Friday, January 30, 2009
Are You as Smart as a Second Year University Student? Q3
Are You as Smart as a Second Year University Student?
Biochemistry is a three-dimensional subject and one of the things we concentrate on in our introductory biochemistry course is understanding what molecules look like in three dimensions. In many cases we are forced to depict these molecules in two dimensions just for simplicity. There are rules about how to do this, especially when it comes to describing carbohydrates.
My students have copies of the names and structures of the standard aldohexoses (see below). I give them three views of an aldohexose and ask them to identify the sugar. On Tuesday's test 85% of my students got the right answer.
How would you do?
Are You as Smart as a Third Year University Student?
Question 6Some of them are a bit more difficult. In this case (below) you have to be much more specific in naming the structure. In these examples only about 50% of the students get them right. Can you name this molecule?