BB 350: General Biochemistry Syllabus 2010

It will pay you to read this document. One question on the first exam generally comes straight from the syllabus. MEETING TIME ! Spring, 2012: MTW !:00"!:50 #$S% 125 IN T"#$TO" IN%O ! &r. 'e(in )hern &''ice ( )#S 21!5 &''ice *ours ( )nytime + am in my o''ice you are ,elcome to come to see me- .ou /o not nee/ an appointment, but + ,ill gla/ly ma0e one i' you ,ish- See my calen/ar at http:11,,,-/a2incipress-com1aherncalen/ar-html %ontact: ahern03oni/-orst-e/u or phone 5!1"434"2305 $O#" E *"E"E+#I ITE ! %* 332 ,E)"NING "E O#"$E 1- Te5tboo0: Biochemistry ree an/ 6asy by 7e2in )hern an/ +n/ira 8a9agopal 2- +nstructor summaries an/ a//itional in'ormational items ,ill be a2ailable through the Sche/ule page :8# belo,3- $o,er$oint images are a2ailable through the class Blac0boar/ site !- +n/i2i/ual meetings ,ith the instructor are encourage/-E. M)TE"I), " The class Web page/ can be 'oun/ at http/00oregonstate.edu0instruction0bb1230- The tentati2e lecture an/ e5am sche/ule is on the Web at http/00oregonstate.edu0instruction0bb1230schedule.html - ;ue to the nee/ to ensure that the class is presente/ ,ith material at a rate that is best suite/ to learning, the sche/ule may 'luctuate slightly through the termE4)MIN)TION IN%O<+= 65am /ates1times are sho,n on the class Sche/ule page- )ll e5ams ,ill be gi2en in the regular ,* $ classroom- 65ams 1"3 ,ill be at the regular class time- The 'inal e5am time an/ /ate is note/ on the Sche/ule pageE4)M *O,I$IE " There ,ill be 'our e5ams gi2en in this course- The 'inal ,ill be comprehensi2e- $reparing ma0eup e5ams re>uires a signi'icant e''ort on the part o' the instructor- 65cuse/ absences ,ill not be gi2en 'or airline reser2ations, routine illness <col/s, 'lu, stomach aches=, or other common ailments ,ith a /octor?s note65cuse/ absences ,ill generally not be gi2en a'ter the absence has occurre/, e5cept un/er 2ery unusual circumstances- Stu/ents sometimes ha2e con'usion about the class e5am policy- So that there is no con'usion, it is as 'ollo,s: +n the e2ent o' a pre"arrangement ,ith the instructor /ue to unusual circumstances, a ma0eup e5am M). be gi2en- Stu/ents ,on/er ,hat constitutes unusual circumstances- We ,ill ta0e that on a case by case basis, but the 'ollo,ing situations are @&T groun/s 'or missing an e5am: 1- .ou misrea/ the /ate o' the e5am on the syllabus or ,rote the ,rong /ate /o,n2- .ou ,ent to the ,rong roomStu/ents ,ith airline tic0ets sometimes ,ant an e5cuse/ absence- This too ,ill not be gi2en routinely- Aust as you ,oul/ not ,ant your instructor ta0ing a ,ee0 o'' /uring the term, so too + /o not ,ant you /isappearing ,hen +?m gi2ing an e5am- + recogniBe, ho,e2er, that there are circumstances ,here a trip is sometimes necessary- +' that is the case ,ith you, you must report it at the beginning o' the

