Introduction to Proteins & Nucleic Acids (BIOC6040)

Course overview

This course will introduce you to the basics of molecular biology, covering both nucleic acid and proteins, to prepare you for the more advanced courses in the program. The emphasis will be on understanding the key roles of nucleic acids and proteins in biology, and how we characterise them.

The goal is to understand the fundamental roles and biochemistryﾠof nucleic acid and proteins in biology. This will be accomplished through lectures, tutorials, and quizzes. Molecular genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, protein structure and function are such rapidly advancing fields that one of the primary goals of the course is to simply show you where the information is, how to access it and interpret it. This will equip you to engage in self-directed learning thoughout your careers.

Course requirements

Assumed background

None, although we travel from the basics to more advanced material at a fairly brisk pace. Engineers, computer scientists, school teachers and nurses have completed similarﾠcourses and done quite well, as have medical doctors, physiotherapists, veterinarians and academics. We prefer students to have a solid biology background (at least senior high school biology), but you need not have done any molecular biology.

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

BIOC6006, BIOC6007

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

Check your online timetable regularly.

Aims and outcomes

The goal is to gain an understanding of the fundamental biochemistry and function of nucleic acids and proteins in one semester.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Science Communication Assessment

• Hurdle

Mode

Written

Category

Essay/ Critique

Weight

20%

Due date

2/10/2024 2:00 pm

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Submit your assessment item through the course Turnitin submission point in Blackboard. Before submitting your assessment item to Turnitin please name your file in the following way. FAMILY NAME_GivenName_StudentID_CourseCode_AssignmentName For example: Bob Smith (ID: 54329876) would name his ABCD1234 essay 1 in the following way. SMITH_Bob_54329876_ABCD1234_Essay1

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 10% will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point your submission will receive a mark of zero (0) unless an extension has been approved.

In most instances one or more hurdles will apply to your assessment item so you will need to submit it to fulfil the requirements of the course regardless of how late it is and the mark you are likely to be awarded.

Quiz 1 (Module 1)

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

15%

Due date

16/08/2024 10:00 am

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Quiz 2 (Modules 2+3)

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Quiz

Weight

15%

Due date

13/09/2024 10:00 am

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

End of Semester Exam (Module 4)

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

50%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

Assessment Hurdles

In order to pass this course, you must meet ALL of the following requirements (if you do not meet these requirements, the maximum grade you will receive will be a 3):

1. You must achieve an overall course mark of 50% or higher; and

2. You must obtain an overall mark of 40% or more in the end of semester exam; and

3. You must obtain a minimum weighted average mark of 40% across the two in-class quiz components; and

4. You must complete and submit ALL learning tasks and assessment items (including the Science Communication Assignment).

The maximum grade you will receive will be a 2 if you:

1. Obtain an overall mark of 30% or less on the end of semester exam; and/or

2. Obtain a weighted average mark of 30% or less across the two in-class quiz components.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (such as a written report, oral presentation, examination or other appropriate assessment) and may test specific learning outcomes tailored to the individual student, or all learning outcomes. 

To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Assessment Submission

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the on time, correct and complete submission of all assessment items.

Please ensure you receive and save the submission confirmation for all submitted items, you may be asked to produce this as evidence of your submission.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

All students must ensure they receive their Turnitin receipt on submission of any assessments. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if assessments are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after seven days, will receive zero. In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Assessment/Attendance

Please notify your Course Coordinator as soon as you become aware of any issue that may affect your ability to meet the assessment/attendance requirements of the course. The my.UQ website and the Electronic Course Profile (ECP) for your course also provide information about your course requirements, the rules associated with your courses and services offered by the University.

A note for repeating students in this course

Any student who enrols in a course must not be given exemption or partial credit from their previous attempt(s) for any individual piece of assessment. Instead, the student must successfully complete all of the learning activities and assessment items within the study period of enrolmentﾠ(PPL 3.10.02 Assessment - Procedures Section 3.1.4 Assessment integrity).

If the same assessment item is set from one year to the next, repeating students are allowed to submit the same work they submitted in previous attempts at the course. Where possible SCMB recommends that you use the feedback you received in your last attempt to improve parts of the item where you lost marks. Resubmission of an altered or unaltered assessment item by a repeating student (where the same assessment has been set) will not be considered as self-plagiarism.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Students will be provided with annotated lectures; slides and notes, and example quizzes.

Additional material may be found on the Blackboard site for BIOC6040 ﾠat ﾠlearn.uq.edu.au.

Please check the announcements section of the Blackboard site regularly for information updates.ﾠ

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.