Biochemistry 380

Fall, 2006

Instructor: Dr. William Knight
Office Hours:1:00pm - 3:00pm MW
Location:Bio Research Bldg 102
Email: william.knight@gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Chris Woolstenhulme
Email: cwool20@hotmail.com
TA Office Hours:1:00pm - 2:00pm Tu, 2:00pm - 4:00pm Th
TA Location:HS 108

Text: Principles of Biochemistry, Fourth Ed. by Horton et al.
Course Web Page: http://dbs.umt.edu/courses/fall2006/bioc380/

Class Time and Location

Time:	10:10 am - 11:00 am MTWF
Location:	Liberal Arts 11
Dates:	Aug 28, 2006 - Dec 08, 2006

Course Aims

This course aims to provide a fundamental knowledge of biochemistry, including:

understanding the chemical and thermodynamic properties of biomolecules
knowledge of the four main classes of biomolecules, including their structure, synthesis and function
understanding the catalytic and regulatory strategies of enzymes
understanding the production, use and regulation of energy in the cell
understanding how signal pathways regulate networks of chemical reactions
understanding how biomolecular building blocks and chemical reaction networks are integrated into systems to form a functional cellular metabolism

Requirements

Students are expected to study the text carefully, and are encouraged to read the text prior to the corresponding lectures. Questions or problems sets will be assigned for each chapter, but they will not be collected or graded. However, similar questions can be expected on quizzes and tests.

Students are also encouraged to participate in class discussions as well as to meet outside of class in study groups.

Grading

There will be weekly quizzes given on Fridays. In addition there will be four exams, consisting of three mid-term exams and one comprehensive final exam. The lowest score out of the four exams will be dropped. This means that the final exam is optional if you are satisfied with your grade as determined by the first three exams. The course grade is determined from the exam and quiz scores as follows:

3 highest out of 4 exams: 75%
10 highest out of 12 weekly quizzes: 25%

Note that the total quiz scores are equivalent to one exam. Therefore, if you choose to take all four exams, you will also have the option of dropping the aggregate quiz scores in place of the lowest exam score for computing your final grade.

Missed Quizzes and Exams

The two lowest quiz grades will be dropped (including any missed quizzes), but makeup quizzes will not be given. Students will have the option of dropping the lowest of the four exam scores and should use this option to cover a missed exam. Exceptions will only be made for unusual circumstances and in accordance with the general absence policies and procedures, as described in the 2006-2007 course catalog.

General Policies

University policies on drops, adds, changes of grade option, or change to audit status will be strictly enforced in this course, as described in the 2006-2007 course catalog:

Academic Policies and Procedures, Course Catalog 2006-2007
http://www2.umt.edu/catalog/acpolpro.htm

Special Accommodations

If you are registered with Disability Student Services and require special accommodations, please contact Dr. Knight to make arrangements.

Lecture Schedule (Tentative)

Week	Date		Topic
1	Mon	Aug 28	Introduction to Biochemistry
	Tue	Aug 29	Introduction to Biochemistry (Ch. 1)
	Wed	Aug 30	Introduction to Biochemistry (Ch. 1)
	Fri	Sep 01	Water (Ch. 2)
2	Mon	Sep 04	Labor Day Holiday
	Tue	Sep 05	Water (Ch. 2)
	Wed	Sep 06	Water (Ch. 2)
	Fri	Sep 08	Amino Acids (Ch. 3)
3	Mon	Sep 11	Amino Acids (Ch. 3)
	Tue	Sep 12	Amino Acids (Ch. 3)
	Wed	Sep 13	Proteins (Ch. 4)
	Fri	Sep 15	Proteins (Ch. 4)
4	Mon	Sep 18	Proteins (Ch. 4)
	Tue	Sep 19	Enzymes (Ch. 5)
	Wed	Sep 20	Enzymes (Ch. 5)
	Fri	Sep 22	Enzymes (Ch. 5)
5	Mon	Sep 25	Enzyme Mechanisms (Ch. 6)
	Tue	Sep 26	Enzyme Mechanisms (Ch. 6)
	Wed	Sep 27	Enzyme Mechanisms (Ch. 6)
	Thu	Sep 28	Exam I: SC131 (tentative), 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (Covering Chapters 1-6)
	Fri	Sep 29	Coenzymes and Vitamins (Ch. 7)
6	Mon	Oct 02	Coenzymes and Vitamins (Ch. 7)
	Tue	Oct 03	Coenzymes and Vitamins (Ch. 7)
	Wed	Oct 04	Carbohydrates (Ch. 8)
	Fri	Oct 06	Carbohydrates (Ch. 8)
7	Mon	Oct 09	Carbohydrates (Ch. 8)
	Tue	Oct 10	Lipids and Membranes (Ch. 9)
	Wed	Oct 11	Lipids and Membranes (Ch. 9)
	Fri	Oct 13	Lipids and Membranes (Ch. 9)
8	Mon	Oct 16	Lipids and Membranes (Ch. 9)
	Tue	Oct 17	Metabolism (Ch. 10)
	Wed	Oct 18	Metabolism (Ch. 10)
	Fri	Oct 20	Glycolysis (Ch. 11)
9	Mon	Oct 23	Glycolysis (Ch. 11)
	Tue	Oct 24	Glycolysis (Ch. 11)
	Wed	Oct 25	Gluconeogenesis (Ch. 12)
	Fri	Oct 27	Gluconeogenesis (Ch. 12)
10	Mon	Oct 30	The Citric Acid Cycle (Ch. 13)
	Tue	Oct 31	The Citric Acid Cycle (Ch. 13)
	Wed	Nov 01	Electron Transport (Ch. 14)
	Thu	Nov 02	Exam II: SC131 (tentative), 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (Covering Chapters 7-13)
	Fri	Nov 03	Electron Transport (Ch. 14)
11	Mon	Nov 06	Lipid Metabolism (Ch. 16)
	Tue	Nov 07	Election Day Holiday
	Wed	Nov 08	Lipid Metabolism (Ch. 16)
	Fri	Nov 10	Veteran's Day Holiday
12	Mon	Nov 13	Lipid Metabolism (Ch. 16)
	Tue	Nov 14	Amino Acid Metabolism (Ch. 17)
	Wed	Nov 15	Amino Acid Metabolism (Ch. 17)
	Fri	Nov 17	Amino Acid Metabolism (Ch. 17)
13	Mon	Nov 20	Nucleic Acids (Ch. 19)
	Tue	Nov 21	Nucleic Acids (Ch. 19)
	Wed	Nov 22	Thanksgiving Vacation
	Fri	Nov 24	Thanksgiving Vacation
14	Mon	Nov 27	Nucleic Acids (Ch. 19)
	Tue	Nov 28	DNA Replication (Ch. 20)
	Wed	Nov 29	DNA Replication (Ch. 20)
	Fri	Dec 01	Transcription (Ch. 21)
15	Mon	Dec 04	Transcription (Ch. 21)
	Tue	Dec 05	Protein Synthesis (Ch. 22)
	Wed	Dec 06	Protein Synthesis (Ch. 22)
	Thu	Dec 07	Exam III: SC131 (tentative), 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (Covering Chapters 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22)
	Fri	Dec 08	Review Session
16	Mon	Dec 11
	Tue	Dec 12
	Wed	Dec 13	Final Exam: LA Room 11, 8:00 am - 10:00 am (Comprehensive)
	Thu	Dec 14
	Fri	Dec 15

3 highest out of 4 exams:	75%
10 highest out of 12 weekly quizzes:	25%