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Preliminary Examination in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry

A

  • 1. The Preliminary Examination in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry shall consist of five written papers:

    • (1) Cellular Biochemistry

    • (2) Mechanistic Biochemistry

    • (3) Molecular Biochemistry

    • (4) Physical Biochemistry

    • (5) Quantitative Biochemistry

  • 2. Candidates shall be deemed to have passed the examination if they satisfy the Moderators in all five papers.

  • 3. Candidates must offer all five papers at their first examination attempt.

  • 4. A candidate who fails one or two papers will be permitted one further attempt at the failed paper or papers, at the first available opportunity.

  • 5. A candidate who fails three or more papers shall be deemed to have failed the examination. The candidate will be permitted one further attempt at the whole examination, at the first available opportunity.

  • 6. The Moderators may award a Distinction to candidates of special merit who satisfy them in all five papers at their first examination attempt.

B

Papers 1 and 3 will be of three hours duration and shall be a computer-based assessment. Papers 2 and 4 will be of three hours duration and shall be a hand-written assessment. Paper 5 will be of two hours and thirty minutes duration and shall be a hand-written assessment.

The Moderators will permit the use of hand-held pocket calculators subject to the conditions set out under the heading ‘Use of Calculators in examinations’ in the Regulations for the Conduct of University Examinations. A list of recommended calculators will be provided by the Chair of the Moderators not later than the Wednesday of the fourth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination. The use of calculators may not be permitted in certain papers.

All candidates shall be assessed as to their practical ability in coursework under the following provisions:

  • (a) The Chair of the Teaching Committee, or a deputy, shall make available to the Moderators, at the end of the fifth week of the term in which the examinations are first held, evidence showing the extent to which each candidate has completed the prescribed coursework.

  • (b) The Moderators may request coursework from any candidate. Such candidates will be named in a list posted by the day of the first paper.

  • (c) Coursework cannot normally be retaken. Failure to complete the coursework to the satisfaction of the Moderators, in the absence of appropriate documentary evidence (e.g. a signed medical certificate), will normally constitute failure of the examination.

Schedule

(1) Cellular Biochemistry

Cells as the basic unit of life; multicellularity; cell signalling; cell metabolism.

(2) Mechanistic Biochemistry

Basic organic chemistry; chemistry of enzymatic reactions; biological chemistry of the elements.

(3) Molecular Biochemistry

DNA and RNA; genotype and phenotype; proteins; membrane structure and function.

(4) Physical Biochemistry

Thermodynamics; chemical and enzyme kinetics; atomic, molecular and macromolecular structure and bonding; electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with matter.

(5) Quantitative Biochemistry

An elementary treatment of the following topics will be expected:

Mathematics

Graphs; logarithms; basic trigonometry; integration and differentiation; differential equations; vectors.

Statistics

Probabilities and distributions; simple parametric and non-parametric tests of statistical significance; linear regression analysis.