Biochem study advice

Long story short, I'm not so hot at biochem and need to get better.

I have a huge class (~600) and pretty much no help. There is one 'help' session a week, which isn't very helpful. The study group I'm in is like the blind leading the blind.

So how did you guys conquer biochem? What worked?

I've been taking notes, re-writing notes, and making flash cards. But still...

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Biochem is not my favorite thing to do. The only way I can learn all of those pathways and stuff is to use tons of flashcards and memorize the heck out of 'em. The way I study makes me look a little crazy, so I usually study by myself to learn the material. I have flashcards and go through them and explain them to myself orally. If I can talk my way through it, I usually know it pretty well. The night before exams (once I'm pretty comfy with the material) I review with a friend by asking each other our flashcard piles.

I don't know if this would be helpful or not, but this is one of the things I do!

If you take handwritten notes, go back after you've written them and look over them again. Take all of the important nouns and re-write them on the far left side of the paper (to the left of the pink margin). Then, after studying, fold the pieces of paper over until all you can see are the nouns, and now see if you can fill in all of the pertinent information with only those nouns as a trigger. This helps me a lot 🙂

For example, I'm actually in Biochem II right now and for our last test a noun would have been "ATP Synthase" and from there on I would make myself be able to explain everything about it...its structure, its subunits, where it is in the mitochondria, how it works, when it works, what regulates it, what inhibits it, how certain drugs act on it, etc. etc.

This comes to another point that might help. I don't know what your tests are like, but usually if you study for the test as if it will be an all-essay test, you're more likely to do well on it no matter what the style.

Hope that helps!

Good luck, and keep your chin up!!

Just so you know you are not alone! Biochem is the only thing in my way to going to vet school in the fall...and I am super worried that it might win... Good luck! I know that its a pain in the A**

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Apparently I'm abnormal, but I really love biochem. It ranks up there with O Chem for my favorite courses I've taken (yeah...I confess to being a total chem nerd). However, just because I really enjoy it doesn't mean it comes easily to me. It takes me a really long time to learn the stuff. For me, it really helps to draw everything out. For metabolism, I would sit and just draw out the pathways over and over and also draw out how the pathways were connected, etc. As someone else already suggested, talking through everything really helps. I had a biochem exam earlier this week on proteins kinetics and folding. For this, working out problems and talking through theories/techniques really helped. I generally study by myself until I am pretty comfortable with the material. Then, I will get together with a study buddy to quiz eachother.

Back to studying for that neuro A&P exam I have in 14 hours... 🙂

I loved biochem. For what it's worth, I hated organic. I think the problem might be that you are trying to memorize rather than understand the mechanisms. For me, the key to biochem is knowing WHY and HOW a particular process happens. Using flashcards is not a good way to gain understanding, and is best left to things that you just need to remember, but not necessarily understand, like the names of amino acids. But if you want to really grasp a mechanism, get rid of the flashcards.

I use a white board to study those kinds of things. I write out the reaction and then write notes all over the place, and draw what's happening. So if I wanted to understand the regulation of blood glucose, I would draw a pancreas on my whiteboard and draw symbols for alpha cells and beta cells, and then draw a representation of what happens when each is released, showing glucagon and insulin and where they go and what they do. I would even go as far as to draw a "thermometer" of blood glucose measurement with lines at 60 and 80 as a signal for the release of each hormone, etc.

Anyway, this is just my long way of saying I think you should ditch the flash cards, since they aren't helping you, and learn the mechanisms from the standpoint of what is happening and why. Then you can illustrate and discuss this with your study partners and perhaps it will all make more sense.

I can't tell you how many times I have drawn glucose to oxaloacetate and the beta-oxidation processes! I am in Biochem II and what works for me is plain old writing everything out until I can do it in my sleep. Good luck!!

kinda off-topic but i'm wondering lailanni if you're in bioc 406 at UW right now?

i think i read in an earlier post that you're from washington, and if so, i'm in the class too!

critterfixer said:

I use a white board to study those kinds of things. I write out the reaction and then write notes all over the place, and draw what's happening. So if I wanted to understand the regulation of blood glucose, I would draw a pancreas on my whiteboard and draw symbols for alpha cells and beta cells, and then draw a representation of what happens when each is released, showing glucagon and insulin and where they go and what they do. I would even go as far as to draw a "thermometer" of blood glucose measurement with lines at 60 and 80 as a signal for the release of each hormone, etc.

