Lab Day/Times: Tuesday 13:00-15:30 Room 112.

Instructor: Dr. Consuelo Alvarez e-mail address: calvarez@longwood.edu

Office Location: McCorkle 117-A Phone: 395-2847

Office hours: 11:00-13:00(M); 13:00-15:00(W); or by appointment

Textbook: Principles of Biochemistry by Horton R., Third edition, 2002. Prentice Hall.

ISBN: 0-13-026672-8

All students begin the class with ZERO points, and the grade received depends upon the number of points accumulated throughout the semester compared to the total number of points possible. While only selected problems will be discussed in class, students are STRONGLY encouraged to work as many exercises in the book as possible. Students should read each chapter and attempt several exercises/question-answer problems at the end of each chapter PRIOR to the time that the material is covered in class. There will be no makeup work of any type. No late work will be accepted. If a student is absent on the day that an assignment/lab report is to be turned in for grading, the assignment/lab report will only be accepted on the first day that the student returns from the absence. Arrangements for absences that are a result of an official college function should be made in person with the professor prior to the event. There will be no extra credit work. Every effort will be made to return graded materials within one week of the due date. Points will be distributed according to the following:

Unit Exams (3, drop lowest) 35% (350 pts) >90% A

Quizes (4, drop lowest) 15% (150 pts) 80-89% B

Final Exam (Cumulative) 30% (300 pts) 70-79% C

Lab reports and quizes (drop lowest) 20% (200 pts) 60-69% D

"All exams include material from class as well as from laboratory" <60% F

*To help students learn to apply the scientific method to analyze and solve problems.

*To make students aware of the relationship between the chemical structure of biomolecules and the methods that a cell

uses to maintain homeostasis.

*To familiarize students with the major classes of biological molecules, metabolic interconversions and biomolecular

functions.

*To expose students to key biological/biochemical laboratory techniques such as micropipetting, protein separation,

electrophoresis, spectrophotometry and thin layer chromatography.

Attendance at all classes is strongly encouraged. The study of biochemistry is a cumulative activity, and missing any topic will impact future performance. Students missing lectures or arriving late to lecture sessions assume full responsability for material presented and assignments given during their absence. The student is solely responsible for being aware of announcements/schedule changes that may be made during any class and for any material covered during an absence. No additional class time will be devoted to covering material for the benefit of someone who has missed a class.

Excused absences are those resulting from real emergencies, serious illnesses, or participation in college-sponsored activities. A score of "ZERO" will be assigned for each exam or quiz missed as a result of an unexcused abscence (remember you can drop the lowest)

Missed lab sessions CAN NOT be made-up. No one will be allowed to enter the lab session after the first 5 minutes of lab.

Missed quizzes CAN NOT be retaken. However, you will not be penalized for missing one quiz (drop the lowest)

The best help you can give yourself in this class is to plan on reading in advance and doing the exercises/question-answers in the book/internet. Individual help may be obtained from the instructor during assigned office hours (McCorkle 117-A) on a first come/first serve basis. Making an appointment is suggested but not mandatory to meet with the instructor outside of normal office hours. Students may use e-mail to ask questions, but it may not be possible to answer all questions. Study groups are strongly encouraged. Small groups of students may come together to office hours, but the group should get together before coming in order to decide what topic(s) the group wants to discuss.

Most laboratory sessions will meet in 112 Stevens. Both sections meet on Tuesday from 1:00 to 3:30 pm.

Unless an announcement is made in class to the contrary, the laboratory will be is session each week except for week 9 (Spring Break) Handouts for the laboratory experiments will be give one week in advance of the actual start of the experiment.

Attendance is mandatory. If you miss a lab session, your grade for that lab is "ZERO" Missed lab sessions CAN NOT be redone. No one will be allowed to enter the lab session after the first 5 minutes of lab.

Dismissal from the laboratory for any reason will result in the student obtaining a "zero" for that activity. Grades will be assigned for all laboratory activities-even those activities for which no formal written work will be submitted for grading.

Grading in the laboratory will be based on preparedness, participation, written work, and laboratory questions.

Formal laboratory reports will be required (see the example below) Questions regarding the laboratory experiments will be part of all exams.

