Module 11

Main Progression - Proteins, Carbohydrates, Nucleic Acids, Lipids, Biological Membranes, The Prokaryotic Cell, and The Eukaryotic Cell

Review & Preview - Begin a new comprehensive study cycle for another practice test by achieving complete mastery of Physics at the level of the fundamentals.

Knowledge Mapping - Apply Organic Chemistry concepts within the biochemical context. Integrate your understanding of the macromolecular, cellular and physiological level. The coaching discussions have much practice for reading dense MCAT passage level scientific discussions.

Essay & Verbal Reasoning - Perform another ten Verbal Reasoning passages, assessing strengths and weaknesses. Write another essay.

Main Progression

Videos

Assignments

Disciplined work with the ManDala Premedical Learning System becomes more important at this stage in the course as we move into Biology. A large conceptual vocabulary correlates to a superior score on the Biology section of the MCAT. Read the Proteins chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. It is my opinion you must know all of the Level 2 vocabulary. Although terms of greater difficulty will often appear on the exam, anything at Level 2 you must commit to memory. Check your mastery of the vocabulary of Proteins with a drill of Levels 1,2, and 3 Question Server. Then see if you can perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center describing the many facets of Proteins starting HERE. MCAT difficulty in this topic is greater than a typical Biology 101 course. Imagine a very demanding Biology 101 treatment which becomes almost a lite Biochemistry. That is what you should aim for. Read pp. 79-82 in Examkrackers Organic Chemistry. Perform the questions on pp. 83-84. Read pp. 4-6 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 10. (after study of the other types of biomolecules) Read pp. 11-15 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 16.

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Goals

	Be able to describe amino acid structure and able to categorize amino acids based on the chemical properties of their side chains.
	Possess a good familiarity with the acid-base characteristics of amino acids including an understanding of amino acid titration curves and the isoelectric point.
	Understand how steric considerations of peptide bonds play a role in determining protein structure.
	Be able to distinguish primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary protein structure articulate the significance of the (limited) reversibility of protein denaturation.
	Recognize the various types of post-translational modifications of proteins.
	Understand and contextualize various protein functions at the cellular, tissue, physiological levels including enzyme activity, transport & storage, structure, immunity, and signalling.
	Become familiar with the basics of enzyme activity and enzyme kinetics.
	Understand the nomenclature and implications within enzyme kinetics of the regulation of enzyme catalysis such as with competitive & noncompetitive inhibition.
	Be able to point to a few specific examples demonstrating the role of cofactors and coenzymes.
	Be able to point to a few specific examples demonstrating regulation of enzymes by covalent modification or proteolytic activation.
	Point to several examples of structural proteins, transport proteins, signalling proteins, and proteins involved in immunity.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Carbohydrates chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Check your mastery of the vocabulary of Carbohydrates with a drill up to Level 3 at the Question Server, and then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center on Carbohydrates starting HERE. Read pp. 85-86 in Examkrackers Organic Chemistry. Perform the questions on pp. 87-88. Read pp. 6-7 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 10. (after study of the other types of biomolecules)

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Goals

	Be able to describe the structure of carbohydrates and name the mono- and disaccharides which are prominent in the biochemistry.
	Gain familiarity with the basic carbohydrate nomenclature including the simplest fundamentals of the D,L system and terms such as ‘aldose’, ‘furanose’, or ‘anomeric carbon’.
	Understand how to read Fischer and Haworth projections depicting the stereochemistry of carbohydrate ring structures.
	Know which monosaccharides combine to form sucrose, lactose, and maltose.
	Distinguish glycogen, amylose, amylopectin, and cellulose.
	Understand the structure and purpose of glycoproteins and proteoglycans.
	Be able to define a glycoside and provide a few examples.
	Have familiarity with the purposes of carbohydrates as fuel, biosynthetic precursors, in cell-cell recognition, and as structural components at the tissue level.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Nucleic Acids chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Ensure your mastery of the vocabulary of Nucleic Acids with a drill of Levels 1,2 and 3 at the Question Server. Then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center on Nucleic Acids starting HERE. Read p. 8 and pp. 25-26 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 10. (after study of the other types of biomolecules)

