Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Spring Semester 2026

Biochemistry I (Face-to-Face)

CHEM 4110-103

Course: CHEM 4110-103
Credits: 4
Term: Spring Semester 2026
Department: PSCI
CRN: 13986

Course Description

A course designed to develop a foundational understanding of biochemical processes through an exploration of molecular structure-function relationships. Three-dimensional structures of biological molecules will be a major focus as well as their physical and chemical properties, and their functions within the cell/tissue/organism. Proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and lipids will be discussed in detail. Membrane structure/signaling/transport processes, and enzyme kinetics and mechanisms will also be covered in this course. A minimum grade of "C" (2.0 or above) must be earned in this course before it can be counted in a physical science major or minor or as a prerequisite for any other course. (Fall, Summer) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

This course will help students develop an understanding of biochemical processes found in living organisms. The structure, function, and physical properties of the major families of biomolecules, as well as enzyme mechanisms and kinetics will be discussed this semester.

Required Texts

Text
Fundamentals of Biochemistry, 6th ed. by Voet, Voet, and Pratt (2016) ISBN: 978-1-118-01840-1. Chapters 1-10 and appendices A1-A5 will be covered this semester.
Also required
You will need a scientific calculator capable of logarithms.

Learning Outcomes

To fulfill the mission of SUU, courses should emphasize excellence in learning designed to foster critical thinking, effective communication, lifelong intellectual curiosity, global awareness, personal responsibility, and integrity.

Chem 4110 is taught with the following goals: (1) to develop a fundamental understanding of the structures and physical properties of biological macromolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins, the forces which stabilize these structures and the forces underlying the intermolecular interactions leading to complex formation and conformational changes, (2) to gain an understanding of various methods of purification and analysis of these molecules, (3) to develop an understanding of the principles and mechanisms of enzymatic reactions and signaling and (4) to appreciate the power of biochemistry to address important issues in areas such as nutrition, medicine, agriculture and fuel technologies and to thereby become better-engaged local and global citizens. Specifically, after taking this class, you should be better able to read news articles about and understand drug function, vaccines, biofuels, and other biochemical technology.

Essential learning outcomes include: Creative and Critical Thinking; Digital, Information, and Quantitative Literacy; Inquiry and Analysis; Problem Solving; as well as Lifelong and Integrative Learning. Achievement of these learning outcomes will be assessed through exams, in-class work, and homework assignments.

Course Requirements

Your grade in this course will be based on homework and exams:

Homework ― 25%
Four exams (evenly weighted) ― 60%
Final exam ― 15%

Exams

You are responsible to prepare for and take four exams this semester. 
Exam 1 will cover chapters 1, 2, and 3
Exam 2 will cover chapters 4 and 5, and appendices A1, A2, and A5
Exam 3 will cover chapter 6, 7, and 8, and appendices A3 and A4
Exam 4 will cover chapters 9 and 10

Please use the study guides to help you figure out where to focus your effort in preparing for these exams. Note: It is a department policy to retain all exams. Grades will be posted on Canvas. Exams will be available for you to look at during my office hours until the end of the semester.

Exams will be given in the testing center. Their policies require that the exam be scheduled over two days. As you’re setting your exam dates, please take a look at how busy they expect to be and keep in mind that you may have to wait if you choose one of the busier days.

Structures to memorize for exams 

You should be able to draw all of the nucleotides, either separately or part of a DNA or RNA molecule. You should be able to draw Watson-Crick base pairs between nucleotides (or draw a short stretch of double-stranded DNA). You should also be able to draw all of the amino acids, either separately or as part of a peptide, and should memorize the relevant side-chain pKa values (to the tenths place) so that you can draw a peptide in its most abundant form at a particular pH or calculate an isoelectric point if N-term and C-term pKas are given to you. The study guides for the carbohydrate and lipid chapters include short lists of carbohydrate and lipid structures that I may ask you to draw from memory.

