Guest lytefyre Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 Hi, I'm going into physiology next year and was wondering about which of these biochem courses to take. Both cover the same material and are ok for the pre-reqs of physiology, but Bioc302 is only half a year while Bioc303 is a full year course. I heard that you learn more in Bioc303, which sounds like it might be harder, but ppl say that learning more (rather than just memorizing pathways) makes the material easier. Is this somewhat like the Chem233/235 vs. Chem203/204 thing, where both teach the same material? however, Chem233/235 (being a half-year course) was heavy on memorizing chem rxns and not why they happen while chem203/204 was more on why the rxns happen and why certain products are formed? If anyone has taken these courses, some insight would greatly be appreciated! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TKP 123 Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 I took Biochem 303 years ago, and didn't find it too interesting. I cannot remember much and do not apply much from that course during my first year med school at UBC. In contrast, I find stuff more useful from organic chem/immunology/physiology/genetics etc... in medicine. BIOC 303 can demand lots of memorization, but I find Organic 203/204 much more interesting. Basically, from biochemistry, you only need to know the 20 amino acids, the molecular biology (DNA stuff), sugar, fat-metaolism as background for 1st year med. I am sure I miss some, but you will learn them again in med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avenir001 Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 Hi there, I think there are always students in o-chem or biochem courses who will see the underlying principles and use them to facilitate their learning and make these courses less "memorization-intensive"...but for the rest of us memorization is what it boils down to. From personal experience I can tell you there is a lot of memorization involved in Bioc 303 where you learn about metabolic pathways in nauseating detail. A couple of people I knew who took 302 had a much easier time with it (& a higher grade). I think 303 is intended mostly for Biochem majors who are supposed to enjoy learning about the metabolic fates of every amino acid in the body I wouldn't have taken 303 if I didn't have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RoseSmurfette Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 Hey, I took Chem 203/204 and Bioc 303, so of course I only experienced one side of the equation. My understanding is that Chem 203/204 doesn't have significantly more reactions and stuff than Chem 233/235, but they go into a lot more detail about mechanisms. With Bioc 303, my impression is that you actually have more material to cover than Bioc 302. So, you'll go into pathways and learn reactions that you wouldn't touch in Bioc 302. I found BIOC 303 a little boring, but it wasn't terribly hard (i think there was a little scaling at the end). I heard more complaints from people in BIOC 302 than in 303. (Just as you hear more complaints from people in CHEM 233 than from 203/204 - don't know whether it has more to do with the motivation of the students in the course or whether it has to do with the course itself). Congrats on making physiology! Cheers, RoseSmurfette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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