kaplan biochem mcat book vs berkeley review biochem

[akimhaneul]

Is Kaplan biochem book enough for someone who is pretty new to biochem for content review?

I was thinking about supplementing with Khan videos.

Or should I go with TBR book?

I wanted to focus more on practice problems and TBR book looked really dense compared to the kaplan book.

Thanks!

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[Gutsy]

I want to piggyback on akimhaneul's question.

I haven't taken biochem and won't be able to take it before the exam. Is the info in Kaplan biochem book sufficient for the exam? There are so many pathways... How much in depth should I focus on for fatty acid, ketone bodies, etc.? I think carbohydrate metabolism (glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, etc.) are pretty important but wasn't quite sure what I should know for biochem.

Thank you!

 

[theonlytycrane]

The Kaplan biochem book is sufficient. I haven't seen EK or TBR books, but they are highly regarded on this forum so it might be worth looking into if you want another resource. Focus on gaining a conceptual understanding of:

glycolysis / bridge step / kreb's cycle / ETC
gluconeogenesis
glycogen build-up / breakdown
p3
beta-oxidation & fatty acid synthesis
urea cycling

 

[Gutsy]

The Kaplan biochem book is sufficient. I haven't seen EK or TBR books, but they are highly regarded on this forum so it might be worth looking into if you want another resource. Focus on gaining a conceptual understanding of:

glycolysis / bridge step / kreb's cycle / ETC
gluconeogenesis
glycogen build-up / breakdown
p3
beta-oxidation & fatty acid synthesis
urea cycling

Thank you! What is P3? Pentose Phosphate pathway?

 

[AnonPanda1]

The Kaplan biochem book is sufficient. I haven't seen EK or TBR books, but they are highly regarded on this forum so it might be worth looking into if you want another resource. Focus on gaining a conceptual understanding of:

glycolysis / bridge step / kreb's cycle / ETC
gluconeogenesis
glycogen build-up / breakdown
p3
beta-oxidation & fatty acid synthesis
urea cycling

While the MCAT has been more conceptual based than the old MCAT, if you look at some of the discrete and pseudo-discrete questions published by the AAMC, you should be able to memorize the structures and names of every step (enzyme and substrate) of the above cycles.

 

[theonlytycrane]

@Gutsy yep!

 

[Mageballer]

I also won't be able to take Biochem before my MCAT exam (I was able to take the second semester of Biochem which was DNA, RNA, Proteins, Lab Techniques, Etc, but not Glycolysis, Kreb's Cycle, etc.) I already saw the list posted above. I was just wondering what other things are essential to learn/memorize for biochem alone. I see that many people say that it is the most important part, but TPR's book was only 200 pages, and there didn't seem to be a high density of content besides those pathways.

 

[theonlytycrane]

@Mageballer pathways + enzyme kinetics and you should be good to go

 

[Swagster]

Is Kaplan biochem book enough for someone who is pretty new to biochem for content review?

I was thinking about supplementing with Khan videos.

Or should I go with TBR book?

I wanted to focus more on practice problems and TBR book looked really dense compared to the kaplan book.

Thanks!

I was not a big fan of Khan videos. They are meant for someone who has never seen the material before so I felt like I was wasting time. You need to do practice more than anything. If you are focusing on practice problems you should get the TBR book (bio and orgo both). The reading is dense in the molecular biology and genetics sections, so I skimmed those. The passages are what's important in the bio books. They make you think and will piss you off at times, but you really learn the material.