Intermediary metabolism

ysk1
Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:50:09 +0000

I’m taking a biochem course (intermediary metabolism) this semester. The prof assigns assigned readings and required problem sets per lecture, and there are 3 lectures per week, with each lecture lasting an hour. So far, it covered reaction kinetics, glycolysis, glycogenolysis, glycogensis, and gluconeogenesis. As the course proceeds, it will also deal with lipids and nucleic acids.

I have no particular difficulty with the course. The only problem is that it takes too much time to stay on top of it. The amount and the pace at which material is covered is overwhelming. The prof expects us to memorize all the names of enzymes, substrates, products, as well as their structures, in addition to purpose of each step. Sure, each step, name of enzymes, all makes sense, but it takes so much time to digest them. I feel like the course is 2 normal courses combined into one. I would say it’s even harder than orgo. The prof even said that the course is only going to become worse as it proceeds. It takes so much time out of me, much more than estimated, leaving me not much time for other things. So I’m thinking if my studying method can be improved in any way. What I do is I read the text before lecture while taking notes. I attend lecture religiously and always pay attention. Then I try to do assigned problems (these are not for marks) and ask the prof what I’m not sure about. Of these, reading the text while taking notes takes the most time (at least 2 hours per doing assigned reading while taking notes, and there are 3 assigned readings per week, so this category gets at least 6 hours per week). As well, doing one problem set and checking answers takes about 2 hours, and there are 3 problem sets per week, totaling a minimum of 6 hours a week.
For those of you who already took intermediary metabolism either in college or in med school, I’m interested in knowing if there are better, more time-saving study methods to succeed in the course.