A High School Biochemistry Course George 6. Powers Old Town High School, Old Town. ME 04468 The first-year chemistry courses at Old Town High School This were described in a previous article in THIS JOURNAL'. article will describe a senior-level, advanced course in biochemistry. This biochemistry course was designed for students planning to pursue careers in nursing, engineering, and agriculture. The author, before he began teaching at the high school level, was a graduate assistant in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Maine a t Orono where be assisted in the teaching of the biochemistry classes as well as their laboratories. This experience led to the conviction that high school students need to see what college courses are like. Therefore, the course is taught in a manner asclose to the college course as possible. The students are given a syllabus a t the start of the course containine all the readine.. assien.. ments. Most general assignments are neither cullected nor graded ras on the univvrsiry level in bioch~mistry~.
Course Outline Weeks
EOUC., 58, 1015 (1981). 'Powers, George B., J. CHEM. Rogers, E. P. and Brown, W. H., "General, Organic and Biochemistry, Willard Grant Press, Boston, 1980. Bennett, Thomas Peter, "Elements of Protein Synthesis." W. H. Freeman and Company, 1969. 'Goodman, Richard E., The Biology Teacher, 34[2], 78 (February, 1972).
ihe game is now available from the Carolina Supply Company.
Chapter
Maner and Measurement Elements. Atoms, and Compoun Atoms and their Elements Compounds and Bonding Chemical Reactions Organic Chemistry Saturated Hydrocarbons Unsaturated Hydrocarbons Stereoisomerismand Optical
I 2 3 4 5 9
Laboratory None Worksheet Worksheet Worksheet Worksheet Carbon
10
Hydrocarbons
11 12
None
Activity
Alcohols. Phenols, and Ethers Aldehydes and Ketones Carboxylic Acids Functional Derivatives of Acids Amines intermolecular Forces Introduction to Biochemistry
Course Description and Outline Our second-year chemistry course includes general, organic, and biological chemistry. The prerequisites are first-year chemistry and instructor approval. The course is scheduled for three 42-min lecture periods and two 84-min laboratory periods per week. The student takes the course for a full year for 1credit. The format of the course is primarily lecture, but handouts are used liberally. Demonstrations and a few laboratory tests are also done durine lecture. The laboratories have been chosen to follow the ikctnre topics. Many of theexperiments are the same as those done on the colleee level.. ex.. - . Isolation of Caffeine, Isolation of Cholesterol, Pieparation of Aspirin and Preparation of Soap. The textbook used for the course is "General, Organic and Biochemistry" by Rogers and Brown.2 A college text must be chosen since, to my knowledge, no high school biochemistry textbooks are available. Therefore, some of the textbook material must be omitted or simplified. The course outline is given in the table. Other Material One of the favorite activities of the course is the seminars. Each student is reqnirrd to prcsrnt a 15-min seminar in a bidoaical area of his or her rhuicr. The students use the hich school library, the University of Maine, or other sources'to research their topics. Some of the topics covered are: Death and Dying, Bioluminescence, Sleep and Dream States, and Birth Control. At several points in the course, professors from the University of Maine a t Orono come and talk to the class. They cover such areas as nucleic acids, genetic engineering, hiochemistry of aging, and photosynthesis. The students also are given selected outside readings where they coincide with class materials; several are reprints from
Topic
Carbohydrates
8 18
Lipids
19
Amino Acids and Proteins
20
Enzymes
21
Nucieic Acids (Protein Syn.) Minerals Vitamins and Coenzymes
22
Nutrition Flow of Enerov in Biol. World
-.
2
Al~oholsand Ethers Aldehydes and Ketones Preparation of 15 Asperir 16 None Isolation of Caffeine 17 None None 7 (parts). Acidity of Vinegar 13 14
Carbohydrate Metabolism Lipid Metabolism Amino Acid Metabolism integration of Metabolism
None None None 23 24 25 26
None
Carbohydrates Isolation of Starch isolation of Choiester Paper Chromatograph of Amino Acids Enzyme Kite Production of
Cheese Protein Synlhesis Kit None None None None Metabolism Game None None Worksheets
Experimemal Ewmalogy Ki X20-2275 Carolina Biological Swly Campany, Bulingion. N.C. 27215
Scientific American. Carolina Biological Supply offers an outstanding series of short monographs on biochemical topics. Students also read and practice with a kit called "Elements of Protein Synthesis" by Thomas Peter Bennett.3 The hest-liked and most utilized outside materialis agame, . ~ article produced from an article in The Biology T e a ~ h e rThe describes how to make and d a y the metabolism game, covering glycolysis, citric acid c$Ae, coenzymes, and the electron transport system. The students learn reactants, products, energies, and enzymes required for the major metabolic cycles.5 Conclusion In general, the students who haw taken this course have found it u, he a great help. Not only do the college chemistry courses they eventually take cover many areas included in this biochemistry course, but the course also srrvvs as an intruduction tu the cullcgr level approach to teaching. Volume 61
Number 1 January 1984
43