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I did this same thing in both my biochem classes and it really helped me to understand what was going on. I also found it helpful to talk through each cycle/process as I was drawing it out. What really made things click for me was understanding how each process was regulated - my 2nd biochem prof was big on regulation but not so big on memorizing each pathway.... good luck... 🙂

I found that taking a step back first and looking at the larger picture really helped me with it. I had trouble if I just tried to memorize diagrams and reactions. Working through what is going on without adding all the little details helped me a lot. My professor tended to skip right to the details and that threw me off.

As crazy as it sounds I kinda miss biochem and organic.😱

Hey Lailanni,

Biochem was not so hot for me either but I managed pretty good grades out of both courses so I guess that what I did worked...

I pretty much a separate notebook just for drawing and re-drawing, and re-drawing all the pathways! I can't even begin to tell you how many times I wrote out glycolysis and the TCA cycle!

I also used flashcards for the pertinent info, but that doesn't seem to be working for you.

My biggest advice would be to find someone in the class who understands it a little bit better (there has to be someone out of the 600!) and see if they can give you some advice! Good luck! Keep pushing for that B!!!!!!

Hi! I was in the same boat. I loved ochem and i absolutely hated biochem. (sooo boring lol) I ended up with an A- in the class after a really rocky first exam. I went to the professor and poured my heart out, explaining that I was so lost as to how to study.

He suggested that, for every pathway we went over, I should neatly write out (in my own handwriting) each step, enzyme, coenzyme...etc...then, when we would move on to another pathway, he told me to find the links between the pathways and draw them on. I ended up with like 6 different sheets of printer paper with tons of arrows going to the different molecules that linked the pathways together ( ie: TCA and FA synth...etc). Because i did it as we went, it really helped me to see how everything is connected and how each cycle is regulated and dictated by concentrations of other molecules..etc. Once I saw the big picture, I was able to bring it all together. Next to each pathway I wrote out a simple list that told me what regulated the pathway (ie, the concentration of ATP dictates the flow of glycolysis...etc). I found that just a simple list really helped me to keep things straight. I also found that biochem wasn't a thing like OChem where you can just memorize and grind it out, it really helps to see what regulates the process and how concentrations affect equilibrium. Plus, my professor ended up making us turn in a final poster of all the pathways as extra credit for the class (which I already had done!). Good luck!!

chordy4 said:

kinda off-topic but i'm wondering lailanni if you're in bioc 406 at UW right now?

i think i read in an earlier post that you're from washington, and if so, i'm in the class too!

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Hey, small world! Yep, I'm in that class (unfortunately!) Do you go to lecture or watch the screencasts? In all my pre-vet time at UW, I've only ever found 1 other pre-vet person. Guess we're a rare breed here.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! It's helpful to hear about how people have gotten through biochem successfully. I'm really thankful, you guys are such a good resource! 🙂

I really, really loved O-chem, liked biology, but biochem somehow doesn't float my boat.

We still have 2 tests to go (there are 4 total and we get to drop 1) So I'm going to give it my best shot.

Is it just me or is anybody else experiencing increased sympathetic tone from reading all this stuff about biochem and organic??!!! 🙂

man, I hated that stuff. And the good news is that you really don't need it once you're actually in vet school.

Better get my heart rate down and stop my palms from sweating so I can get five hours of sleep before my respiratory physiology and gross anatomy exams....

(which I would MUCH rather take than another $#%($#%* biochem exam!)

Best of luck!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! People have offered some great ideas here.

Okay, thread hijack by sleepy brain over... 😀

lailanni said:

Hey, small world! Yep, I'm in that class (unfortunately!) Do you go to lecture or watch the screencasts? In all my pre-vet time at UW, I've only ever found 1 other pre-vet person. Guess we're a rare breed here.

