Preparing for biochem

[Stronghopeful]

I'm set to take biochem this upcoming semester, but I just wanna get a headstart on tools I could/should use during the semester. I know that for Orgo last semester, the "Orgo as a 2nd language book" basically got me an A-.

Any other tools like this? Tips? And what will it be like?

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[Salient]

There are several books out there, but nobody I know used any of them. In my experience biochemistry varies a bit depending on who teaches it and what they need you to know, and for the most part understanding the concepts is not the difficult part.

For the first quarter/semester, review the general chemistry stuff you learned about acids/bases and buffers. If you didn't understand that, you'll be playing catch-up on it in Biochem (think taking calculus without knowing any trigonometry). Aside from that, I can't really think of anything really big.

 

[Wakesc]

Yeah review acids/bases and buffers (I had to catch up). I just finished biochem and it would be helpful to review basics of macromolecules (proteins/carbohydrates etc.). I hadn't taken a bio course in 2 years so I had forgotten a lot of that. As the last poster stated it really depends on the teacher. however the basic concepts will help.

 

[Ginger Ale]

I just finished biochem as well, and I found understanding basic orgo reactions like dehydrogenations really helped
Not much you can do to prepare though, just work hard when the time comes and you'll do fine.

 

[rxlea]

What everyone else said. Acids/Bases and buffers. Your prof might make you memorize the amino acids. It might help to know the groupings of them (if they are acids or bases, for example). Usually the book has a diagram of how they are grouped together.

 

[insane]

Look over your acid/bases, titration curves, henderson-hasselbach equations, buffers, figure out if your professor requires you to memorize amino acids (if so then do it), look over your aldehyde/ketone/carboxylic acid mechanisms from orgo, you would be better suited to ask people who took the class with the professor you are planning on taking it with because the scope of the course varies greatly from professor to professor.

EDIT

Main things
1. Acid/Bases (titration curves, reactions, etc)
2. Buffers (Henderson-Hasselbach, etc)
3. Amino Acids (Structures, Properties [polarity, acidity, etc])
4. Basic orgo mechanisms (aldehyde,ketone, carboxylic acid, alcohols, etc)
5. Basic types of enzymes (oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyase, ligase, isomerases)
6. Structures of the basic monosacchrides (glucose, fructose, ribose, mannose, galactose, etc)
7. Structures of the basic disacchrides (lactose, maltose, cellobiose, sucrose, etc)
8. Starches (amylose, amylopectin), Glycogen/Glycogenin
9. Basic fatty acids (palmitic, stearic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, a-linolenic, etc)
10. Phosphoglycerices, TAGs(triacylglycerides), sphingomyelin, ceramides, etc

This list varies greatly depending on weather you are in a majors course or a non-majors course, one semester, or two semester, etc.

 

[integralx2]

you wont need anything secondary. BioChem is not that hard. I bought into the hype like other students, but i got an A, without a curve. Its almost like Biology I, and some sections of Gen Chem 2. I wouldnt stress it.

 

[mtbtx]

You don't need to "prepare" for biochem.