[NUS Module Review] LSM1401: Fundamentals Of Biochemistry

LSM1401: Fundamentals Of Biochemistry

(INTRODUCTION)

If you have taken Biology in JC or in Poly, this module should be a breeze for you. Okay, maybe not because the bell-curve is quite rabak (bad) for this module. But it is still doable and easy to understand.

This module covers chapters on cells, DNA, transcription, translation, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and genetic engineering. These topics will be all too familiar for most of you who have taken Biology in the past. BUT unlike JC or maybe even Poly, this module isn't so in-depth but rather covers these topics only ON THE SURFACE. This is beneficial for all those people who did not take Biology in the past, in terms of understanding this module.

(MY EXPECTATIONS)

This is kinda compulsory for all Chemistry major students so I didn't have much of a choice here. But I love Biology a lot so I was pretty excited to take this module. As Biology is more of a memorizing subject over the other sciences, this to me was one of the easier modules taken this semester. Not that I memorized everything but it was certainly helpful that I could memorise a lot.

Before all these lectures even start, A/P Swaminathan, or A/P Swami for short, the lecturer for this course assured everyone that he does not have any failures in his class in his years of teaching. So I guess its safe to assume that you will pass.

(SCHEDULE)

I think this is my first ever module without any tutorials. Cool right? This module is purely lecture-based, for about 2 hours twice a week.

I would say that the lectures are pretty chill because A/P Swami will entertain you with his awesome "life is like that" jokes. It's almost a guarantee that everyone in the lecture hall will laugh at his jokes mostly because it's so lame. Personally, I felt his jokes was good. #cheapthrills

Not only are there no tutorial slots, but there are also no tutorials for you to do. So it's really studying content and nothing else. Pretty much what Biology is all about.

There will be 2 weeks of E-Practical instead of lectures. These E-Practical aren't graded but they will be tested for both Mid-Terms and Finals.

(PASSING THE ASSESSMENT)

The module grading is pretty straightforward. There are no group work or projects/presentations that you will need to do. Here's the breakdown:

• Quiz 1 (week 5, 6 or 7): 10% (in-lecture group quiz)
• Quiz 2 (after week 8 or 9 or 10): 10% (10 MCQ, 1 try)
• Quiz 3 (after week 8 or 9 or 10): 10% (write-up for genetic engineering)
• Mid-terms: 30%
• Finals: 40%

Quiz 1 is really easy. All you need to do is to pick a card from a box and each card will represent 1 question. You and your group must answer the question. This quiz is held in lecture and groups are assigned AT RANDOM. Questions could be either MCQ, crossword, fill-in-the-blanks, word rearrangement or word matching, just to name a few. Every group has to answer a total of 2 questions. If you get it right... GOOD! You are on your way to 10% of your grade. If you get it wrong... GOOD! You are still getting your 10%. The point for this quiz isn't to get it right or wrong but to learn and have fun. You only get marks deducted if you do not attend this quiz so please ATTEND!!!!

Quiz 2 is quite manageable. What you need to take note is that you only get 1 try, OTOT throughout a certain timeframe of the day to complete it, and the bell-curve here is really bad. If you don't get full marks, you're already closer to the 25th percentile than the 75th percentile.

Quiz 3 is super easy. Just write from your heart and be creative. Most people get about the same marks.

Both mid-terms and finals are easy, so the bell-curve will be rather unfavorable. Do study the E-Prac, as a bulk of questions focuses on E-Prac and it is usually at this section where people really struggle. So use this to your advantage. And just like all Biology exams, it is either you know it, or you don't know it.

(EXPERIENCE AND FINAL GRADING)

To be honest, this module is really fun. I typically enjoyed A/P Swami's jokes even though some of them might not be that funny. His teaching is a bit meh according to some of my friends, but it really depends. I felt that the notes itself was enough information for the exam but I was mistaken in the finals when some of the questions that came out didn't come from the notes itself but rather through his lectures. And when I saw those questions, I was like "huh... He got say this meh?"... But in the end, I guessed the answers correctly lah so it's okay.
I felt that the transcript-based notes were better than the slides-based notes because it was slightly more detailed. But then again, I studied both and made my own notes, which was useful for the studying process.
By the way, the grading is such that most people, and I do mean like 75% of students, have average grades (B- to B+). Only selected godly students get to smell the A, while the not so godly students only get to smell a C. It's kinda like GER1000, where the grading is pretty average for most people unless you're super outstanding. But hey, at least you're guaranteed a pass by A/P Swami! 

(CONCLUSION AND TIPS)

This module is really chill. To those non-bio students, this may be a bit content heavy for you but for the majority, it's actually pretty much a revision.

Although many people do not go to lectures, I think going to lectures does help in a way. Even if you find that the lectures are useless, think of them as chill sessions.
Just don't forget to complete those assignments on time and attend the quizzes when necessary. That's hald the battle won right there.

Ratings out of 5⭐:

• Rigor - ⭐⭐
• Degree of doability - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Bell Curve (to favour you) - ⭐⭐⭐⭐