need some biochem study tips

[jg2021]

So I am in biochemistry right now and have my first exam in two days. A lot of the material is built off of prior orgo and gen chem knowledge, as this first exam is on amino acids, functional groups, pka curves, and hemoglobin/myoglobin saturation curves, however I just bombed my second quiz on amino acids and need some study techniques. A majority of his questions revolving these ask things such as what pH two aa together will form an ionic linkage at, structural components of aa, aa that can be inserted in the place of another to mimic a phosphorylated residue, and predicting what amino acid residues would be found at certain points of certain structures. His class is definitely very conceptual and his questions require extreme thought, so Im not sure how to study best for this. I have the textbook and all his powerpoints, as well as his exam from last year.

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[pBar]

Well if you bombed your quiz on amino acids, you should probably start your review there. Know your amino acids like the back of your hand: structure, name, abbreviations, composition characteristics, pka values of side charged side chains. I would recommend creating anki cards (or your preferred method of flashcard review) and have specific cards for all the mentioned above with amino acids. Once you feel comfortable there, work on applying that knowledge. Most biochemistry text books do a great job at highlighting the application of amino acids in the questions at the end of each chapter. If you have the time, I would work through each practice question in your text book, as well as whatever your professor has provided.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

Draw your AAs over and over until they write themselves.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@jg2021 Audit the class either formally or informally and give it a go next semester. Those conceptual questions will appear verbatim next semester/next year. You bombed amino acids which should be "give me" material as amino acids are the basic building block of Biochemistry. If you have trouble with rote memorizing in the time frame given, then the pacing is going to get faster especially when you encounter more abstract topics that still require multiple fronts of memorization. The time frame for getting down amino acids after being introduced it in class should have been 1 or 2 days along with another 1 or 2 days for secondary/tertiary topics like zwitterion behavior and isoelectric points.

 

[kfcchikin]

It's definitely a very difficult and application-based course, and does require conceptual understanding, but you can't have any of that without the basic memorization. Memorize everything in detail. I know this test doesn't particularly include it, but moving forward drill every single structure, pathway, mechanism, etc until you have it down so well that you could draw it in your sleep.

Much of the application then comes naturally when you have all of the knowledge down, then when it comes to test time, you can apply it.

Know all of the practice questions too and everything from the previous exam so you can be prepared for what to expect, but again, memorize every detail so there's nothing thrown at you that you can't write at least something down for

 

[premed20172017]

I survived biochem by DRAWING EVERYTHING OUT SO MANY FRIGGIN TIMES. I must've gone through a million whiteboard markers, colored pens, and pieces of paper (sorry, planet). This is how all of my friends studied, too.

For the amino acids, group them into polar/non polar and remember those groupings. My teacher taught us them in a specific order, and I'm so glad he did. (I.e. D then E, because E builds off of D). It makes learning the structures, pKas, and characteristics SO much easier.

Also, I loved the explanations on Khan Academy. The little questions at the end of each section on there really helped, too. Good luck!

 

[star-lily]

Understanding exactly those kinds of a.a. questions you mentioned in the OP is *crucial* for doing well on the MCAT. Honestly being able to get the a.a. questions really fast saved time for me to think more about harder questions
There's also a very good free app called Amino Acid Quiz

Also 100% recommend writing the a.a. from memory many times until you can do it quickly

I also used mnemonics such as:
GAPVLIM
STCNQ ("stick nick")
WYF ("wife")
KHR
DE
to remember the different groups they belong to (nonpolar aliphatic, polar, aromatic, basic, acidic)

 

[caterwaiter]

I survived biochem by DRAWING EVERYTHING OUT SO MANY FRIGGIN TIMES. I must've gone through a million whiteboard markers, colored pens, and pieces of paper (sorry, planet). This is how all of my friends studied, too.

For the amino acids, group them into polar/non polar and remember those groupings. My teacher taught us them in a specific order, and I'm so glad he did. (I.e. D then E, because E builds off of D). It makes learning the structures, pKas, and characteristics SO much easier.

Also, I loved the explanations on Khan Academy. The little questions at the end of each section on there really helped, too. Good luck!

Same. I drew everything I could out, in detail, in color. Drawing complicated mechanisms while following them on videos was particularly helpful. I bought a little personal sized whiteboard and went to town.

Also: We had a silly EC assignment to make an amino acid mnemonic grouping by nonpolar/polar/acidic/basic, and it was one of the most useful things I did. Mentally referenced it every exam, and on the MCAT.

 

[Cheeezcake]

Anki! Wish i knew about it for biochem and not just when i got to the mcat