Undergraduate Course: Biological Chemistry 1A (CHEM08022)
Course Outline
| School | School of Chemistry |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The Biological Chemistry 1A and 1B 20-point courses together provide the first year course for students taking biological sciences-based degrees. These courses are designed to take students with diverse backgrounds and provide them with the thorough grounding in the fundamentals of biological chemistry and provide a basic training in the essential laboratory skills for practical chemistry.
The courses consist of lectures, tutorials and laboratory classes. |
| Course description |
The course is designed to provide an introduction to the key chemical principles underpinning many biological processes. The main themes addressed by the course are: the biological periodic table, thermodynamics and equilibria in biological systems, the shapes of simple organic molecules and how this translates into the primary, secondary and tertiary structure of bio-molecules, structure determination techniques to analyse simple organic molecules.
It is the required 1st year course (with Biological Chemistry 1B) for students intending to proceed to biological degrees requiring credits in Chemistry and a pre-requisite course for Chemistry for Life Sciences 2.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | Students MUST NOT also be taking
Chemistry 1A (CHEM08016) OR
Introductory Chemistry for Biologists (CHEM07001)
|
Other requirements | Course pre-requisite is a pass in Higher Chemistry (at grade A or B), or Advanced Higher or A-level (at grade A - C), or equivalent. |
| Additional Costs | Purchase of a laboratory coat.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2016/17, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 30,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 15,
Online Activities 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 12,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
127 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
70 %,
Coursework
3 %,
Practical Exam
27 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
70% Examination and 30% In-Course Assessment (comprising laboratory practical marks and multiple choice test). |
| Feedback |
Feedback will be provided through three major channels:
Tutorials:
Each week before the tutorial you will be asked to work through some questions. Although these are not marked, you should always attempt the questions in advance as they are a good self-check on how well you have understood the material from the lectures. Use the tutorial to ask questions and clear up any difficulties you have with a particular topic.
Laboratories:
Each lab report you complete will be returned at your next lab session and you will have the chance to discuss any comments on your report with your demonstrator so you can learn from these and improve future reports. During the laboratory sessions you will be supervised by a demonstrator who will be available to provide feedback on your practical performance.
On-line quizzes:
Each lecture course has an on-line quiz associated with it. These quizzes can be attempted multiple-times and immediate feedback will be given to direct your learning. You should attempt these on-line quizzes before the relevant tutorial.
Towards the end of the course you will also be given the opportunity to provide us with feedback regarding all aspects of the course. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Biological Chemistry 1A | 2:00 | | | Resit Exam Diet (August) | Biological Chemistry 1A | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Appreciate how to build knowledge in chemistry through an increased awareness of the effectiveness of different modes of teaching and learning.
- Understand, describe and account for: the fundamental principles of the periodic table and chemical bonding; the principles of thermodynamics and equilibria; the structure of biomolecules including shape, stereochemistry and chemical functionality; characterisation of biomolecules using mass spectrometry and UV/vis, IR and NMR spectroscopies.
- Participate in small group discussions both in a laboratory and in a tutorial setting.
- Use data sets using suitable software to formulate meaningful scientific arguments.
- Use laboratory equipment under supervision in a safe manner in order to perform simple synthetic procedures and spectroscopic characterisations, and write clearly structured, word-processed laboratory reports.
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Reading List
| Chemistry for Biologists, David Reed, ISBN 978-1408280829 |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1. Written communication skills (laboratory)
2. Ability to work in teams (laboratory)
3. Note-taking skills in lectures |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Lectures on Mon 0900-1000, Wed 0900-1000 and Fri 0900-1000 at King's Buildings.
A one hour tutorial is held on either Tue pm, Thur pm or Fri pm.
Laboratory classes will be held Mon 1000-1300 or Mon 1400-1700 or Wed 1000-1300 or Fri 1000-1300 in Joseph Black Building, at King's Buildings. |
| Keywords | BC1A |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Peter Kirsop
Tel: (0131 6)50 4719
Email: p.kirsop@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Claire Dickson
Tel: (0131 6)51 7257
Email: Claire.Dickson@ed.ac.uk |
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