term an/ + ,ill /eci/e i' the reason 9usti'ies other arrangements- @o promises are ma/e, ho,e2er+ recogniBe that errors are occasionally ma/e in gra/ing o' e5aminations- +t is the responsibility o' each stu/ent to chec0 that their e5am has been properly gra/e/8egra/es o' e5ams ,ill be per'orme/ ,hen there is an error an/ the stu/ent re>uests it- )ll re>uests 'or regra/ing must be ma/e ,ithin 3 ,ee0/ays o' the /ay the e5am is returne/ to the class as a ,hole- )'ter that perio/ o' time, gra/es ,ill be 'i5e/ an/ ,ill not be change/- 8e>uests 'or regra/ing a'ter that time ,ill be automatically /enie/G")&ING" %ourse $oints ;istribution " 65am 1 <20C=, 65am 2 <20C=, 65am 3 <20C= inal 65am <!0C=- When class atten/ance is lo,er than normal <especially on sunny spring /ays=, e5tra cre/it >uiBBes ,ill be gi2en- These ,ill change the percentages abo2e- 65tra cre/it1pop >uiBBes %)@@&T be ma/e up- There is no extra credit possible beyond the occasional questions asked on exams and therefore I do not (and in fact cannot) take improvement during the term into consideration in assigning grades. No fixed grading scale will be used to assign letter grades and no fixed numbers of letter grades are set. ince there is no fixed grading scale (!"#$"#%"#&"' for example) grades are therefore (curved'( since this is the definition of what (curved( means. )rades will be assigned on groupings as determined by the instructor at the conclusion of the course. *ndergraduates will be evaluated and graded separately from graduate students. If your grade is low and you wonder how to improve it' the answer is to improve your performance against the average compared to what you did previously. +ecause grades are assigned on a ,curve'- there is no way for me to tell you ,how many points- you need to get a desired grade. This is only possible for grading schemes that use fixed percentages . !"/ 0 1' $"/ 0 +' etc. It is the responsibility of each student to check that their exam has been properly graded. To request a regrade' a student must write an explanation clearly explaining the error that occurred in the grading of the exam. This written request must be stapled to the original exam and submitted to the instructor within 2 weekdays after the examination is returned to the class. 3ailure to follow these instructions will result in automatic denial of the request. 3rivolous requests involving ,fishing for points(for example . asking me to regrade simply to award you more points without a valid reason) will result in loss of points. tudents who ask questions about grading that are answered above or who ask questions about answers to exam questions without consulting the exam key will lose points. LETTERS OF REFERENCE I am frequently asked to write letters of reference for students from the class. I am happy to do so if I know you and you made a good grade in the class. I have a policy for writing letters that is explained more fully at http4##oregonstate.edu#dept#biochem#hhmi#ahernletters.html $O#" E *O,I$IE ! $lease note the /ate an/ time o' the class e5ams- )tten/ance o' lectures is important 'or success- The instructor ,ill, on occasion, gi2e e5tra cre/it to stu/ents atten/ing the lecture- This is most o'ten /one on /ays ,hen atten/ance is lo,est an/ these most o'ten occur ,hen the ,eather is beauti'ul outsi/e- +' itDs nice outsi/e, you may ,ant to be sure to atten/ class- 65tra cre/its gi2en in this ,ay ,ill change the gra/ing /istribution o' the course an/ cannot be ma/e up- 8ea/ing an/ stu/ying the assigne/ material be'ore the lecture /ate is essential 'or successWaiting to the last minute to stu/y or prepare is a prescription 'or /isaster+ e5pect stu/ents ,ill meet all /ea/lines as appropriate 'or ,ith/ra,ing 'rom the class, shoul/ that be necessary- + /o not routinely appro2e petitions to ma0e changes a'ter /ea/lines ha2e passe/, e5cept in e5traor/inary circumstances- The

