Studying for Biochemistry Lab

My midyear class officially begins

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For most UPLB students, midyear classes began last June 11, 2018. In my case, the schedule for the subject I enlisted, CHEM 160.1 (Introductory Biochemistry Laboratory), is at 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

HUM 3 petition was disapproved

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Enlisting CHEM 160.1 was a good contingency, because, sadly, the petition for HUM 3 (Reading Film, TV, and the Internet wasn't approved even though there was high demand for the subject; there were more than a hundred of us who signed the petition.

Curriculum changes in preparation for the first batch of K-12 graduates

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The good news is that HUM 3 will still be offered next semester (1st semester, AY 2018-2019). The change in the curriculum of undergraduate degree programs to suit the academic needs of incoming K-12 graduates brought about major changes in course offerings.

Some courses will no longer be offered since they are now part of the K-12 curriculum; thus, higher courses need to be offered. For instance, the new BS Nutrition curriculum will require a two-semester practicum instead of just one in our current curriculum.

First lab meeting!

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Yesterday was our first meeting for this class. It was an orientation of the course policies, schedule of exercises, submission of lab reports, and exams. The laboratory instructor also gave a pre-lab discussion of Exercise 1 which is about Biochemical Calculations.

(Laboratory manual for CHEM 160.1)

(The first exercise for this lab class.)

(Our first actual lab exercise tomorrow)

Reports!!!

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Our group submitted the pre-lab report this afternoon at 1 PM. Students are required to submit it so that they will be allowed to perform the exercise. It is designed to prepare the students for the lab work, specifically covering the objectives, materials and methods, and waste treatment and management. It also contains the data blanks where the measurements and observations will be recorded. The reports are written in a pre-lab notebook which is a rather organized record as it follows the department's prescribed format.

This subject has a lot of papers, i.e. lengthy post-lab reports to be submitted individually for each exercise, but I think I'll get to enjoy it because I missed the chemistry experiments. Our lab work in nutrition subjects involve preparation of diets and methods of nutritional assessment, hence it's been a while since I handled chemical reagents and equipment.

My groupmates are nice. Our first re-lab report might not have been as smooth-sailing as other members didn't submit their parts on time, but I'm glad that everyone is trying to do their best and are making suggestions to help improve our work.

Thanks be to God for another opportunity to learn something that will add to my knowledge and appreciation of biochemistry, which is defined as:

" ... the application of chemistry to the study of biological processes at the cellular and molecular level."

(McGill University, n.d.)

A professor at the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food (IHNF) once said this:

"Nutrition is applied biochemistry."

Reference:

McGill University. (n.d.). What is Biochemistry? Retrieved from https://www.mcgill.ca/biochemistry/about-us/information/biochemistry