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All Sciences Physics Chemistry Organic Biology

Module 11 under construction

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

Review & Preview - Take another tour of Biology as a whole with a focus on retention of detailed knowledge.

Knowledge Mapping - Apply Organic Chemistry concepts within the biochemical context. Integrate your understanding of the macromolecular, cellular and physiological level. Practice 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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Review & Preview

Assignments


Read the conceptual discussions for Biology in ExamKrackers Biology from beginning to end like you did in Module 8. Read the headings. Browse the text. Look at the figures. Focus especially on getting a handle on the scope of the physiology, which you do not want to be a mountain in the final phase of the course. Set your pace to take no more than 3 hours.
Play the Biology section of ManDala at Level 3 (it was Level 2 in Module 8) without rolling movement dice, although you still roll difficulty dice. Go one topic at a time and do not proceed to the next topic until you have answered three questions in a row. Skip Photosynthesis, Animals, and Plants if you like. Use your question book and slider for this exercise instead of the online question server to be able to browse each chapter's figures as you go.

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Goals


Firm up your mental outline of Biology at the main topic level.
You must have a clear picture of the phenomena described within each main topic of Biology and be making real headway on retention of the factual knowledge base.

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Knowledge Mapping

Assignments


Read the Coaching Discussions associated with the Main Progression topics of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Nucleic Acids, Lipids, Biological Membranes, Prokaryotic Cell and Eukaryotic Cell. Start HERE and proceed by clicking 'Next Discussion'. There seems to be a hiccup from Proteins to Carbohydrates in the discussion sequence, so if this is not fixed, please begin the thread of discussions again in Carbohydrates HERE).

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Goals


Be prepared to discuss the basic biochemistry of macromolecules with the language of organic chemistry, for example, relating peptide bond formation, for example, to acyl exchange mechanisms or ring formation of monosaccharides to hemiacetal formation.
Be able to apply physical science concepts to the biochemistry of macromolecules such as the role of solubility effects in determining tertiary protein structure.
Work on integrating your knowledge of the biological macromolecules with concepts from molecular genetics, cell biology, metabolism, and physiology.
Integrate membrane functions within the broader biological context. Examples include the importance of membranes in energy and signal transduction.
Understand the structure of the Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cell in the light of the transcription and translation of genetic material.

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Testing

Assignments


Now we start another cycle in which once again imagine you have put off studying for the MCAT and you need to cram. In module 14, we'll have another practice test. Begin taking about a third of your study time for preparing for this exam. This cycle, though, a major goal is that you really want to break through with your ExamKrackers study package. This week focus on Physics. By the end of the module aim to know how every page looks, the knowledge presented, the table of contents, and imprint of comfortable fluency from the front to the back cover. The ExamKrackers books do a good job of presenting the fundamental basic material, and this is a baseline you need to attain. Aim over the next week to get above the city of knowledge with a bird's eye view of the comprehensive whole and ensure your knowledge base has a foundation at least as articulated in every area as the basic Exam Krackers treatment. Study every conceptual chapter in Physics this week and complete every 30 minute in-class exam in the book as you go. Focus in on strengths and weaknesses. Next week we will do the same for Chemistry.

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Goals


Hold yourself responsible for solid mastery of the fundamental principles in Physics.
Have a clear mental image of the model phenomena within each physics topic and be able to apply concepts and physical formulas as an intuitive language to understand and predict system behavior.
Gain understanding of your strengths and weaknesses at the level of fundamentals. Address the weaknesses.

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Verbal Reasoning

Assignments


Two or three times this module, sit down for one half hour and read from the following works in the category of HISTORY OF SCIENCE. Practice sustaining your focus for active listening. Imagine the author. Try to hear the voice in the writing. You are working to develop stronger abilities for mindful reading.

accessibleThe American Goliah - Anonymous
moderatePhysics and Politics - Walter Bagehot
difficultA Mechanical Theory of Storms - T. Bassnett
 
Let's practice being an MCAT test writer. In this exercise, write a 'correct' and an 'incorrect' answer corresponding to questions following a typical verbal reasoning passage. Pretend you are part of a committee making the test, and your job is to write a 'best answer' and a 'second best' (tricky but wrong) answer. We will do this exercise often throughout the course to help you understand the nuances of the Verbal Reasoning questions. Print and complete this exercise. Click Here.

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Goals


Improve the stamina of your reading attention. Practice sustaining your focus through dense reading material.
Understand the intentions of the writers of Verbal Reasoning questions on the MCAT.
Verbal Reasoning Tip of the Week
Before beginning the questions after reading the passage, take a few seconds to re-assess the structure of the passage before beginning the questions, because now you can see the passage as a whole. Taking a few seconds for this process will help you with main idea and author's tone questions as well as orient you if you need to find a section regarding specific factual information in the passage.

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Essay

Assignments


Read the WikiPremed guide to Writing the MCAT Essay.
Arrange an undisturbed half hour to write an essay. Click Here for your essay topic for module eight. Don't advance to page 2 until you are ready to begin writing.
You may post your essay at the FORUM for feedback from us and from your fellow students. If you post an essay for feedback, be sure to give your opinion and advice on at least two essays posted by others.

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Goals


Understand how to imagine a dialogue or debate as a generative device for writing MCAT essays.

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MECHANICS AND WAVES
link to syllabus
Kinematics1
Newton's Laws
Work, Energy, and Power
Momentum and Impulse
* * *Rotation2
Harmonic Motion
Elastic Properties of Solids
Fluid Mechanics
Waves
FUNDAMENTAL FORCES
Gravitation3
Electricity
THE STRUCTURE OF MATTER
Atomic Theory4
Periodic Properties
The Chemical Bond
Intermolecular Forces
Functional Groups in Organic Chemistry5
Stereochemistry
THERMODYNAMICS AND KINETICS IN PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL SYSTEMS
Temperature and Heat Flow6
The Ideal Gas and Kinetic Theory
The First Law of Thermodynamics
Stoichiometry
Thermochemistry
The Second Law of Thermodynamics and Heat Engines7
Chemical Thermodynamics and the Equilibrium State
The States of Matter
The Physical Properties of Organic Compounds
Chemical Kinetics
SOLUTIONS AND AQUEOUS SYSTEMS
Water8
Solutions
Acids and Bases
Organic Acids and Bases
ORGANIC REACTION CHEMISTRY
Nucleophiles and Electrophiles9
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
BIOMOLECULES10 break
Proteins11
Carbohydrates
Nucleic Acids
Lipids
THE CELL
Biological Membranes
The Prokaryotic Cell
The Eukaryotic Cell
BIOENERGETICS AND BIOSYNTHESIS
Coordination Chemistry12
Oxidation/Reduction
Oxidation/Reduction in Organic Chemistry
Electrochemistry
Bioenergetics and Cellular Respiration
Photosynthesis  
Biosynthesis of Macromolecules
Integration of Metabolism
GENETICS & REPRODUCTION
Gene Expression13
Cellular Reproduction
Mendelian Genetics
Recombination and Mutation
The Molecular Biology Laboratory
Human Genetics
DIVERSITY OF LIFE
Viruses14
Monera
Protista
Fungi
Plants  
Animals
Animal Development and Embryology
Mammalian Tissues and Histology15
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
Populations16
Evolution
Ecology
ELECTROMAGNETISM, LIGHT, AND MODERN PHYSICS
Electricity17
DC Current
Magnetism
Electomagnetic Induction
AC Current
The Properties of Light
Geometric Optics
Wave Optics
Modern Physics18
Molecular Spectroscopy
Nuclear Physics
19 break
20 break
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