Biology Study Help

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I've been talking with several professors and I really realized that I have a bad studying habit for biology: I just memorize. I memorize so much that if I hear a term, I know the page and the diagram. But I'm weak at conceptual questions.</p>

<p>For my first bio in fall, I got A because it's introductory one. Next semester in spring, I'm taking another intro bio (first one was more of cellular/molecular while second one is ecological/anatomical). I feel like I should really need to master a way to study for biology.</p>

<p>I'm just having trouble seeing the big idea. Like, I'll give an example:</p>

<p>I know what ATP and ETC and all those stuffs are. But I got this question wrong:</p>

<p>"If thylakoid membrane is punctured, what would happen?"
Answer: ATP won't be produced.</p>

<p>I knew what thylakoid membrane is but I could not make connection. In fact, I learned today why this was the answer.</p>

<p>I know how to study for other classes... Chem, I do problems and understand the reactions. Humanities, I take laptop and take good notes and study notes. Math... I don't really have to study because I'm used to math and it's just crunching numbers.</p>

<p>But biology is bothering me. Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>What I do is ask questions to myself why what I learn or memorize is relevant to the subject or topic examined. Biology is like a puzzle, although u need to memorize which pieces would go where individually, you have to look at the overall image. I know people say biology is just memorization, but, I think not. Biology just like physics is about applying the science to a wide variety of application. For instance, the H20 stripping which happens in the stacked thylakoid (granum) during photosystem II is an example of hydrogen powered technology that the 21st century is seeking to utilize. It is also critical to link how the definitions or theories were proven, such as using methods such as pulse-chase experiments Just as you use college vocabulary words in real life talk, you should connect bological terms and understandings in the world that you live in.
Hope this helps</p>

3

<p>That's lucky to be so good at memorizing, but it's not so good that you memorize without understanding. I have the opposite problem - I can't remember things unless I understand them.</p>

<p>When you're running through a list of important terms, you might consider asking yourself the following:</p>

<p>Where is it?
What does it look like?
What does it do?
What processes does it participate in?
Why is this important?</p>

<p>So, for the term "thylakoid," you might generate the following set of questions and answers. (The answers are ripped</a> from Wikipedia - I don't remember much about plant biology these days.)</p>

<p>Q. What is a thylakoid?
A. A thylakoid is a membrane-bound compartment inside chloroplasts and cyanobacteria.</p>

<p>Q. What does a thylakoid look like?
A. A thylakoid consists of a thylakoid membrane surrounding a thylakoid lumen. The word "thylakoid" is derived from the Greek thylakos, meaning "sac". Chloroplast thylakoids frequently form stacks of disks referred to as "grana" (singular: granum). "Grana" is Latin for "stacks of coins".</p>

<p>Q. What does a thylakoid do?
A. A thylakoid is the site of the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis. These include light-driven water oxidation and oxygen evolution, the pumping of protons across the thylakoid membranes coupled with the electron transport chain of the photosystems and cytochrome b6f complex, and ATP synthesis by the ATP synthase utilizing the generated proton gradient.</p>

<p>Q. What processes does a thylakoid participate in?
A. A thylakoid participates in the processes of electron chain transport, establishing chemiosmotic potential, generating a protein gradient, and generating ATP.</p>

<p>Q. Why is a thylakoid important?
A. A thylakoid is important because it allows a plant to turn sunlight into energy in the form of ATP via photosynthesis.</p>

<p>You can see that there's some overlap in the questions and answers, but that's okay - I think I've covered about all the bases. (I also really haven't done thylakoids justice, but it's been a while.) If you can answer those five questions, I think it'll advance your understanding of the material.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
"If thylakoid membrane is punctured, what would happen?"
Answer: ATP won't be produced.