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Goals

	Understand the structure of a nucleotide. Be able to distinguish deoxyribonucleotides and ribonucleotides.
	Be able to characterize purines and pyrimidines and name the five bases, knowing which occur in DNA and RNA.
	Be familiar with the general organic mechanism of phosphodiester bond formation in the polymerization of nucleoside triphosphates in DNA and RNA lengthening.
	Understand the structure of the DNA as a helix of two complementary antiparallel strands joined by base pairing.
	Be familiar at a basic level with how the A-form, B-form, and Z-forms of DNA are distinguished.
	Be able to describe the processes of DNA denaturation and renaturation (annealing).
	Understand why RNA is less stable under basic conditions than DNA.
	In clear, basic terms, demonstrate the ability to describe the building up of the DNA superstructure in eukaryotic chromatin beginning with the formation of nucleosomes.
	Understand the varieties of RNA (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA, snRNA and scRNA) in terms of their structural and functional difference4s.
	Recall the important adenosine derivative, 3'-5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate, cAMP and its importance as a second messenger involved in passing signal transduction events from the cell surface to internal proteins.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Lipids chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Building vocabulary is crucial in Biology! Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Ensure your mastery of the vocabulary of Lipids with a drill up to Level 3 at the Question Server. Then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Study the Lipids resources in the Learning Center carefully. Work to master this material one step beyond first year Biology. Read pp. 2-3 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 10. (after study of the other types of biomolecules).

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Goals

	Understand that the definition of the category of lipids is not strictly structural but relies on solubility.
	Be able to draw the structure of a fatty acid, glycerol, and a triglyceride molecule. Understand the acyl substitution dehydration pathway of formation of a tryglyceride molecule from glycerol and three fatty acids.
	Be able to explain why saturated fats have higher melting points than unsaturated fats.
	Understand the structure of soaps and detergents and how they function.
	Be able to distinguish the structure of phospholipids from triglycerides in general terms as well as distinguish a few different varieties of phosopholipids from each other including lecithin and sphingomyelin. Understand how their behavior underlies the properties of cell membranes.
	In basic terms, understand why the terpenes usually have a number of carbon atoms that is a multiple of 5.
	Be able to draw the generic structural formula for steroids. Be able to name several examples of steroids and describe their functions.
	Recognize the eicosanoid lipids: the prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Biological Membranes chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Check your mastery of the vocabulary of Biological Membranes with a drill of Levels 1,2, and 3 at the Question Server, and then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center on Biological Membranes starting HERE. The materials from Kimball's Biology Pages and the Medical Biochemistry Page are especially excellent. Read pp. 61-64 in Examkrackers Biology.

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Goals

	Be familiar with how the lipid components of the plasma membrane form a bilayer in aqueous solution.
	Be able to describe the structure of integral and peripheral membrane proteins.
	Under stand which substances can pass freely through the lipid bilayer and which cannot.
	Comprehend the difference between facilitated diffusion and active transport.
	Be able to distinguish and give examples of ligand-gated, mechanically-gated, and voltage-gated facilitated diffusion channels.
	Understand the difference between direct (ATPase driven) and indirect (co-transport) active transport mechanisms.
	Be able to describe osmosis comfortably employing the terms hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic.
	Recall the various types of vesicle mediated transport mechanisms.
	Be able to describe the major types of membrane bound signal transduction mechanisms.
	Distinguish the primary kinds of cellular junctions: Desmosomes, Zonulae Adherens, Tight Junctions, and Gap Junctions.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Prokaryotic Cell chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Check your mastery of the vocabulary of the Prokaryotic Cell with a drill of Levels 1,2, and 3 at the Question Server, and then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center on the Prokaryotic Cell starting HERE. Read pp. 58-68 in Examkrackers Biology (some overlap with Biological Membranes) and perform the questions on p. 69.

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Goals

	Understand in both simple and complex terms how prokaryotic cells differ from eukaryotic cells.
	Be prepared to describe the structure of the prokaryotic nucleoid as well as plasmids.
	Comprehend the basic structure of the bacterial flagellum.
	Be able to distinguish the structural differences in the cell walls of gram negative and gram positive bacteria.
	Understand the basic narrative of bacterial reproduction.
	Be capable of describing the function of bacterial pili.

