Any suggestions on how to kick ass in Biochemistry??? Videos? Practice problems?

[htorres89]

Hey everyone,

So I am taking Biochemistry next semester I have HAVE to get an A. I will not settle for a B. I also am aware this is a tough course. I want to make sure I do as well as I can(especially since I have to take it again once I enter dental school and since Orgo was tough for me)

So....with that being said....I know a lot of you have probably already taken Biochemistry before. Any videos for Biochem that are easy to understand or get straight to the point? Like how Chad's videos are for the DAT.

Any book suggestions would be nice, but I am specifically interested in any books/sites that give you a great amount of practice. Let me know! Big thanks in advance. I am sure this post will help others as well in my situation.

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[Frank Kennedy]

I am just finishing up Biochemistry the semester. The class is honestly not that difficult assuming you have a strong base in both Chemistry and Biology. I have done very well by just reading the book and focusing on the power points. I am not aware of any good videos out there. Good Luck!

 

[WheatLom]

I would read the book material before lecture and then take lecture notes, and then review your highlights in the book. The material isn't that hard, but at least at my school we had a fast pace. There was an exam ever 3rd monday, 8 chapters.

Also, remember the amino acids using games online, that are matching or by groups. Make sure to use different sources so you see different pictures of the structures so you can recognize them more.

The cycles, I would make a flow chart, or copy a chart by hand from the book that is correct. Just writing it down a few times is great for memory.

 

[blablabla1]

Biochem is an easy course if you get yourself a solid foundation.

1. Memorize the amino acids. Know their structures, their acidity/basicity, their pKa's (I'm not sure how intense your biochem class is, but ours was pretty detailed)

2. Remember acid-base chemistry during gen chem? Know it and learn to love it.

3. Intermolecular forces are your new best friend. Get a solid foundation in those.

4. Organic chemistry is going to rear it's head again in the form of isomers. If you struggled in that aspect of orgo like I did, I would review it and get good at recognizing them (anomeric carbon on carbohydrates and stuff)


Once you have these conceptual ideas, the first half of biochem is applying those concepts and memorizing details like lipid structures and stuff.

As for the anabolic and catabolic processes, unless you wanna memorize those ahead of time, I would just worry about them once you get there (as well as the way they are regulated). It's just important that when you start memorizing those cycles, be sure to think of everything in a logical manner. At each step, be thinking about the end goal of what you're doing and how each and every step is helping you achieve that end-goal.


Sorry if this was way more detailed than you needed haha

 

[MrSnuggles]

I don't remember biochemistry being particularly difficult, especially compared to courses like organic chemistry. If you did okay in chemistry then most of the class is pretty straightforward to understand, the hard part is memorizing large volumes of information for tests. For that I would say do what works best for you. For me that was skimming over powerpoints to make sure I understood the general concepts and then memorizing tables and pathways by drawing them out by hand or flash cards. Here is the intro to biochem class wiki at Brown where you can go through lecture powerpoints and some old exams.

 

[OrphanageCaretaker]

I aced biochem this semester, got a 98% overall, shame there is no A+at my uni, I could really use the 4.33 instead of the 4.0, anyway, I'd say organic chemistry wasn't as vital for biochemistry as general chemistry and cell biology was. I can give a few tips on what to go over/study:

Memorize the 20 amino acids. Memorize and UNDERSTAND bonding: ionic, van der Waals, HYDROGEN BONDING (It's everywhere in biochem) etc. Memorize functional groups such aldehydes, ketones, amines, etc. Refresh yourself on plasma membranes and integral/peripheral proteins. Get started on practicing acid/base buffer questions. Know enzymes/substrates and the delta G curves for how an enzyme binds to a substrate along with it's activation energy, catalyzed versus uncatalyzed etc. Lastly memorize glycolysis, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, TCA and ETC.

 

[2jz]

I think I got a 47 before a 10 point curve on my first exam in biochemistry. After that wake up call I started writing down everything the lecturer said, made flashcards of each slide with any comments the lecturer said while on that slide, and then a friend of mine and I went through them for hours. Get to the point that you understand the logic behind things rather than just pure memorization and it's easy to ace. Studying with a friend is the way to go imo.

