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Biochemistry: And you thought Orgo was bad.
Started by ImaJerseyGirl
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I just used my old general chem text to help. Do you still have yours?
It helps me a lot to have a good solutions manual, if the prof assigns problems from the text. I've found online sites to be a bit meh in the biochem dept, but I have generally decent luck finding similar problems with solutions by looking through all my old texts, solutions manual, and the student study guide companions. Which biochem text are you using?
It helps me a lot to have a good solutions manual, if the prof assigns problems from the text. I've found online sites to be a bit meh in the biochem dept, but I have generally decent luck finding similar problems with solutions by looking through all my old texts, solutions manual, and the student study guide companions. Which biochem text are you using?
i have a solutions manual, working through it right now lol, and it explains concepts really well. my professor, not so much.
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Aww, I loved biochem. 😀
I sorta like it too, but I'm more of a mathematical type anyways. Physiology on the other hand where he has covered 500 pages in three weeks.....not so much.
Meh, Biochem was OK. Retaking orgo 2 = OK. Retaking orgo 2 lab? Please shoot me now.
I love physiology, but 500 pages in 3 weeks? Sounds like you have a manic professor or a REALLY long book.
What about buffers? I *might* be able to help, and I'm sure others can step in when I reach my limit.
Do you have a good handle on acids and conjugate bases, and bases and conjugate acids? That would be a good place to start. Make sure that you can look at an acid(base) and predict what its conjugate base(acid) is, and predict the strength of one based on the other.
I love physiology, but 500 pages in 3 weeks? Sounds like you have a manic professor or a REALLY long book.
What about buffers? I *might* be able to help, and I'm sure others can step in when I reach my limit.
Do you have a good handle on acids and conjugate bases, and bases and conjugate acids? That would be a good place to start. Make sure that you can look at an acid(base) and predict what its conjugate base(acid) is, and predict the strength of one based on the other.
I taking orgo lab again right now. It's terrible. I'm just ticked all the time, like... "My column chromatography worked last time! Argh!"
This might seem crazy but I actually enjoyed orgo lab, well it was better than the lecture. Maybe I liked it because it was a break from biochem, physics and orgo II which I also took that same semester.
I love biochemistry and did well at it. What specifically is giving you problems about buffers? I think we could offer more help if you clarify where you are getting stuck.
What biochem text are you using? I am familar with most of them, and know where some excel (and were some drop the ball).
By far my favorite is Voet and Voet's "Biochemistry", but it can be pretty detailed - if you are a "give me more information so i can really understand the material" then Voet and Voet is DEF. the way to go.
For a more simplistic overview, I like Leningers (COX) -
For a really nice paperweight, there is Berg
and by far the BEST protein book (even though it is 20 years old) - Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties, by Thomas-Creighton *new edition should be out soon - can't wait for it
By far my favorite is Voet and Voet's "Biochemistry", but it can be pretty detailed - if you are a "give me more information so i can really understand the material" then Voet and Voet is DEF. the way to go.
For a more simplistic overview, I like Leningers (COX) -
For a really nice paperweight, there is Berg
and by far the BEST protein book (even though it is 20 years old) - Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties, by Thomas-Creighton *new edition should be out soon - can't wait for it
Aww, Berg is okay. Just dry.
My favorite is Lippincott's Reviews "Biochemistry" 4th ed. Small, cheap, explains things very well. It is a more simplistic overview (imo) but it helped me a lot more than the others that I used (and sold right back because I found them to be useless)
I actually liked Orgo 2 and Im loving biochemisty. Im one of the few people who actually likes chemistry but it takes a different type of dork to like this beast. Anyway the book Im using is the Garett 3rd Updated edition. I absolutely adore this book. Its so colorful and helpful. And they have a nifty website too. =D I wish Biochem had a lab at my school, I loved my orgo labs making caffeine is fun!
You guys are awesome, this is one of the few places I can talk to people who "love" biochemistry! I have always liked chemistry and even enjoyed orgo to an extent, I am just not a good test taker or good at the calculations/formula set up. So I tend to get frustrated. I am actually having alot of fun in organic lab this semester! This stuff does have an application!
I am using Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry + Solutions manual. I worked all the buffer problems in the first few chapters last night- but still I'm missing something! I have gone to extra help and this is as far as they will take me, so I KNOW that I am close, I'm just missing a step and it is driving me nuts!
I will give an example with variables:
Mix X ml of 0.1M HF, pka1=3.75 with Y ml of 0.1 NaA, pka2=4.76. (X and Y are known, but you can make up a volume I just want to find the answer myself.)
Find pH and concentration of A- in mixture.
So my set up is like this:
I know that:
[HF]<-> [H+] + [F-] and [A-] + [H+] <-> [HA], while I start with known volumes and concentrations of HF and A-.
So: Xml/0.1M HF means that X moles= [F-] + [HF], therefore [F-]= X moles- [HF]. This is (1).
Yml/0.1M A- means that Y moles= [A-] + [HA], therefore [A-]= Y moles- [HA]. This is (2)
So then I have:
pH=pka1 + [F-]/[HF]= pka2 + [A-]/[HA] This is (3).
Since I'm starting with [HF] and [Na+A-], mixing them means that the H+ will go to A-, so there is no additional H added. So: Final concentrations [HF] + [HA]= X moles This is (4).
So I substitute and plug in and whittle this beast down to trying to take the log (-0.something), and we all know that doesn't work! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I am using Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry + Solutions manual. I worked all the buffer problems in the first few chapters last night- but still I'm missing something! I have gone to extra help and this is as far as they will take me, so I KNOW that I am close, I'm just missing a step and it is driving me nuts!