Thanks for all the advice everyone! It's helpful to hear about how people have gotten through biochem successfully. I'm really thankful, you guys are such a good resource! 🙂

I really, really loved O-chem, liked biology, but biochem somehow doesn't float my boat.

We still have 2 tests to go (there are 4 total and we get to drop 1) So I'm going to give it my best shot.

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I am also in the UW Biochem 406 class... 😀

lailanni, what I do is this:

--go to every lecture and take notes
---watch every lecture on the screeencast and add to my notes/clarify things I did not hear or heard incorrectly the first time
--make flash cards with prompt questions to quiz myself--there are usually 400 per exam... 😉
--the days before the exam I reorganize my notes on large notecards for quick reference
--The night or two before I read Go Post (if I remember, I do... there are a lot of hints dropped there and in Q & A) and I do the practice exams the night before, without fail
--I also meet with another girl in the class and we go over everything the day before and sometimes earlier in the quarter. We are both pretty studious and detail-oriented, so we are often able to correct one another... if we don't know, we ask at Q & A, consult the book (she more than I on that one, I don't like the book) or ask on GoPost.

For it being only a 3-credit class, one really has to devote a ton of outside time. It's unusual, this course, and definitely at the extreme of the spectrum for the time-management required.

We might be meeting to study next Monday or the following week. If you are interested, let me know. Same goes for the other poster on here in our class. As I said, my partner and I usually review before we get together. Then, when meeting, we walk each other through the slides and listen very intently, make new notes, correct ourselves... it's very helpful. She's very very strong on the o-chem details. I am better, perhaps, at the more 'content' (the lighter stuff) part of the lectures... and hearing the inflection in the professor's voice which signals something very important...

I definitely think you either need to switch study partners or you need to be more assertive and try to turn the study time into more efficient practice. Maybe you could write quizzes for each other to do open note? Maybe you could each 'teach each other' a certain part of the material and then listen very carefully to find holes/mistakes, etc...?<---that is definitely something I would recommend, BTW.

For me, the main point is I need to see the material at least 5 times before I can recall it--write it, hear it, say it and read it. I also find that creating broad outlines help a lot with this class, esp. as the exam draws near and I am trying to figure out what the main points of each lecture were... The outline becomes like a coat rack where you can hang some of the key vocabulary and imagery... I try not to forget to make outlines because I can recreate them in my mind during the exam and help associate names (like enzymes) to a certain part of the course... too many things sound alike, otherwise--one of the pitfalls of the course content... recurring names and themes... with slight twists.

I've also tried turning all my notes into prose. That was helpful, but I got tired of it.

Anyways, as you can see, I spend more time on this class than my other ones. But I do enjoy the material, even if it takes a lot of effort to internalize.

Let me know if you would like to meet or have any other questions about study tips.

We might be meeting to study next Monday or the following week. If you are interested, let me know. Same goes for the other poster on here in our class.

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Thanks for the tips! I don't want to barge in on your study group -- but if it's also ok with your study partner I really could use the extra practice. I'll PM you with my uw e-mail. Thanks!! 🙂

lailanni said:

Thanks for the tips! I don't want to barge in on your study group -- but if it's also ok with your study partner I really could use the extra practice. I'll PM you with my uw e-mail. Thanks!! 🙂

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Sure... 😀

I took it over the summer and it was insanely fast-paced. Flashcards really helped me.

I was also incredibly lucky because the class was MEGA curved-- my 66% on the final was a B. 😀

I'm a big fan of putting the professor's notes (or book) in your own words. I still do that in vet school. It helps me especially with concepts. If I can explain the concept to myself on paper, it really helps, plus it gives you concise notes to look over for the exam. Good luck!

Oh yeah, I also did flash cards for the amino acids, fatty acids, etc. That helped too.

Okay, so I may have only gotten a B in BCH (but had lots of extenuating circumstances that semester) BUT I can tell you what helped me!

I bought a whiteboard! Big dry erase - GREAT for this. You draw it over, and over, and over... And it becomes second nature. 🙂 Also flashcards were helpful too!