CHEMISTRY AND PREPARATORY BIOCHEMISTRY
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
Prerequisites
The course prerequisites are the basic knowledge of the fundamentals of general chemistry.
In order to verify the learning of the knowledge and skills given to the lesson, a written examination will take place. This examination will be divided into two parts, written and oral. In the first part, the examination of chemistry consists of 25 multiple-choice questions (five possible answers of which at least one is true and identifiable by the student) regarding the understanding of the topics discussed. In this part, are also present two chemical structures for which the student will have to write the name, the solution to a simple stoichiometry problem and finally the student will be asked to write two formulas of simple organic molecules of choice between carbohydrates, lipids or amino acids that have been discussed in the course. The final evaluation of the written test will take into account both multiple response responses (up to 20 points) and exercises (up to 10 points), the outcome of the exam will be sufficient if the combined results of the two written tests will exceed the value of 18. Only positive written test will be allowed to proceed to the oral part of exam. The oral exam consists of an interview that includes the discussion of the written draft and consists of oral questions about the program being discussed in the course. The final vote is the average of the written and oral test score. At the request of the students, the works will be available to the students until the date of the next application and then permanently archived for a period of five years.
The course aims to provide basic knowledge to understand the main biological phenomena at cellular and tissue levels in chemical and biochemical terms. The aim of the course is to convey to the student the understanding of the chemical reactions at the basis of life and the role of enzymatic catalysis. The course provides for the discussion of the fundamental laws of chemical transformations, the concept of structure and molecular organization, spatial orientation, the role of different molecules in the constitution of biological structures and in the cellular or organism economy, the main categories of nutrients, and of their value under a proper diet regime.
Content and course program
Atom structure: nucleus, nature and dimension, coulombian barrier, mass defect, chemical nuclear bond energy, atomic mass number, nucleons energy, radioactivity, (alpha, gamma) energy and material interaction, radioactivity measurements, radio nuclides in medicine, nuclear reactions. Electrons. Bohr atomic model, Heisenberg principle, electrons as ondulatory waves, steady state waves of the electrons, atomic orbital, quanta numbers, shape of the orbital, electronic configuration, periodicity of electrons configuration, periodicity of the elements properties.
Ionic and covalent bonds, Lewis rules, chemical bonds formation, molecular orbital theory, valent, energy and strength of the bond.
Gas volume and pressure, Rules of Boyle, Charles Gay Lussac, Avogadro, Dalton. Perfect gas rule, gas kinetic theory, gas diffusion and effusion, real gases rules. Viscosity, superficial tension, solid-liquid interactions, vapour tension, boiling point, phase diagram, Thermodynamic: enthalpy, entropy, free energy. Solutions, conjugate properties of solutions, volatile solutions, osmosis and osmotic pressure. Chemical equilibrium. Acids, Bases, Arrhenius, Broensted and Lewis definitions. Ionic water product. PH. Chemical Kinetics. Descriptions of the fundamental properties of H, Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, B, C, N, P, O, S, F, Fe, Cu.
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: Carbon geometry and hybridisation. Structural and functional isomers, conformational isomers, stereoisomerisms, Fundamental reactions of organic chemistry, substitution with radicals, with electrophiles and nucleophiles, addition of electrophiles and nucleophiles. Alcans, alchens and alchins, cycloalcans, Dienes, Aromatics and principal components of benzene derivatives, halogens, alcohols, polyalcohols, Tiols, phenol, aldheydes, ketones, carboxylic acids and their derivatives, ammines, amides,
Teaching activities
Frontal lessons
Textbook and teaching material
Masterton Chemistry
Clayden Greeves Organic chemistry
Exam
quiz with multiple Answers and oral exam
For the course, lessons are foreseen (50 hours) for slides projection (tend to be in Italian but in cases of recent publication material also in English). During the classroom discussion, students are encouraged to interact with the teachers with questions and curiosities. During the lessons the faculty will also present daily cases and facts that can explain the application / importance of the subjects of the lessons.
Students are required to attend the lessons as set out in the teaching regulations of the course and sign the attendance sheet to be able to take the exam.
Teachers are committed to making presentations submitted to lessons and other material of interest (articles) through the University's computerized platforms (eg elearning) to which students have access
In the presentations of the teacher there may be links to web pages for further information. For student reception, make an appointment via email with the teachers.