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Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Intermediate
Former School/College
Pre-requisites
BIO00307 - Human Physiology OR BIO71003 - Human Physiology II AND BIO71002 - Human Physiology I AND CHE71010 - Organic Chemistry
Unit aim
Provides an overview of general biochemistry to enable students to understand the role of chemical reactions in biological systems. Covers basic biochemical organisation and processes of the body, bioenergetics, selected metabolic pathways, and methods of separation and characterisation of molecules of biological interest.
Unit content
- Review of organic functional groups, cellular structure and function, and properties of water
- Amino acids and protein structure, function, biological roles, and metabolism
- Enzymes, coenzymes, reaction kinetics
- Metabolism and bioenergetics: Krebs cycle, electron transport chain and ATP synthesis
- Carbohydrates: structure, function, biological roles, and metabolism
- Lipids: structure, function, biological roles, and metabolism
- Nucleic acids and protein synthesis
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | relate the chemical and structural characteristics of amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and carbohydrates to their biological roles and functions. | |||||||
| 2 | relate the chemical and structural characteristics of lipids, cell membranes, and nucleic acids to their biological roles and functions. | |||||||
| 3 | discuss the metabolic pathways of amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids, and explain bioenergetics in a cellular context. | |||||||
| 4 | explain the inter-related nature of metabolic pathways and how they are regulated in human biochemistry. | |||||||
| 5 | perform experiments, interpret data and explain the link between theory and the experimental process. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
relate the chemical and structural characteristics of amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and carbohydrates to their biological roles and functions.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
relate the chemical and structural characteristics of lipids, cell membranes, and nucleic acids to their biological roles and functions.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
discuss the metabolic pathways of amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids, and explain bioenergetics in a cellular context.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
explain the inter-related nature of metabolic pathways and how they are regulated in human biochemistry.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
perform experiments, interpret data and explain the link between theory and the experimental process.
- GA1:
- GA4:
Prescribed texts
- Tymoczko, JL, Berg, JM & Stryer, L, 2015, Biochemistry, a short course, 3rd edn, WH Freeman and Co., New York, USA. ISBN: 9781464126130.