BIOCHEMISTRY 410
SECTIONS 501, 502, 503, 504
Dr. E.D. Harris
Rm 214A Biochemistry
eharris@tamu.edu
Alfredo Hernandez (zerophobe@tamu.edu)
Aaron Smith (agsmith4@tamu.edu)
OFFICE HOURS:
By appointment (call or e-mail)
Required Textbooks:
Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, 4th Edition, Nelson and Cox
Biochemical Strategies, 2nd Edition, Harris
Spring 2006
PREREQUISITES: 5 hours of C or better in Chemistry 227, 228 or equivalent
COURSE OBJECTIVES: BICH 410 is a survey course that teaches students the application of chemical principles to the
understanding of the properties of life. The course will introduce students to the different categories of biomolecules and
emphasize the structure-function principle in their action.
TOPICS COVERED: The course will cover 6 topic areas of biochemistry:
1.
2.
3.
Amino acids and proteins
Nucleic acids
Carbohydrates
4. Lipids and membranes
5. Enzymes
6. Topics in Molecular Biology
EXAMINATIONS: All students enrolled in BICH 410 must take a comprehensive final examination at the end of the
course.
Exams: . There will be 3, 100-point exams and a 150-point comprehensive final. The exams will be spaced
approximately one month apart. Dates are shown in the syllabus. Exams are MONDAY EVENINGS the week of the exam
and will cover material for the segment of the course specified on the syllabus. The final will be comprehensive over all
material in the course.
Quizzes: 5 quizzes will be given on alternate weeks during recitation sections as specified in the syllabus. Quizzes
will count 10 points each and represent 10% of your grade (see Grading below).
Final Exam: A 150 point comprehensive final for all sections will be on Friday, May 5, 3:00- 5:00 pm. The
format will follow hour exams with more of an emphasis on short answer.
Makeup Exams: A student missing a scheduled exam must have a “university-excused” absence to makeup the
points. A heavy exam schedule, wedding, family outing, vacation, or any event not approved by the university does not
excuse you. A student who is absent without notifying the instructor will receive an E-mail requesting an explanation for
missing the exam. Justified absences will result in having the final exam score (scaled to 100 points) substitute for the missed
exam. Non-justified will have the exam count as a zero.
GRADING: Grading will be based on a percentage of total points. For a given exam you can estimate your grade based on
the following. Relative to the class average, a minimum of 20 points above is about the A range; a minimum of 10 points is
a B; a minimum of 10 points below is a C; a minimum of 20 points below is a D and more than 20 points below average will
be considered a failing grade. Contested exams must be settled within 2 weeks of receiving the exam back. Your final grade
will be the sum of all quiz points, exams and final. The percentage is: 3 hour exams (60%), final (30%), quizzes (10%). If
warranted the score on the final exam scaled to 100 points will substitute for the lowest hour exam score.
RECITATION SECTIONS: Your enrollment in this course automatically assigns you to a recitation section. These
sections meet in the late afternoon once a week in accordance with the schedule below. TAs will review material and give
quizzes. They will answer questions and provide a tutorial-like learning environment that will prepare you for exams.
Quizzes will be every other week as noted in the syllabus. Please see me if for some reason you are unable to attend your
assigned recitation section. The following sessions are in effect.
501
502
503
504
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
5:00-5:50
4:00-4:50
6:00-6:50
5:00-5:50
WCBA 105 (Wehner College of Business Administration)
WCBA 105
WCBA 105
WCBA 105
WebCT: This course will use WebCT Vista to post exam scores, quiz scores and grades as well as provide links to lecture
slides, tutorials, and old exams. To log in go to elearning.tamu.edu to access WebCT Vista. You must have a “neo”
password and address. You will also find a calendar that documents dates of quizzes and exams for the course. You can
view and animate slides and tutorials. To download slides prior to lecture, save the appropriate file to you computer hard
drive and open it with your version of PowerPoint. PowerPoint allows you to print 6 slides on a page. If you are unable to
access WebCT, the URL for course material with the exception of your scores on exams and quizzes is:
http://www.tamu.edu/classes/eharris/410
CHEATING: Students falsifying answers, copying other student's answers on exams or quizzes, using camera devices or
cell phones during exams violate the AGGIE CODE OF HONOR and will receive a zero on the exam or quiz plus a personal
letter of reprimand from me. To deter cheating cell phones must be turned off during quizzes and exams. Offenders will
have their names put before the Aggie Honor Council and run the risk of an F* notation on his/her transcript, the star
indicating a failing grade because of academic dishonesty. Additional information on the honor code effective September 1,
2004 can be found at: http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor
ACADEMICALLY OR PHYSICALLY CHALLEGENGED STUDENTS: Arrangements will be made for students who
need less stressful settings for exams or otherwise have special needs to allow parity with non-challenged students.
WHAT IS BIOCHEMISTRY 410: BICH 410 is a science course that emphasizes the chemical principles of biomolecules.
Organic molecules are important constituents of biological systems. In biochemistry macromolecules such as the proteins,
nucleic acids, polysaccharides, etc. that are found in cells are given special attention. BICH 410 also explores the miraculous
behavior of enzymes and gives basic understanding to genetic engineering and proteomics. The last section of the course is a
fairly comprehensive look into molecular biology, which includes topic such as DNA synthesis and repair, genetic code,
transcription and translation. The material in this course for the most part is intended to prepare students for BICH 411
where the emphasis is on the metabolism of molecules studied in BICH 410.
