BCHM222-21S2 (C) Semester Two 2021

BIOCHEMISTRY B - Metabolism; the reactions of molecules in cells

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 19 July 2021
End Date: Sunday, 14 November 2021
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 1 August 2021
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 1 October 2021

Description

The general principles of metabolism and metabolic control.

This course aims to communicate the fundamental principles governing the energy generating pathways within the cell. The major emphasis will be on carbohydrate metabolism and mitochondrial electron transport chain. Unlike BCHM221, this course will focus on biochemical systems and the functioning of their individual components.

BCHM222 is a prerequisite for several courses in Biochemistry, Chemistry and Biology, particularly BCHM305, 306. Students wishing to major in biochemistry must pass BCHM202, BCHM212, BCHM222, BCHM281 and at least one of BCHM206 and BCHM253. Those who wish to learn more – including material at the frontiers of Biochemical Research – can continue in BCHM305, BCHM306, BCHM338, BCHM339.

BCHM222 runs in semester two. It counts 15 points towards a Bachelor of Science degree and is
required to major in biochemistry and preferably it is taken in conjunction with other 200-level
biochemistry, biology and chemistry courses.

Learning Outcomes

As a student in this course, I will develop the ability to:
 Apply concepts of enzymology to evaluate how the metabolism is coordinated (assessment task: final exam).
 Evaluate the importance of allosteric regulation for controlling metabolic flux (assessment task: final exam).
 Compare and contrast the different levels of metabolic regulation in a cell and between different types of cells (assessment task: final exam).
 Understand the molecular basis of metabolic diseases (assessment tasks: proposal assignment & final exam).
 Understand the molecular details of energy generation pathways and how they are integrated within metabolism (assessment task final exam).
 Synthesise primary scientific literature to provide necessary background and context for understanding and interpreting experimental data (assessment task: proposal assignment).

Transferable Skills Register:
 Writing a research report. This will be important for any career in research or in an NGO, where you will need to write convincing applications for increasingly-limited funding. We will have tutorials to provide instruction on the elements of successful reports and help you identify these elements with clear marking rubrics. (Employable, innovative and enterprising)
 Synthesising information. In everyday life and in many job situations you will be required to read information from different sources, construct your own understanding and shape your own viewpoint. In lectures and tutorials, we will discuss recent research papers in a group environment and this will develop your abilities to identify the essential elements of research outputs - you will then use in proposal and report writing. (Employable, innovative and enterprising, Critically competent)
 Analysing data. Important for research, as well as in a number of private-sector organizations. This skill will be further developed when we assist you to analyse data we provide. (Employable, innovative and enterprising, Critically competent)

Prerequisites

BCHM221 or BCHM253 or BIOL253

Restrictions

BCHM201, ENCH323

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Renwick Dobson

Lecturers

Steven Gieseg and Claudia Meisrimler

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Assignment 11% Work set by Prof. Dobson - Term 3
Assignment 11% Work set by A/Prof. Gieseg - Term 4
Assignment 8% Work set by Dr Meisrimler - Term 4
Final Examination 40% Three hours
Test 30% Start of term 4


WEB-BASED RESOURCES
Various learning resources (lecture material, reference links, quizzes, discussion forums etc.) for this
course are available via the University of Canterbury’s Learn web site -- http://learn.canterbury.ac.nz/.
This site will also be used regularly as a means of communication and information distribution for all of
your Canterbury courses. You should familiarise yourself with Learn as soon as possible.
TUTORIALS:
These are workshops where the assignments work will be discussed and set. It will also be an
opportunity to further discuss issues from the lectures and ask questions relating to the lecture material.
Timing and location of the tutorials will be confirmed and communicated at lectures and on Learn.
ASSIGNMENTS:
This will take the form of written reports on topics set by the lecturers during the term. The topics will be
on aspects of cell metabolism and designed to expand and test the student’s skills in scholarship-based
research. This will require reading and researching material introduced in lectures.
WORKLOAD:
Students should note that the Science Faculty recommends approximately 3.2 hours of additional study
for each hour of lecture/workshop contact time at the 200-level.

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Nelson, David L. , Lehninger, Albert L., Cox, Michael M; Lehninger principles of biochemistry ; 6th ed; W.H. Freeman, 2013.

If you buy an earlier edition (perhaps second hand – it’s cheaper), there is little difference between editions 4-6; however, when we refer to the text in lectures and tutorials we will always refer to page numbers in the 6th edition.

Notes

FEEDBACK

COURSE SURVEY 2020:
Materials provided helped me to understand what was required. 3.78
The organisation of this course helped me learn 3.81
The overall workload in this course was 3.92
I found the assessments appropriate for the course. 4.11
I received helpful feedback on my progress 3.59
Overall this was a good quality course 3.84
Number of response for survey 70%

COURSE SURVEY 2017:
Materials provided helped me to understand what was required. 4.13
The organisation of this course helped me learn 3.82
The overall workload in this course was 3.77
I found the assessments appropriate for the course. 3.96
I received helpful feedback on my progress 3.58
Overall this was a good quality course 3.85
Number of response for survey 70%

COURSE SURVEY 2015:
This was a well organised course 3.8
This course helped to stimulate my interest in the subject 4.2
The overall workload in this course was 3.7
Provided effective opportunities for active student participation was 4.2
I received helpful feedback on my progress 3.5
The assessments in this course measured my learning effectively 3.7
Overall this was a good quality course 3.8
Number of response for survey 14%

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $910.00

International fee $4,438.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see School of Biological Sciences .

All BCHM222 Occurrences

  • BCHM222-21S2 (C) Semester Two 2021