Order 1098269: Biochemistry

BHS105A Biochemistry1 Assessment Brief FINAL.Docx Page 1 of 7

ASSESSMENT BRIEF

Subject Code and Title BHS105 Biochemistry 1

Assessment Written report

Individual/Group Individual

Length 1500 words +/- 10%

Learning Outcomes a) Discuss and interpret the relationship between the

structure and function of biomolecules.

b) Identify and explain the basic properties and

reactions of amines, aldehydes, carboxylic acids,

esters, and amides.

c) Describe the structure and function of

carbohydrates, proteins, amino acids, enzymes

and lipids.

d) By examining the literature, explain the structure

and function of nucleic acids and their roles in the

genetic code and protein synthesis.

e) By examining the literature, discuss genetic

expression, regulation and mutations including

mechanisms of DNA organisation and replication,

RNA synthesis, processing and metabolism.

f) Explain the structure of the biological membrane

and discuss the associated forms of transportation

g) Discuss the role of the cell membrane and

cytoskeleton in relationship to metabolic

processes including protein synthesis, intercellular

communication and hormonal regulation

Submission By 11:55pm AEST/AEDT Sunday of Week 10

Weighting 40%

Total Marks 100 marks

Context:

BHS105A Biochemistry1 Assessment Brief FINAL.Docx Page 2 of 7

This assessment focuses on developing your understanding of key concepts in Biochemistry related to

health science. You will develop a range of skills as you research the various topics, including:

knowledge, understanding and research. You will be able to exhibit your knowledge by applying the

principles and concepts in Biochemistry.

Instructions:

Length: PART A 250 words +/- 10%, PART B 850 words +/- 10%, PART C 400 words +/- 10%

Word count must be adhered to – otherwise penalties may apply. Note that headings, in-text citations

and reference list are not included in the word limit.

This is a report to be written adhering to academic style. When writing the report, label each section

as Part A, B and C and address the required questions. Label each question with the appropriate

question number. You may include the question in your report, but this will not form a part of the

word count. Please familiarize yourself with academic style writing prior to writing this report.

The report should be submitted in a Word, 12 font (Arial or Times New Roman) and 1.5 spacing

document. Reports should be submitted through the assessment submission link on the class

Blackboard page. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure reports are uploaded by the due date.

Information relating to each part of this assessment is as follows:

PART A

 This section investigates the student’s ability to reason scientific questions.

 Length: 250 words +/- 10%, each question is worth 4 marks

 Referencing is mandatory.

PART B

 This section analyses students’ ability to present scientific information in an academic style

essay. Please refer to the assessment overview document for guidelines.

 Length: 850 words +/- 10%

 Referencing is mandatory.

Referencing

 Referencing is mandatory for Part A and Part B only; in-text citations and a reference list

following the APA referencing style should be included. The APA referencing guide can be

located in the Academic Writing Guide.

 A minimum of 5 references are to be included. These can include journals, books, reputable

websites or videos. This part is worth 5 marks.

PART C

 This section investigates students’ ability to apply scientific knowledge.

 Length: 400 words +/- 10%

 Referencing is not required for this section

Please refer to the marking rubric to ensure you address all the assessment criteria

BHS105A Biochemistry1 Assessment Brief FINAL.Docx Page 3 of 7

PART A – Reasoning 250 words +/- 10%

1. Pyrimidine plays a vital role in the efficient functioning of the body. Discuss the chemical

classification and significance of pyrimidine relating to the human body. (4 marks)

2. The boiling points of ethanol and ethanal are 78.37°C and 20.2°C respectively. Explain the

reason for this variation in the boiling points of these two compounds with similar molecular

weights. Discuss intermolecular attractions between the molecules to support your answer.

(4 marks)

3. Stearic acid and oleic acid are both long chain carboxylic acids with 18 carbon atoms.

However, there is a large difference in the melting points of these fatty acids. Stearic acid

(18:0) melts at 70°C and oleic acid (18:1) melts at 16°C. Explain why there is such a large

difference in the melting points of these fatty acids. (4 marks)

4. Assume that you are a chemist trying to prepare butyl ethanoate, a flavouring agent used

in the manufacture of ice-cream and candy. Identify the functional group in butyl ethanoate.