The Laboratory grade will be based on: written report work-80%, quizzes-20%. At the end of the semester there will be an individual laboratory presentation of a specific biomolecule assigned to you. The grade of this presentation will count for 2 laboratory grades and can’t be dropped.

** At the end of January, there will be a raffle of topics in the area of Hormones for your laboratory presentation. At that time, you will choose the date of your presentation. In addition, the presentation guidelines will be explained.

No hand written reports will be accepted (excluding some calculations and/or diagrams). Reports will be due at the START of class, one week from the day the experiment(s) is(are) completed. No late reports will be accepted. (The only exception to this rule will be if a student is absent the day that the report is due, and then the report will be due at the start of class on the day the student returns to class or to laboratory or to lecture) Grades will be based on accuracy/precision of the work reported and on the clarity/completeness of the report. All reports must follow the general format shown below when applicable. Each section of the report (bold headings below) should be clearly identified and separated from the other sections. Partners should discuss the work together during the experiment, but each person must write their own report. The only part of a report, which should be the same between two partners, is the data that was collected together. Make sure that each person has an exact copy of all data collected before leaving at the end of an experiment. A partner being sick or absent will not be accepted as an excuse to turn work in late.

Name: Type your full name. Date: Give the date the experiment was performed.

Title: Give the name of the experiment.

Data Collected: All data with appropriate units (measured quantities, values used in calculations, and in some cases qualitative observations such as coloration’s or presence of precipitate) should be organized into data tables. The tables should have "titles" which generally describe the information contained. The tables should be completely and clearly labeled. Use Microsoft Excel to create the tables and if possible imbed them in the Microsoft Word report document. Tables may be put on a separate page if necessary. The same is true for graphs.

Calculations: An example of each type of calculation performed should be clearly written out showing all units.

Results/Summary: A table of "results" should be included whenever values from data tables are used to calculate new values. The table should follow the same general format used for data tables. The summary should be brief and discuss the quality (good or bad) of work/results and any problems associated with the experiment, suggestions and improvements.

Questionary: Complete and brief answer to any question posted on the handout.

References: Title, authors, year, publisher, pages.

Safety in the laboratory is of utmost importance and there will be no tolerance of safety infractions. Failure to follow safety rules will result in dismissal from the laboratory and a zero for the laboratory experiment in question. Safety is not just a personal matter. What you do in the laboratory may effect the safety of others as well as yourself. Besides the five items discussed below, students are expected to follow the general guidelines found in the LABORATORY SAFETY RULES handout.

1) If Safety Glasses (or goggles) will be needed for certain laboratory period, they must be worn in the laboratory at ALL times. Put the safety glass on as you enter the laboratory and do not take them off until you exit the laboratory. Students will get one warning about wearing safety glasses-there are no second warnings. Safety glasses must be worn over prescription glasses and contacts may not be worn in the laboratory. While safety glasses are useful, they may not stop all exposure to your eyes. If you get any chemical in your eyes, immediately flush your eyes with water at the eyewash fountain for 10-15 minutes.

2) Personal belongings (backpacks, books, etc...) other than a laboratory notebook are not allowed on the laboratory benches or in the aisles. Deposit all belongings under the assigned working tables in the laboratory.

3) Food, drink, and smoking are never allowed in the laboratory. Do not put anything in the laboratory into your mouth, and a conscious effort should be made to avoid putting anything that has been in the laboratory into your mouth (pens and pencils are common examples). Always thoroughly wash your hands before leaving the laboratory. In case of accidental contact with chemicals in the laboratory, immediately wash thoroughly with water and give the name of the chemical to the instructor.

4) Wear sensible clothing to the laboratory-your clothes are the first line of defense if a chemical spills onto you. Since most spills start at waist level and go down, no-one wearing shorts, skirts or sandals may enter the laboratory. Gloves are optional at the student's discretion, but since no one type of glove can protect against all chemicals, it is probably safer to try to avoid contact and wash as soon as possible if contact occurs. If a chemical is spilled onto your clothes, try to dilute the chemical with water immediately. If the quantity of the spill is significant, do not hesitate to use the safety shower. If you feel any burning on your skin, remove the clothing while using the shower-there is no place for modesty in the face of a possible chemical burn. Any contaminated clothing should be laundered separately before reuse or be disposed of if there is any doubt that the chemical can be removed (this is especially true of shoes because of the crevices).