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Videos

Assignments

Read the Eukaryotic Cell chapter in your ManDala Premedical Learning System Book with your question slider. Take your time to look carefully at the figures in the margins. Make sure you can answer all Level 2 questions. Study the more difficult terms as well, which can appear in MCAT passages. Check your mastery of the vocabulary of the Eukaryotic Cell with a drill of Levels 1,2, and 3 at the Question Server, and then try to perform the Fundamental Terms Crossword Puzzle without pausing. Click here for the Solution to the crossword.

Work carefully through the materials in the Learning Center on the Eukaryotic Cell starting HERE. Read pp. 73-80 in Examkrackers Biology. Perform the questions on p. 81.

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Goals

	Recall the names and descriptions of the various membrane bound organelles found in animal cells.
	Understand the structure and functions of the endomembrane system including the nuclear envelope, rough and smooth ER, and the Golgi apparatus.
	Be able to describe the regulation of transport through nuclear pores.
	Comprehend cellular structure in the light of central dogma, i.e. transcription and translation.
	Be familiar with the functions of lysosomes and peroxysomes.
	Be able to relate mitrochondrial structure with function.
	Possess a solid understanding of the various cytoskeletal structures such as flagella and cilia and their related basal bodies and centrioles.
	Be able to distinguish the various proteins of importance in the cytoskeleton.

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Preview & Review

 

Knowledge Mapping

 

Verbal Reasoning

 

Essay

MECHANICS AND WAVES		Course Modules
	Kinematics Newton's Laws Work, Energy, and Power Momentum and Impulse
* * *	Rotation Harmonic Motion Elastic Properties of Solids Fluid Mechanics Waves
FUNDAMENTAL FORCES
	Gravitation Electricity
THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
	Atomic Theory Periodic Properties The Chemical Bond Intermolecular Forces
	Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry Stereochemistry
THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS
	Temperature and Heat Flow The Ideal Gas and Kinetic Theory The First Law of Thermodynamics Stoichiometry Thermochemistry
	The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Heat Engines Chemical Thermodynamics and the Equilibrium State The States of Matter The Physical Properties of Organic Compounds Chemical Kinetics
SOLUTIONS AND AQUEOUS SYSTEMS
	Water Solutions Acids and Bases Organic Acids and Bases
ORGANIC REACTION CHEMISTRY
	Nucleophiles and Electrophiles Intramolecular Cationic Rearrangements Reactions with Radical Intermediates Conjugated π Systems and Aromaticity Reactions of Alkanes Reactions of Alkenes Reactions of Alkynes Reactions of Alkyl Halides Reactions of Allylic and Benzylic Conjugation Reactions of Aromatic Compounds Reactions of Alcohols and Ethers Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones Reactions of Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives Reactions of Amines Reactions of Organic Phosphorus Compounds Reactions of Organic Sulfur Compounds
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BIOMOLECULES
	Proteins Carbohydrates Nucleic Acids Lipids
THE CELL
	Biological Membranes The Prokaryotic Cell The Eukaryotic Cell
BIOENERGETICS AND BIOSYNTHESIS
	Coordination Chemistry Oxidation/Reduction Oxidation/Reduction in Organic Chemistry Electrochemistry Bioenergetics and Cellular Respiration Photosynthesis  optional for MCAT Integration of Metabolism
GENETICS & REPRODUCTION
	Gene Expression Cellular Reproduction Mendelian Genetics Recombination and Mutation The Molecular Biology Laboratory Human Genetics
DIVERSITY OF LIFE
	Viruses Monera Protista  taxonomy optional for MCAT Fungi Plants  optional for MCAT Animals  taxonomy optional for MCAT Animal Development and Embryology
	Mammalian Tissues and Histology
HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
	The Nervous System Sensory Systems The Endocrine System The Musculoskeletal System The Cardiovascular System Blood The Respiratory System The Lymphatic System and Immunity The Urinary System The Digestive System and Nutrition The Reproductive System
POPULATION BIOLOGY
	Evolution Ecology
ELECTROMAGNETISM, LIGHT, AND MODERN PHYSICS
	Electricity DC Current Magnetism Electomagnetic Induction AC Current
	The Properties of Light Geometric Optics Wave Optics
	Modern Physics  relativity optional for MCAT Molecular Spectroscopy
	Molecular Spectroscopy Nuclear Physics
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