State the name of the reaction and the reactants that can be used to synthesize this

compound. (4 marks)

PART B – Essay 850 words +/- 10%

Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids play a vital role in the efficient functioning of the human

body. Discuss the major functions of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids with an emphasis on

their role in maintaining the structure of cell membrane. (40 marks)

PART C – Application 400 words +/- 10%

1. The antibacterial activity of penicillin is related to the inhibition of a key bacterial enzyme.

Explain this mechanism of enzyme inhibition. (5 marks)

2. Sequence 1 and sequence 2 are short sequences of DNA with a message. To decipher the

message, you will need to first transcribe and then translate the sequences. Using the single

letter code of each amino acid obtained upon translating the sequence, crack the message

contained. Please note that there are only 20 amino acids. Therefore, you may need to insert

any/all of the letters B, J, O, U, X, Z to complete the message.

(5 marks)

DNA Sequence 1: 3'- TAAAATCAGCTCTAGACGGTACTCTACTAGTCATGGTCCATG- 5'

DNA Sequence 2: 3'-CGGGGGCGGTAGTCCTCAACCTAGTGGGTGTGG- 5'

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3. A part of the DNA sequence of normal hemoglobin and sickle cell hemoglobin are shown below. Using your knowledge of transcription and translation, determine the mRNA and amino acid sequence for both normal and sickle cell haemoglobin DNA.

Normal hemoglobin DNA C A C G T G G A C T G A G G A C T C C T C T T C

Sickle cell hemoglobin DNA C A C G T G G A C T G A G G A C A C C T C T T C

Comment on the difference between the amino acid sequences obtained and state if this difference would affect the role of haemoglobin as an oxygen carrying protein. (5 marks)

4. State whether the following compounds are present in DNA or RNA or both.

(5 marks)

a) Guanine

b) Adenine

c) Thymine

d) Cytosine

e) 2-deoxy-D-ribose

f) D-ribose

g) Uracil

5. A part of the aminoacid sequence in Cytochrome-C protein from 6 different species is given

in the table. Rank the organisms from 1 to 5 according to the similarity of the organism to

human: based on the similarity between the cytochrome C aminoacid sequences, 1 being the

closest to human. It is largely agreed that the greater the number of amino acid (or

nucleotide) differences between a given pair of organisms, the further apart they are in

evolution. On the other hand, if two organisms show very few differences, they are likely to

be closely related. With the given information in the table and your ranking of organisms, do

you think this ranking gives definite information on how further apart the organisms are in

evolution? Why/why not? (5 marks)

Human DVEKGKKIFIM

Silkworm moth NAENGKKIFVQ

Chicken DIEKGKKIFVQ

Rhesus monkey DVEKGKKIFIM

Bullfrog DVEKGKKIFVQ

Tuna DVAKGKKTFVQ

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6. Complete the following questions using the given double stranded DNA (14 marks)

Double stranded DNA:

5' - ATGTACGCTACTTGA - 3'

3' - TACATGCGATGAACT -5'

a) Identify the coding strand and the template strand in the given double stranded DNA.

b) Determine the sequence of mRNA obtained from the transcription of the DNA strand.

c) Determine the anticodons of tRNA required to translate the mRNA codons.

d) Using the genetic code, identify the sequence of amino acids obtained upon translation

of the mRNA.

NOTE: Please refer to Bettelheim, F.A., Brown, W.H., Campbell, M.K., & Farell, S.O. (2013).

Introduction to General, Organic, and Biochemistry (11th ed.). USA: Brookes/Cole, Cengage

Learning for the genetic code and single letter code of amino acids.

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Assessment Attributes Fail

(0-49%) Pass

(50-64%) Credit (65-74)

Distinction (75-84%)

High Distinction (85-100%)

Grade Description A Fail grade will be awarded if a student is unable to demonstrate satisfactory academic performance in the subject or has failed to complete the required assessment points. Use of the academic referencing system is not evident.

Pass is awarded for work showing a satisfactory achievement of all learning outcomes and an adequate understanding of theory and application of skills. Use of the academic referencing system is evident.

Credit is awarded for work showing a more than satisfactory achievement of all learning outcomes and a more than adequate understanding of theory and application of skills. Competent use of the recommended academic referencing system.

