Chemistry for Biosciences is designed for students who have studied chemistry at Level 3, and builds on prior knowledge to develop an understanding of the chemical principles that underlie the structure and function of macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids and polysaccharides, as well as their interactions with small molecule metabolites and drugs. The module is required for students studying Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences, and an option for other students with the relevant chemistry background from, for example, Microbiology and Biological Sciences.
The module will begin with an exercise in which students will study a set of representations of macromolecules and small molecules and use their prior knowledge to build a catalogue of the chemical processes relevant to understanding the molecules’ structure and function. These principles (including thermodynamics, kinetics, organic structure and mechanism, acids and bases and basic spectroscopy) will then be developed in later lecture sessions and workshops, which will involve the use of self-assessment questions to test understanding.
The module will be assessed via two assessments. The first will consist of short problems (thermodynamics/kinetics/acids/bases) and short-answer questions about the application of these principles and methods to macromolecular structure in an open-book examination.
The second assessment will consist of questions relating to the interpretation of one (or two) more extended case-studies of macromolecular interactions, in short answer format in a closed-book examination