I will give an example with variables:
Mix X ml of 0.1M HF, pka1=3.75 with Y ml of 0.1 NaA, pka2=4.76. (X and Y are known, but you can make up a volume I just want to find the answer myself.)
Find pH and concentration of A- in mixture.
So my set up is like this:
I know that:
[HF]<-> [H+] + [F-] and [A-] + [H+] <-> [HA], while I start with known volumes and concentrations of HF and A-.
So: Xml/0.1M HF means that X moles= [F-] + [HF], therefore [F-]= X moles- [HF]. This is (1).
Yml/0.1M A- means that Y moles= [A-] + [HA], therefore [A-]= Y moles- [HA]. This is (2)
So then I have:
pH=pka1 + [F-]/[HF]= pka2 + [A-]/[HA] This is (3).
Since I'm starting with [HF] and [Na+A-], mixing them means that the H+ will go to A-, so there is no additional H added. So: Final concentrations [HF] + [HA]= X moles This is (4).
So I substitute and plug in and whittle this beast down to trying to take the log (-0.something), and we all know that doesn't work! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
You guys are awesome, this is one of the few places I can talk to people who "love" biochemistry! I have always liked chemistry and even enjoyed orgo to an extent, I am just not a good test taker or good at the calculations/formula set up. So I tend to get frustrated. I am actually having alot of fun in organic lab this semester! This stuff does have an application!
I am using Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry + Solutions manual. I worked all the buffer problems in the first few chapters last night- but still I'm missing something! I have gone to extra help and this is as far as they will take me, so I KNOW that I am close, I'm just missing a step and it is driving me nuts!
I will give an example with variables:
Mix X ml of 0.1M HF, pka1=3.75 with Y ml of 0.1 NaA, pka2=4.76. (X and Y are known, but you can make up a volume I just want to find the answer myself.)
Find pH and concentration of A- in mixture.
So my set up is like this:
I know that:
[HF]<-> [H+] + [F-] and [A-] + [H+] <-> [HA], while I start with known volumes and concentrations of HF and A-.
So: Xml/0.1M HF means that X moles= [F-] + [HF], therefore [F-]= X moles- [HF]. This is (1).
Yml/0.1M A- means that Y moles= [A-] + [HA], therefore [A-]= Y moles- [HA]. This is (2)
So then I have:
pH=pka1 + [F-]/[HF]= pka2 + [A-]/[HA] This is (3).
Since I'm starting with [HF] and [Na+A-], mixing them means that the H+ will go to A-, so there is no additional H added. So: Final concentrations [HF] + [HA]= X moles This is (4).
So I substitute and plug in and whittle this beast down to trying to take the log (-0.something), and we all know that doesn't work! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
are you doing -log "-0.something" ?
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No and now looking back on my attempts I undid log in the early stages to just deal with Ka... basically I've worked through it to further confusion. I'm going to work through it again and hopefully can post on here my silly mistake 😎
i used that same EXACT book! i still have it on my shelf....not sure if i'll need it for vet school, but keeping it just in case. LOL
sucks you're having to do a lot of equations. we just had to memorize all the amino acids, kreb cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, etc etc
LOTS of memorization on how they look...but NOTHING of gen chem....thank god.
GOOD LUCK THOUGH!
sucks you're having to do a lot of equations. we just had to memorize all the amino acids, kreb cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, etc etc
LOTS of memorization on how they look...but NOTHING of gen chem....thank god.
GOOD LUCK THOUGH!
We did not have to do much with buffers in my biochem class. It was mainly krebs cycle stuff, memorizing amino acids, etc. The only buffer question I remember being asked was why blood uses Bicarbonate as a buffer instead of other buffers that would work better with the pH of blood. I have completely forgotten how to do those buffer calculations because I haven't seen them since gen chem. Good Luck!
Hopefully you will figure it out soon! 🙂
Hopefully you will figure it out soon! 🙂
How come you are re-taking Orgo lab? If you don't mind me asking
I took the organic that pre-dents and pre-meds generally take because my friend was applying to Cornell and they want two semesters + lab of organic. I made a C, a C, and in lab... a C. Lol. One of the things I was told to do to improve my application was to retake organic... (because taking a higher level chemistry class was out of the question... graduate level organic? I dun think so.) So I'm taking the all-in-one class offered here... it's 5 credit hours, only one semester, and includes the lab. I need to make an A for it to do me much good - 9 hours of C averaged with 5 hours of B isn't really much of an improvement.
Not many schools take the all-in-one version of organic (one semester) but Oklahoma and Kansas do.
Not many schools take the all-in-one version of organic (one semester) but Oklahoma and Kansas do.
We're using Lehninger in my Biochem class also and I feel like it doesn't do a great job explaining the worked examples.
I like Biochem so much more than Orgo though. Orgo was just ...meh! And I agree Twelvetigers. The lab was worse!
I like Biochem so much more than Orgo though. Orgo was just ...meh! And I agree Twelvetigers. The lab was worse!
twelvetigers: Git-R-Done!
I think I may have a handle on this problem now (after reworking it a few times today). I'm not giving up! Thanks everyone!
I think I may have a handle on this problem now (after reworking it a few times today). I'm not giving up! Thanks everyone!
My professor didn't explain one aspect well at all b/c he sped right through the material. If anyone would like to explain how to determine the length of a helix (based on how many Angstroms per turn) and how to determine how many residues make up that entire helix I would really appreciate it.
Learn it, now learn it well, because if you don't it will come back to haunt you, in the first two months of vet school, when your brain is fried from the cloud of formalin that seems to follow you every where since you been spending too much time in the gross anatomy lab and you are trying to figure out how to memorize the TCA cycle, the ETC, Glycolysis, Gluconeogenesis, and the UAC all in less than a week.
I should've paid more attention in Biochem...
I should've paid more attention in Biochem...
