21, 23 13 20 Th Th 19 -- Oxidative Phosphorylation; review *FINAL EXAM at 6pm* Course Overview & General Information Textbook Nelson & Cox, "Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry" (2012), 6th ed. (ISBN: 978-1429234146) Objectives In this course, students will become familiar with the major classes of molecules that comprise all living cells and develop an understanding of the fundamental roles they play in governing complex biological systems. First, students will learn the essential chemical characteristics of amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and cell membranes; then the key metabolic pathways: glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. By studying these biological phenomena at the molecular level, by end of this course students will be able to demonstrate a deepened understanding of the “molecular logic” of living organisms. Remote Instruction Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this entirety of this course will be conducted via remote instruction. Classes will be held using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (BCU). The classes will be recorded and subsequently uploaded to Bb, along with all other class materials. Similarly, Bb will also be used to administer exams and turn in assignments. Please verify that you have access to your Bb account as soon as the semester begins. Additionally, I strongly encourage students who have computer and/or internet accessibility troubles to reach out to me. Although I can’t guarantee that I will be able to solve the problem, I will do my best to help, or at least accommodate the situation. Class format This semester we will be covering 12 chapters, each of which will be covered over 2 class periods. The week before we begin going over a new chapter, I will upload a pre-recorded lecture to Bb on that topic. It is mandatory (read: in your best interest) to watch the prerecorded lecture before the first class period that covers that particular topic. I will not repeat this lecture again during class; instead, we will use our time together to go over the lecture together — kind of like we are having one big study group. You guys (i.e., the students) will be given primary control over how much time and effort we put into going over the various aspects of the lecture, so please come prepared to bring up what you found unclear, challenging to understand, etc., to ask and answer questions, and to solve problems when applicable. Our class meetings will also be recorded and subsequently uploaded to BlackBoard for you to review. Additional contact The most efficient and effective way to ask me questions is via e-mail. Please feel free to send me a message at cchrissian@ccny.cuny.edu regarding any and all matters related to this course and I will do my best to help out in any way that I can. Although I generally respond to e-mails relatively quickly, particularly urgent questions can be sent to my personal e-mail address, which I will share during class. Office Hours I will be available to meet one-on-one with students during the hour that immediately follows each class (so, from ~6:15 to 7:15pm). If you would like to meet with me, please e-mail me at least 24 hours prior to the office hour you wish to attend. Exams, Assignments & Class Participation In-class exams (50% of semester grade) Two exams will be held this semester, one approximately halfway through the semester and another during finals week. Both exams will be administered using Bb. Each exam will be composed of 25 multiple choice questions, and each question will be worth 1 point. You will be given 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete each exam (i.e., the length of time we typically meet for class). Although the exams are not considered to be cumulative, please note that many of the concepts covered in the latter half of this course assume an understanding of the material covered in the first half. Assignment of your choice (25% of semester grade) One-fourth of your final grade will be based on an assignment for which you choose the format and the topic. Your options of format: A. Written set of detailed “lecture notes” (~5 pages) B. Present a mock lecture during class (~15 minutes) C. One-on-one verbal exam with me outside of class (~30 minutes) Your options of topic (needs to be pre-approved by me): For Options A & B • Anything that we touched upon during class that we didn’t cover in detail, or something we did cover in detail but want to know more about (or are especially interested in), etc. • For example, some proteins we will cover in detail whereas others will only be mentioned in passing. Picking a protein in the latter category would be a good choice of topic. Or perhaps a laboratory technique that we touched upon. • Important note: no two students can choose the same topic. Option C • Any 1 to 3 chapter/s that you are particularly interested in and/or comfortable with. • For example, maybe you’re more interested in or comfortable with metabolism than with proteins, in which case you might want to pick the chapters on glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. I will need each student to choose their assignment format within the first two weeks of starting classes, but you do not need to decide on a topic until you’re about to start working on the assignment. Option B will take some in-advance planning since we will need to allocate class time for the presentations. Options A & C can be completed essentially anytime during the semester. Once your topic is approved by me, we can decide on a due date to turn in your written study notes (Option A) or schedule a meeting time for your one-on-one verbal exam (Option C). However, do note that since no two students can choose the same topic for Options A & B, it’s in your best interest to run your topic idea by me as soon as you think of one. Structured class participation (25% of semester grade) You will earn the final one-fourth of your semester grade by participating in class. This is why above I‘ve stated that watching the pre-recorded lectures before class is mandatory. As we go over the material during class, I will continuously be asking questions that can be answered for points. It’ll be kind of like a game, and since every game has rules: • You must use the “raise hand” function and be called on (by me) in order to answer a question for points. • If more than one student “raises their hand,” I will call on whoever has answered the fewest questions during that class period. All else equal, I will call on whoever “raises their hand” first. • Relatively simple questions (e.g., ones that only require a one-word response) will be worth 2 points. • • • • Questions that require some explanation (e.g., that can be answered in one sentence) will be worth 3 points. Particularly challenging questions (e.g., those that might require some back and forth between us) will be worth 5 points. Your answer does not need to be correct to get the points, but it must be reasonable (e.g., if the question is 2+2 = x, answering with “x = 5” or “x = giraffe” are both incorrect, but only the former is reasonable). Please note that I reserve the right to tweak the rules as necessary. Homework (not graded) In the class schedule above, there are several homework problems suggested for each chapter that we’ll be covering. These problems are optional and will not be graded. However, going through them will help test your comprehension of the material that we cover; I’d suggest you go through each set of problems after watching the corresponding pre-recorded lecture on that chapter, and then bring up any questions you might have during our class meetings on that particular topic. Plagiarism Plagiarism is a serious type of academic and professional misconduct and will not be accepted in this class. Materials submitted with evidence of plagiarism will be given zero credit and forwarded to the administration for further review. This is not something worth risking your academic career over. If you need help, an extension, etc. — reach out to me and we’ll figure something out. There is no excuse, under any circumstance, for passing off someone else’s work, ideas, etc. as your own. If you obtain information from anywhere other than your own brain, you need to reference where it’s from. Any referencing format will be accepted; here’s one example: Author names / Title of article / Source (journal, website, etc.) / Year / Volume / Page numbers If you’re still uncertain as to what constitutes as plagiarism, I suggest you browse the following websites: https://library.ccny.cuny.edu/c.php?g=346746&p=2337609 http://www.plagiarism.org/article/what-is-plagiarism http://www.dontBstupid.com Grading In this course, each point you receive, regardless if it’s earned from an exam or otherwise, is equivalent to 1 percentage point of your final grade. Thus, the total number of points you earn throughout the semester will directly be converted into a letter grade based on the standard scale of: 93-100: A / 90-92: A- // 87-89: B+ / 83-86: B / 80-82: B77-79: C+ / 73-76: C / 70-72: C- // 60-69: D // 59 or lower: F Inclusivity The City College of New York strives to be an all-inclusive community. This means that we should respect, listen to, and possibly even learn from, individuals whose perspectives differ from our own, including but not limited to those based on age, color, race, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, and veteran status. The only thing in this class that will not be tolerated is intolerance. Prejudice and discrimination in any form is absolutely unacceptable, always. Also, I’d personally like to encourage each of us, myself included, to strive to become increasingly more cognizant of how what we say comes off to others. We all have different sensibilities — a comment that you may find benign could be life altering to someone else.