[/quote]

Is that because electron transporters are embedded in the thylakoid membrane and puncturing it will interefere with the flow of electrons down the ETC to generate ATP in the process?
Another thing I can think of is that protein gradient established by oxidation down the ETC will be disrupted due to random escape of protons out of the thylakoid and into cytoplasm. This is a problem because ATP synthase relies heavily on this proton gradient to make ATP. So destroying this proton gradient will stop ATP synthesis. What was the answer that your prof wanted?</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
Is that because electron transporters are embedded in the thylakoid membrane and puncturing it will interefere with the flow of electrons down the ETC to generate ATP in the process?
Another thing I can think of is that protein gradient established by oxidation down the ETC will be disrupted due to random escape of protons out of the thylakoid and into cytoplasm. This is a problem because ATP synthase relies heavily on this proton gradient to make ATP. So destroying this proton gradient will stop ATP synthesis. What was the answer that your prof wanted?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It's probably the second answer. The first answer sounds like the answer of someone who doesn't know what he's talking about.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
The first answer sounds like the answer of someone who doesn't know what he's talking about.

[/quote]
lol now that I look at my post again, I don't know how I came up with that answer.</p>

7

<p>Thank you so much for those advices!</p>

<p>I have another question. Do you think it is a good idea to have a textbook other than one in the class to help me understand concepts? I found that for some reason, reading my textbook was really dry reading. Like... This is how bad it was.</p>

<p>I ended up highlighting up all the pages when I read (it defeats the purpose of highlighting, I know) and I was all happy that I could memorize! Well.. I didn't really learn too much so I guess I was stupidly happy. :X</p>

<p>So I wonder if having supplemental textbook is a good idea? Hmm.</p>

<p>With my question earlier, the answer was that when the thylakoid membrane is punctured, you have protons that are going through the cell without having to pass through ATP synthase. Because ATP synthase is not being really used, you don't have phosphorylation of ADP to ATP so no energy. :)</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
With my question earlier, the answer was that when the thylakoid membrane is punctured, you have protons that are going through the cell without having to pass through ATP synthase. Because ATP synthase is not being really used, you don't have phosphorylation of ADP to ATP so no energy.

[/quote]
What do you mean by protons "going through the cell"? It would be more clear to say that they go out of the thylakoid membrane into the cell's cytoplasm, because stroma (the inside of thylakoid) initially has a higher proton concentration compared to cytoplasm.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I ended up highlighting up all the pages when I read (it defeats the purpose of highlighting, I know) and I was all happy that I could memorize! Well.. I didn't really learn too much so I guess I was stupidly happy. :X</p>

<p>So I wonder if having supplemental textbook is a good idea? Hmm.

[/quote]

I definitely suggest you consult 1-2 other textbooks. Not just textbooks, but websites can help, too. How things are worded can make a big difference to your understanding. In my biochem class, there was a topic that I couldn't understand despite rereading corresponding sections in the text more than two times. So I used another textbook, and I was surprised to find that the same material was written in a much clearer manner. This can be the case for you as well. If you still don't get it after using other resources, then there might be a problem on how you tackle the topic. In that case, it would be good to talk things out with your prof to see if there's any gap in your knowledge.</p>

9

<p>Yeah that's my problem bit. I'm taking Cell Biology now (we have this short 3-week class for 6 selected freshmen to have experience in Cell Biology which normally won't be taught until junior year. We focus on some lectures and labs on indirect immunofluorescence), and I have trouble with writing clearly. You're right. I meant that protons move from outside the thylakoid to the inside because there is lower concentration of H+ inside the thylakoid than outside.</p>

<p>I'll definitely try to find websites with it. I think that 5 questions that shades_children gave really help. I never really tried to find them, and now I think about it, I can't really give good answers for organelles I learned (kinda sad I think :X).</p>

10

<p>this is going to sound kind of lame and maybe like too much work, but it's really not. what recently has helped me in bio is as i'm reading through my textbook and studying the material, i kind of turn what i'm reading into a "story." i actually write something out on my laptop in layman terms. for instance, my last cell bio exam was on the endomembrane system. i wrote out the process of the different pathways of a protein moving from the ER. i made sure that i could connect each section of the chapter and not just memorize each section and leave it at that. it's important to be able to combine different parts of a chapter that are relevant. structure/function is something you should also always always consider when learning about a part of the body or the cell, etc.</p>

11

<p>im having the same problem, this thread helps a lot !</p>