Module BISS1271: BIOCHEMISTRY

Department: Biological and Biomedical Sciences (Biomedical Sciences) [Queen's Campus, Stockton]

BISS1271: BIOCHEMISTRY

Prerequisites

• None

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To appreciate the diversity of biomolecules.
• To appreciate the contribution of biomolecule properties to cell structure and function.
• To appreciate how energy is made, stored and used in living cells.
• To appreciate the key biochemical pathways that support life.
• To appreciate how biochemical pathways are controlled and regulated.

Content

• Properties of molecules in solution – pH, buffers, osmosis, non-ideal solutions.
• Biomolecules: proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, enzymes.
• Spectroscopic methods of analysis.
• Biological membranes: structure and transport.
• Energy and enzymes: Thermodynamics, Michaelis-Menten kinetics.
• Metabolism.

Learning Outcomes

• To appreciate the diversity of biomolecules in a living organism.
• Appreciate the contribution made by different biomolecules to the structure and function of living cells.
• Appreciate how some important biomolecules are generated by biochemical pathways.
• Appreciate how these biochemical pathways can be regulated and controlled.
• Appreciate the different contributions of anabolic and catabolic biochemical pathways to maintaining a cell

• Knowledge of molecules of life.
• Students should be able to work safely in the laboratory using procedures and techniques applicable applicable to biochemistry

• Laboratory practical skills, statistical analysis.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures provide a solid foundation for knowledge and understanding, both practical and theoretical, and form a framework for students’ self-directed learning.
• Tutorials are used to enhance the acquisition of key skills.
• Practicals and Laboratory sessions are used to reinforce the subject knowledge identified in other teaching and learning modes, but also serve to enhance subject specific skills.
• Unseen examinations are a test of the range depth and sophistication of the students knowledge and understanding of the material in a module. They also test key skills in ability to present arguments and communicate them effectively in a concise written form.
• Data Handling provides an opportunity for the student to display an ability in bringing together of information and critical assessment of data, often in a clinical context.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Data handling, problem sheets Practical reports.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University