Biology 465

MEETINGS:
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE HOURS:
OFFICE PHONE:
E-MAIL:
REQUIRED TEXT:

Biochemistry
TR, 2:00 3:15 PM, Dobo 103
Dr. Kinsey, Office: Dobo 219A, Lab: Dobo 219
Drop-ins are welcome, also by appointment
Best time for drop-in: Tues. 3:15-5:15 PM, Wed. Noon-1:00 PM
962-7398
kinseys@uncw.edu
Biochemistry: A short course, 2nd ed, by Tymoczko, Berg and Stryer

Course Goals:
The course is designed to provide you with a fundamental understanding of the chemistry that occurs in
cells, with an emphasis on understanding biochemistry from a biological perspective. That is, you will be
encouraged to integrate aspects of cell biology, physiology, and biophysics with the biochemical topics that we
will discuss. Remember that there are no natural boundaries in biological disciplines! Courses are divided into
different disciplines for convenience only, but all biological courses are linked.
Course Format:
Lecture Notes: I will lecture from an outline using PowerPoint. PowerPoint slides will be available on
Blackboard (each chapter will be available on the web one lecture ahead of when it will be covered). However,
you will be responsible for what is discussed in class as well. Therefore, learning only what I project on the
screen or put in the slides will not be sufficient.
Textbook: I will follow the textbook closely. It is therefore imperative that you read the relevant pages of the
book in advance of each lecture. I will also project slides of figures from the textbook. It is important that you
understand the figures that I present from the book (as well as other figures), so keep track of the figure numbers
so that you can read the relevant text in the book.
Homework/Study Aids: I will provide you with a list of selected questions at the end of each chapter in your
textbook. The answers to these questions are in the back of your textbook. I will not grade the homework - it is
for you to use as a study aid only. However, I will use the questions from the end of each chapter to help generate
exams. In addition, the book website has practice quizzes and further explanation of the information that is
discussed in class.
Book website:
http://www.whfreeman.com/tymoczko2e
Grading:
A 10 point system will be used: 100-90=A, 89-80=B, 79-70=C, 69-60=D, < 59=F. The course will be
divided into 5 sections, with an exam at the end of each section. The first 4 exams will be taken during regular
class meetings, and the 5th (final) exam will be held during exam week. All exams will be weighted equally. The
final exam is not cumulative, but the material covered in the last quarter of the course will require that you be
familiar with much of what has been covered previously. Your lowest exam grade may be dropped (except for the
final exam, which cannot be dropped).
NO MAKE-UP TESTS OR LATE ARRIVALS TO EXAMS WILL BE ALLOWED!! If an exam is missed
without prior permission from me, a zero grade will be recorded and averaged into the final grade. If you arrive
to an exam after other students have left the room, you will not be allowed to take the exam.

Learning Outcomes: This is not a complete list of what you will be expected to learn, but at the end of the
semester you should be able to:
1) Identify the major biomolecules and characterize their chemical/physical properties and cellular functions
(structure, solubility in water, polymerization, charge, pH effects, pKa).

2) Understand the energetic basis of chemical reactions and the role of enzymes (thermodynamics, free
energy, activation energy, enzyme effects on activation energy).
3) Understand kinetics and the mechanistic basis of enzyme catalysis (rate constants, Km, Vmax, conducting
kinetic experiments, mechanisms of catalysis, chymotrypsin mechanism).
4) Know the underlying principles and details of energy metabolism (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, citric acid
cycle, fatty acid oxidation, amino acid oxidation, urea cycle, metabolic regulation).
5) Be able to integrate metabolic pathways in various tissues and describe how changes in metabolic state
alter metabolism (starvation, low carbohydrate diets, diabetes, alcoholism).
Tentative Schedule: The topics covered and exam dates are subject to change.
Dates
Aug 21
Aug 26
Aug 28
Sep 2
Sep 4
Sep 9
Sep 11
Sep 16
Sep 18
Sep 23
Sep 25
Sep 30
Oct 2
Oct 7
Oct 9
Oct 14
Oct 16
Oct 21
Oct 23
Oct 28
Oct 30
Nov 4
Nov 6
Nov 11
Nov 13
Nov 18
Nov 20
Nov 25
Nov 27
Dec 2
Thu, Dec 11,
3:00-6:00

Topic
Biochemistry and the unity of life; Water, weak bonds, and order
Water, weak bonds and order; Amino acids
Amino acids; Protein 3D structure
Techniques in protein biochemistry
Basic concepts of enzyme action; Kinetics and regulation
EXAM 1
Kinetics and regulation; Mechanisms and inhibitors
Hemoglobin, an allosteric protein
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Membrane structure and function
EXAM 2
Signal-transduction pathways
Signal transduction pathways
Digestion: turning a meal into cellular biochemicals; Metabolism: basic
concepts and design
Fall break no class
Metabolism: basic concepts and design; Glycolysis
Glycolysis; Gluconeogenesis
EXAM 3
Preparation for the cycle; Harvesting electrons from the cycle
Harvesting electrons from the cycle
The electron-transport chain; The proton motive force
Glycogen degradation; Glycogen synthesis
Fatty acid degradation; Fatty acid synthesis
EXAM 4
Lipid synthesis: Storage lipids, phospholipids and cholesterol
Amino acid degradation and the urea cycle
Amino acid synthesis
Thanksgiving no class
Nucleotide metabolism
FINAL EXAM

Chapter
1, 2
2, 3
3, 4
5
6, 7
7, 8
9
10
11
12
13
13
14, 15
15, 16
16; 17
18; 19
19
20, 21
24, 25
27, 28
29
30
31
32

UNCW Honor Code:

The Department of Biology and Marine Biology strongly supports the academic honor code as stated in
The Student Handbook and Code of Student Life and will not tolerate academic dishonesty. Please be
especially familiar with UNC-Ws position on plagiarism as outlined on in the UNCW Student Handbook.
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty in which you take someone elses ideas and represent them as your
own. Here are some examples of plagiarism:
1. You write about someone elses work in your paper and do not give them credit for it by referencing them.

2. You give a presentation and use someone elses ideas and do not state that the ideas are the other persons.
3. You get facts from your textbook or some other reference material and do not reference that material.
Students with Disabilities:
I am happy to make accommodations to those students with disabilities. Students with diagnosed
disabilities should contact the Office of Disability Services (962-7555). Please give me a copy of the letter you
receive from Office of Disability Services detailing class accommodations you may need. If you require
accommodation for test-taking please make sure I have the referral letter no less than three days before the test.
Violence and Harassment:
UNCW practices a zero tolerance policy for any kind of violent or harassing behavior. If you are
experiencing an emergency of this type contact the police at 911 or UNCW CARE at 962-2273. Resources for
individuals concerned with a violent or harassing situation can be located at
http://www.uncw.edu/wsrc/crisis.html.
Additional Resources:
THE UNIVERSITY LEARNING CENTER
DePaolo Hall 1056 & 1003, first floor
910.962.7857
www.uncw.edu/ulc
The University Learning Centers (ULC) mission is to help students become successful, independent learners. Tutoring at the ULC is
NOT remediation: the ULC offers a different type of learning opportunity for those students who want to increase the quality of their
education. ULC services are free to all UNCW students and include the following:

Learning Services (University Studies) http://www.uncw.edu/ulc/learning/index.html

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