Ended up with an A- (thanks in large part to the professor dropping the lowest grade by counting the final twice).

 

[WaveRace]

I've taken a handful of biochem classes and received A's. The thing that helped me the most with the intro biochem class was a combo of memorization (use anki), and making a massive flowchart that shows how everything is interconnected. You can't get around the memorization. Just be consistent with your studying!

I'm actually home on break now, so I went through my parent's attic to find an older biochem notebook of mine. I'm attaching an example of what I do in those classes. This file in itself isn't going to be useful (every class warrants learning different specifics), but this is an example of what I do for exams. Draw how everything is connected (that's the essence of biochem), be able to reproduce it, and be able to explain what would happen if you inhibit a certain enzyme, for example.

Courses vary widely on what is expected. Knowing the pKas of amino acids? Memorizing mechanisms? Structures of Kreb's cycle intermediates? Regardless of what is thrown at you, it isn't anything that you can't handle with enough time and effort.

 

[FTRStoTEETH]

http://www.aklectures.com/subject/biochemistry

AK lectures. His videos are great resources to reinforce the material in BioChem.


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[californiway21]

Biochem is an easy course if you get yourself a solid foundation.

1. Memorize the amino acids. Know their structures, their acidity/basicity, their pKa's (I'm not sure how intense your biochem class is, but ours was pretty detailed)

2. Remember acid-base chemistry during gen chem? Know it and learn to love it.

3. Intermolecular forces are your new best friend. Get a solid foundation in those.

4. Organic chemistry is going to rear it's head again in the form of isomers. If you struggled in that aspect of orgo like I did, I would review it and get good at recognizing them (anomeric carbon on carbohydrates and stuff)


Once you have these conceptual ideas, the first half of biochem is applying those concepts and memorizing details like lipid structures and stuff.

As for the anabolic and catabolic processes, unless you wanna memorize those ahead of time, I would just worry about them once you get there (as well as the way they are regulated). It's just important that when you start memorizing those cycles, be sure to think of everything in a logical manner. At each step, be thinking about the end goal of what you're doing and how each and every step is helping you achieve that end-goal.


Sorry if this was way more detailed than you needed haha

Perfect advice right here.

 

[htorres89]

Biochem is an easy course if you get yourself a solid foundation.

1. Memorize the amino acids. Know their structures, their acidity/basicity, their pKa's (I'm not sure how intense your biochem class is, but ours was pretty detailed)

2. Remember acid-base chemistry during gen chem? Know it and learn to love it.

3. Intermolecular forces are your new best friend. Get a solid foundation in those.

4. Organic chemistry is going to rear it's head again in the form of isomers. If you struggled in that aspect of orgo like I did, I would review it and get good at recognizing them (anomeric carbon on carbohydrates and stuff)


Once you have these conceptual ideas, the first half of biochem is applying those concepts and memorizing details like lipid structures and stuff.

As for the anabolic and catabolic processes, unless you wanna memorize those ahead of time, I would just worry about them once you get there (as well as the way they are regulated). It's just important that when you start memorizing those cycles, be sure to think of everything in a logical manner. At each step, be thinking about the end goal of what you're doing and how each and every step is helping you achieve that end-goal.


Sorry if this was way more detailed than you needed haha

No! This was perfect!!! Thank you so much!! This is some juicy right here. Appreciate it!

 

[htorres89]

I've taken a handful of biochem classes and received A's. The thing that helped me the most with the intro biochem class was a combo of memorization (use anki), and making a massive flowchart that shows how everything is interconnected. You can't get around the memorization. Just be consistent with your studying!

I'm actually home on break now, so I went through my parent's attic to find an older biochem notebook of mine. I'm attaching an example of what I do in those classes. This file in itself isn't going to be useful (every class warrants learning different specifics), but this is an example of what I do for exams. Draw how everything is connected (that's the essence of biochem), be able to reproduce it, and be able to explain what would happen if you inhibit a certain enzyme, for example.

Courses vary widely on what is expected. Knowing the pKas of amino acids? Memorizing mechanisms? Structures of Kreb's cycle intermediates? Regardless of what is thrown at you, it isn't anything that you can't handle with enough time and effort.

Great! Thanks a lot!