Distinction is awarded for work of superior quality in achieving all learning outcomes and a superior integration and understanding of theory and application of skills. Evidence of in-depth relevant research, reading, analysis and evaluation is demonstrated. The recommended academic referencing system is used consistently and accurately with minimal errors.

High Distinction is awarded for outstanding quality in achieving all learning outcomes together with outstanding integration and understanding of theory and application of skills. Evidence of in-depth relevant research, reading, analysis, original and creative thought is demonstrated. The recommended academic referencing system is used consistently and accurately at all times.

PART A 16 marks

0 - 8 8.1– 10 10.1 – 12 12.1– 14 14.1 – 16

Knowledge and understanding

Limited understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows inadequate knowledge of topics to meet learning outcomes.

Basic understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows adequate knowledge to meet the learning outcomes.

Thorough knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.

Highly developed knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Well demonstrated capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.

Sophisticated knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates an excellent capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.

PART B 40 marks

0 – 20 20.1 – 25 25.1 – 30 30.1 – 35 35.1 – 40

0 –1.25 1.3-1.5 1.6-1.75 1.8-2 2.1 – 2.5

Introduction Introduction not very clear or evident. Limited introduction present. Introduction provides background information on the topic, but does not provide an outline.

Introduction provides background information on the topic. A brief outline is described.

Introduction provides background information on the topic. A clear outline is described.

Introduction provides a concise background to the chosen topic; engages and orients the reader creating strong interest.

0 –1.25 1.3-1.5 1.6-1.75 1.8-2 2.1 – 2.5

Conclusion Conclusion not evident. Limited conclusion present. Minimal discussion regarding essay content.

Conclusion is evident and briefly covers most content discussed in the essay.

Conclusion is well structured, reviews majority of relevant points. No new material is introduced in conclusion.

The concluding statement is concise, well-structured and briefly reviews all relevant points and provides a strong parting statement. No new

BHS105A Biochemistry1 Assessment brief FINAL.docx Page 7 of 7

material is introduced in conclusion.

5 marks 0 –2.5 2.6-3 3.1-3.5 3.6-4.3 4.4 – 5

Use of academic and

discipline conventions

Poorly written not adhering to academic style writing, with errors in spelling and grammar. Chemical equations/symbols are not presented in the correct format.

Adequately written adhering to academic style writing. Some spelling and grammatical errors. Some information is not always explicit or well written. Some chemical equations/symbols are not presented in the correct format.

Well written adhering to academic style writing. Almost no spelling and grammatical errors. Almost all information is explicit and well written. Almost all chemical equations/symbols are presented in the correct format.

Very well written

adhering to academic style writing. No spelling or grammatical mistakes. All information is explicit and very well written. All

chemical equations/symbols are

presented in the correct format.

Expertly written adhering to academic style writing. demonstrating use of high quality language and written expression. All chemical symbols/equations are presented in the correct format.

30 marks 0 – 15 15.1 – 19 19.1– 22 22.1 – 25 25.1 – 30

Knowledge and understanding

Limited understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows inadequate knowledge of topics to meet learning outcomes.

Basic understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows adequate knowledge to meet the learning outcomes.

Thorough knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.

Highly developed knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Well demonstrated capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.

Sophisticated knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates an excellent capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.

5 marks 0 –2.5 2.6-3 3.1-3.5 3.6-4.3 4.4 – 5

Referencing (Part A and Part B)

Minimal or no attempt made at referencing and use of appropriate APA style guidelines.

Attempt made at referencing using appropriate APA style guidelines but not adequate.

Good referencing using appropriate APA style guidelines but with some inconsistencies.

Very good referencing using appropriate APA style guidelines with no mistakes.

Excellent referencing, of a variety of high quality sources with appropriate APA style guidelines with no mistakes.

PART C 39 marks

0 – 19.5 19.6 – 25 25.1 – 30 30.1 – 35 35.1 – 39

Knowledge and understanding

Limited understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows inadequate knowledge of topics to meet learning outcomes.

Basic understanding of required concepts and knowledge. Shows adequate knowledge to meet the learning outcomes.

Thorough knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.

Highly developed knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Well demonstrated capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts.

Sophisticated knowledge and understanding of required concepts. Demonstrates an excellent capacity to explain and apply relevant concepts to meet learning outcomes.