Availabilities:
| Location | Domestic | International |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Coast |
Unit description
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: | |
|---|---|
| 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.
- relate the chemical and structural characteristics of lipids, cell membranes, and nucleic acids to their biological roles and functions.
- discuss the metabolic pathways of amino acids, carbohydrates and lipids, and explain bioenergetics in a cellular context.
- explain the inter-related nature of metabolic pathways and how they are regulated in human biochemistry.
- perform experiments, interpret data and explain the link between theory and the experimental process.
Prescribed texts
- Tymoczko, JL, Berg, JM & Stryer, L, 2015, Biochemistry, a short course, 3rd edn, WH Freeman and Co., New York, USA. ISBN: 9781464126130.
Teaching and assessment
| Teaching method |
| Tutorial on-site 1.5 hours (10 weeks) |
| Lecture online 1 hour (9 weeks) |
| Laboratory session 3 hours (4 weeks) |
| Assessment | |
| Online Quiz | 20% |
| Exam: open book | 25% |
| Practical skills | 20% |
| Exam: open book | 35% |
Fee information
Domestic
Commonwealth Supported courses
For information regarding Student Contribution Amounts please visit the Student Contribution Amounts.
Fee paying courses
For postgraduate or undergraduate full fee paying courses please check Domestic Postgraduate Fees OR Domestic Undergraduate Fees
International
Please check the international course and fee list to determine the relevant fees.