BCH 4054--General Biochemistry II--Spring 2001

Course Description/Objectives

This is the second semester of a two-semester course in General Biochemistry. In the first part of the course the principles of metabolism are studied and illustrated with several anabolic and catabolic pathways. The relationships between the pathways and the regulation of metabolism at both the cellular and organism level are emphasized. In the second part of the course the nature of DNA as the genetic material is described, and the principles of gene expression by which the genetic information in DNA is transcribed into RNA and then translated into protein structure is described. Students will be expected not only to understand the principles of these processes, but also to describe details of many of the reactions and processes involved..

BCH 4053, the first semester of the two-semester sequence, is a pre-requisite for this course.

Grading/Evaluation

There are four hour exams, worth 100 points each, and a final exam, which counts double (2 x 100 or 200 points).  A group project, described below, will be worth an additional 100 points for a total possible score of 700 points.  The final exam score can substitute for the lowest hour test grade if it is higher.

No make-up tests

In exceptional circumstances, it might be possible to arrange to take the hour test a day early.  In the case of excused absences where this is not possible, the Exam grade will substitute for the missed exam.

Optional extra credit

There will be seven optional “Chapter Tests” available on the web..  These tests are taken on the computer and graded by the computer.  They can be taken open-book and with notes, but you cannot receive help from another person.  They are timed tests, and you will have only one attempt at each.  The five highest on-line test grades will be averaged, and the average can replace a lower hour test grade.  Each test will only be available for a few days, so you must keep up with the course material in order to take advantage of them.

Group Project

The group project is to be done by at least two and no more than four students.  It will involve a literature search about a metabolic disorder and the development of a web site describing the disorder.  You will be given criteria for the web site, and all class members will participate in the evaluation of all web sites.

Grading Scale

Following are the estimated percentage cut-off's for a given letter grade, obtained by dividing the total raw score by 7. Depending on test difficulty and class performance, these cut-off's might be lowered slightly, but they won't be raised. I will not know until all grades are in whether any adjustment will be made.

     90-100 A or A-       75-89   B or B-       60-74   C or C-       50-59   D or D-

Grade Posting

If you sign the permission slip on the course questionnaire, your test grades will be posted on the chemistry web grade server.  See the instructions for accessing web grades. (The grades for the on-line web tests are available separately through Blackboard's Course Info.)

Contact with Instructor

Electronic Mail Communication

            To provide an additional means of communication between instructor and student and among students, students may obtain a computer account and register it for the class.  You are encouraged to use this means of asking questions, commenting on lectures, making appointments for help, etc.  A mail alias, BCH-4054-01@garnet.acns.fsu.edu, has been generated for the class.  Everyone with an FSU email account who is registered for the course will automatically be put on the alias and should receive mail sent to it.  (Only your FSU account can be entered in the alias.  If you read your mail on another account, then telnet to your FSU account and set it to forward mail.)  If you do not have an email account, you should go to the web site: http://register.acns.fsu.edu and follow the link to new accounts.  If you are not on the class roll (perhaps you are auditing or making up an I grade), you must go to the same web site and follow the link to course mailing lists.  You will need your FSU ID card number, your social security number, and the course reference number for this class, which is 00273.           For additional information on Email accounts, computer help, etc., go the the ACNS web sites:  http://www.acns.fsu.edu/Students/Orientation.html ( A guide to computing at FSU) and http://www.acns.fsu.edu/Students/ (information about registering and getting connected).

Class Web Page

            A class web page will provide a variety of class-related information, including the syllabus, lecture schedule, lecture notes, assignment dates, and pointers to information on the internet that is relevant to the material you are studying.  This term I am experimenting with Blackboard's "CourseInfo"; as the entry to the web materials. The URL for the course is

            http://campus.fsu.edu/courses/BCH4054-01.sp01/.   You will need your account and password for your garnet (or mailer) email account in order to login to this course page. Access to some of the course materials can be obtained by logging in as "guest" with the password "guest" (without the quotes). If you are auditing the class and want more complete access, you must contact Dr. Light to gain entry. A separate handout describes CourseInfo.

            You will also be able to access previous BCH 4054 web pages and previous tests.  These pages are linked through my class index page at the URL:

            http://www.chem.fsu.edu/editors/rlight/course-pages.html

Help Sessions:

Help Sessions will be given at 6:00 pm on either Tuesday or Thursday the week of hour tests.