CLASS ATTENDANCE AND EXAM EXPECTATIONS: Attendance at lectures is expected. The BIOCHEMICAL
STRATEGIES, SECOND EDITION will offer practical ways to approach the subject along with challenging thought
problems with answers. TUTORIALS offer special learning tips over select topics. Exams will emphasize understanding
and not memory. Knowing structures of biomolecules is mandatory to understanding purpose and function. Exam formats
will be multiple choice, problem solving, fill-in-blanks, and discussion-type questions.
Personal Notes
Let me welcome you to biochemistry, a science that will gives you insights in to the molecular basis of living
phenomena; a science that will challenge your ability to think logically. Biochemistry is not a course for the causal student.
Those who skip lectures, wait until the last week to prepare for exams, or never bother to pick up exams when they are
passed back, are among the ones that fail the course. Some of you look upon this course as a monster. For those who do,
let me assure you that biochemistry is only as hard as you allow it to become. I demand of my students a thorough
knowledge of the subject. Knowing means applying and using, not just having an acquaintance with the language or a
memory of what was written in the textbook or mentioned in lecture. Knowledge is seeing how biochemical principles apply
to all biological phenomena such as digestion and absorption of nutrients, the requirement for vitamins, how certain drugs
work, how enzymes function. I cannot teach you all there is to know, nor will I focus only on application. You will have to
discover that for yourself. I can, however, help make biochemistry a fascinating course that will prepare you for the
challenges ahead in your careers whether it be Medical School, Veterinary Medicine, laboratory or technical work, sales,
law school, dietetics, running a feed lot, or setting up an ingenious megabuck web site. Don't expect to learn biochemistry
by simply reading the textbook. Give yourself time to sort things out. A student who crams biochemistry is a student on the
way to disaster. The language burden (unfamiliar words) is enormous and can be confusing. I suggest one hour per day
minimum for most topics and twice that for the more difficult topics. Use all the teaching aids available such as
BIOCHEMICAL STRATEGIES AND TUTORIALS. Be prepared to ask questions at recitation sessions. Never rely solely on
memory. Biochemistry is a logical subject that has been built on solid chemical principles. What you learn has to “makes
sense”. Draw structures to see how molecules interact. Learn how the words aptly describe compounds, reactions, etc..
Textbooks, lectures and recitation sessions are set up to help you learn the principles of biochemistry. Take advantage of all
three to guarantee more than a passing grade. Good luck and don't hesitate to call.
Attend class regularly. Lectures will use a PowerPoint presentation. If you have any questions about lectures,
exams, or simply want to talk to the professor, please use my email address eharris@tamu.edu.
COURSE SYLLABUS 410 (ALL SECTIONS)
Text
BASICS
Jan 17
Jan 19
Jan 24 (Q-1)
Introduction, Orientation (T)
Molecular bonding, Basics of Thermodynamics,
Free Energy (T)
Water, Acids/Bases/Buffers
AMINO ACIDS AND PROTEINS
Jan 26
Amino acids, Peptides (T)
Jan 31
Basics of Protein Structure
Feb 02
Structural Organization and Analysis
Feb 07 (Q-2)
3D Structure and Fibrous proteins
Feb 09
Protein function, O2 transport
Feb 14
O2 Transport and Allosterism,
Feb 16
Allosteric mechanisms, antibodies
Monday, Feb 20, 7:00 pm, Rm 108
Lect Strategies
Chapt 1
Chapt 1
1,2
2,3
Tutorials 1-3
169-172
Chapt 2
4
19-27
Chapt 3
Chapt 3
Chapt 4
Chapt 4
Chapt 5
Chapt 5
Chapt 5
5
31-49
6,7
51-59
8
61-67
9
56-59
10
69-77
11 115-122
12
EXAM I (100 points)
NUCLEIC ACIDS
Feb 21
Feb 23
Nucleosides and Nucleotides
Basic Structure and Properties of DNA
Chapt 8
Chapt 9
13
14
CARBOHYDRATES
Feb 28
Mar 02 (Q-3)
Properties of monosaccharides (T)
Polysaccharides and Glycoproteins
Chapt 7
Chapt 7
15,16 123-130
17
131-136
LIPIDS AND MEMBRANES
Mar 07
Mar 09
Classification and Properties
Spingolipids, Steroids, Terpenes
Chapt 10 18
Chapt 10 19
141-151
153-160
137-140
141-143
***SPRING BREAK-March 13-17***
Mar 21
Mar 23
Membranes Structure and Models
Membrane Dynamics, Cholesterol, LDL
Monday, Mar 27, 7:00 pm, Rm 108
Chapt 11 20,21
Chapt 11 22
EXAM II (100 points)
ENZYMES
Mar 28
Mar 30
Apr 04 (Q-drop ends Apr 3)
Apr 06
Enzyme Classification, Activity, cofactors
Enzyme Kinetics, kinetic plots, Km, Vmax
Enzyme Inhibition
Enzyme Mechanism and Regulation
Chapt 6
Chapt 6
Chapt 6
Chapt 6
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Apr 11 (Q-4)
Apr 13
Advanced Properties of DNA
DNA Replication and Repair
Chapt 24 29,30 153-160
Chapt 25 31,32 319-332
Monday, Apr 17, 7:00 pm, Rm 108
Apr 18
Apr 20
Apr 25 (Q-5)
Apr 27
May 02
23,24 79-94
25,26 95-113
27
107-113
28
EXAM III (100 points)
RNA Transcription
RNA Processing
Protein Biosynthesis I
Protein Biosynthesis II
Genetic Regulation
May 05
FINAL EXAM: 150 points, Friday, May 5, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Q indicates a quiz will be given in recitation section that week
(T) indicates interactive tutorial available on web site
Chapt 26
Chapt 26
Chapt 27
Chapt 27
Chapt 28
33
34
36
37
38
333-338
339-346
347-352
353-357
359-366