Final exam 

You should schedule your final exam with me for sometime during finals week. We can’t use the testing center for that exam, so you will take it somewhere in a classroom in SC. The final is comprehensive, including Chapters 1-10 from the textbook. There is no ACS final for the first semester of biochemistry.

Due dates

Each homework assignment will be due at the time you take the exam covering the material in the assignment. We will meet during the first week of classes to schedule the exams and final. There is some flexibility to change exam dates if you find that you will need more time to prepare for a specific exam. However, I'm required to submit exam requests to the testing center at least five business days before the exam opens, so you will need to let me know at least that far in advance that you need to change an exam date. It's also very much in your best interest to divide the material fairly evenly over the semester and not to leave yourself too much work for the end of the semester.

Grading Scale

93% or higher - A | 80-82.9% - B- | 67-69.9% - D+
90-92.9% - A- | 77-79.9% - C+ | 63-66.9% - D
87-89.9% - B+ | 73-76.9% - C | 60-62.9% - D-
83-86.9% - B | 70-72.9% - C- | less than 60% - F
Please note: if you stop participating in the class partway through the semester and earn less than 60%, I will be required to give you a grade of UW instead of F. This can affect your financial aid. I’m not sure exactly how this works with independent study, and don’t want to find out. Please see my policy above about not pushing the work to the end of the semester.
Due dates

Course Outline

Chapter 1 Introduction to the Chemistry of Life
Chapter 2 Water
Chapter 3 Amino Acids and Polypeptides
Introduction to PyMOL tutorial and assignment
Chapter 4 Proteins: Three-Dimensional Structure
Chapter 5 Carbohydrates
Chapter 6 Nucleotides, Nucleic Acids, and Genetic Information
Chapter 7 Lipids and Biological Membranes
Chapter 8 Membrane Transport
Chapter 9 Enzymatic Catalysis
Chapter 10 Enzyme Kinetics, Inhibition, and Control

Please note, since this is an independent study class, the schedule of when each chapter is covered during the semester is flexible.

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Attendance and scheduling

Since this is an independent study class, it is mostly up to you to choose when you will take the exams, set your own study schedule, and meet with me. You will need to set your exam dates with me at the beginning of the semester. When we’ve decided on dates, I will schedule the exams with the testing center. Please let me know as far in advance as possible if you need to change one of your scheduled exam dates for any reason. The minimum required advance notice is five business days, to comply with testing center policy. To make sure that I have time to grade everything and that you have time to study, I recommend that you spread the four midterm exams out over the semester. I absolutely will not let you keep all of the work until the end of the semester. You may schedule one of the four exams during the last week of classes, and the only exam that you schedule during finals week should be the final exam.

Homework due dates

Homework assignments will be due when you take the exams, but if you would like to have them graded before you take the exams, please feel free to set up a system with me where you turn them in earlier to get earlier feedback! Please see the exam chapter list for which homework assignments you should complete before each exam.

Missed exams

Please let me know as far in advance as possible if you need to reschedule an exam, as outlined above. I’m glad to be flexible with exam days (within reason), as long as it helps you out. However, keep in mind that pushing back exam dates means that you will have to learn the remaining material in a shorter period of time. Any exam that you skip completely without letting me know in advance, will be given a grade of zero.

Exam difficulties

Each exam will cover a large amount of material. I recognize that good students may occasionally have bad tests. I will replace one score from Exams 1-4 with a the portion of your final exam grade corresponding to the same exam, if doing so improves your grade. However, I will not replace a zero from a missed exam with your final exam grade, except for cases covered by my emergency policy (see below).

Extra credit

The homework and exams are already set up to show me what you’ve learned and to give you the best chance that I fairly can of passing the class, so there won’t be any extra credit.

Attendance Policy

As this is an independent study class, there is no attendance requirement, other than to take the exams at the times we agree on.

Course Fees

Chem 4110 does not have a course fee. However, SUU charges a fee of $67 per credit ($268 total) for independent study courses.

Prerequisites

Chem 2320 and 2325 and Biol 1610 and 1615 with a grade of C or better

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.