/ea/line 'or /ropping classes <no gra/e= /uring the aca/emic year <'all, ,inter, spring terms= is the secon/ ,ee0 o' class- The /ea/line 'or ,ith/ra,ing 'rom a class <gra/e o' W= is the se2enth ,ee0 /uring the aca/emic year- Summer /ea/lines are /i''erent an/ stu/ents are responsible 'or con'irming such /ea/lines ,ith the &S: 8egistrar,E)"NE" E4*E$T)TION " 1- )/2ance preparations, inclu/ing rea/ing notes be'ore lectures are gi2en2- )2oi/ last minute stu/ying 3- Euestions to ans,er concepts1processes that the stu/ent /oes not un/erstan/ B6 &86 it is too late!- 8ecognition that an un/erstan/ing o' a comple5 topic li0e biochemistry re>uires consi/erable bac0groun/ prior to the class, a consi/erable amount o' in'ormation to be ac>uire/ in the class, an/ su''icient time an/ e''ort to put these together to master the material,E)"NE" O#T$OME ! The intention o' the course is 'or stu/ents to: 1- )c>uire the technical language use/ to communicate biochemistry in'ormation 2- 8ecall elements o' basic biochemistry principles, inclu/ing metabolic path,ays, molecule names, molecular structures <,here note/=, enBymes, control mechanisms, an/ terms use/ to /escribe categories o' molecules 3- $er'orm analyses an/ basic calculations relating to solutions, energy, an/ catalysis !- %ommunicate <through ,riting= 0ey concepts rele2ant to biochemistry 5- :n/erstan/ an/ apply elementary concepts o' biochemistry to rele2ant, speci'ic problemsGENE"), O # )N& &E*)"TMENT), *O,I$IE " $lease note: FStu/ents ,ith /ocumente/ /isabilities ,ho may nee/ accommo/ations, ,ho ha2e any emergency me/ical in'ormation the instructor shoul/ 0no,, or ,ho nee/ special arrangements in the e2ent o' e2acuation, shoul/ ma0e an appointment ,ith the instructor as early as possible, no later that the 'irst ,ee0 o' the term- +n or/er to arrange alternati2e testing, the stu/ent shoul/ ma0e the re>uest at least one ,ee0 in a/2ance o' the test- Stu/ents see0ing accommo/ations shoul/ be registere/ ,ith the &''ice o' Ser2ices 'or Stu/ents ,ith ;isabilities- Stu/ents ,hose celebration o' religious holi/ays con'licts ,ith class responsibilities must noti'y the instructor o' the course in the 'irst ,ee0 o' the course to see i' alternati2e arrangements can be ma/eFThe ;epartment o' Biochemistry1Biophysics 'ollo,s the uni2ersity policies on stu/ent con/uct- These can be 'oun/ at http/00oregonstate.edu0admin0stucon0regs.htm- %heating or plagiarism by stu/ents is sub9ect to the /isciplinary process outline/ in the Stu/ent %on/uct 8egulations- Stu/ents are e5pecte/ to be honest an/ ethical in their aca/emic ,or0)ca/emic /ishonesty is /e'ine/ as an intentional act o' /eception in one o' the 'ollo,ing areas: G G G G G cheating" use or attempte/ use o' unauthoriBe/ materials, in'ormation or stu/y ai/s 'abrication" 'alsi'ication or in2ention o' any in'ormation assisting" helping another commit an act o' aca/emic /ishonesty tampering" altering or inter'ering ,ith e2aluation instruments an/ /ocuments plagiarism" representing the ,or/s or i/eas o' another person as one?s o,n

Beha2iors /isrupti2e to the learning en2ironment ,ill not be tolerate/ an/ ,ill be re'erre/ to the &''ice o' Stu/ent %on/uct 'or /isciplinary actionThe goal o' &regon State :ni2ersity is to pro2i/e stu/ents ,ith the 0no,le/ge, s0ill an/ ,is/om they nee/ to contribute to society- &ur rules are 'ormulate/ to guarantee each stu/ent?s 'ree/om to learn an/ to protect the 'un/amental rights o'

others- $eople must treat each other ,ith /ignity an/ respect in or/er 'or scholarship to thri2e- Beha2iors that are /isrupti2e to teaching an/ learning ,ill not be tolerate/, an/ ,ill be re'erre/ to the Stu/ent %on/uct $rogram 'or /isciplinary action- Beha2iors that create a hostile, o''ensi2e or intimi/ating en2ironment base/ on gen/er, race, ethnicity, color, religion, age, /isability, marital status or se5ual orientation ,ill be re'erre/ to the )''irmati2e )ction &''ice-