Revised 2008/05/22
BIOCHEMISTRY DOESN'T HAPPEN UNTIL YOU WORK THE PROBLEMS
Old Chinese Proverb
On the subject of study hours, how many? For success (bluntly, A or B performance), invest at least 3 to 6 hours outside of class for every hour you spend in class. And put in this time regularly, not just before exams, in the manner suggested below. Biochemistry doesn't cram very well. It's sort of incompressible -- more like a solid or liquid that a gas. You need continuous exposure over a long period.
Here are three steps to success:
Step 1: Read assignments BEFORE class. You can reduce note-taking and increase your attentiveness in class if you are hearing about the subject for the second time when you hear it in class. You will also be better equipped to ask questions and clear up confusion or difficulties. Even if you are not finished with your work in Chapter 5, if you see that your instructor is beginning Chapter 6 at the next class, read it beforehand.
Step 2: Start working problems as soon as possible, so you can raise questions in class while your instructor is still discussing the material you are studying. The problems at the end of the chapters are not just tests of your knowledge; on the contrary, they are part of the learning process, so do not put off problems until you think you have mastered the material. Working problems will help you master the material. More below about how to solve problems.
Step 3: Reread the material as it is covered in class, and continue working problems. Plan to read every chapter twice. Problem solving will lead you back to the sections where you are weakest.
THIS ADVICE IS CRUCIAL:
TRY TO SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS WITHOUT REFERRING TO THE ANSWERS.
If you are stuck on a problem, don't look up the answer. Instead, look back through the chapter to find and reread related material. If you can't work the problem, let it direct you to the material you need to study further. Then try again to work out an answer to the problem. If you arrive at an approach and then an answer, try to find fault with your answer before you check it. (In real life -- and on exams -- the answers are not in the back of the book. Scientists hold all of their answers tentatively until they find something wrong with them. Nature practically never gives us clear yes-or-no answers to our questions.) If you check your solution and see that you are wrong, don't look further at the answer. Keep trying or go on to other problems and come back to the troublesome one -- your mind will not leave it alone, you'll still be puzzling over it. Give your mind time to turn it over and over. Many important solutions have come to scientists when they least expected it -- during walks, baths (Eureka!), conversations, even dreams. (Remember those resonance forms of benzene? Remember who dreamed them up?)
If you simply read problems and then turn to the answers, you will not develop problem-solving skills. In addition, you will not be prepared for exams (or for real science), where you must first arrive at answers, and then decide for yourself whether the answers are worthy of your confidence. Regular and frequent problem-solving, in the manner described above, is the most important path to success in a biochemistry course.
Sound like a lot or work? It is, but if you want to succeed in one of your university's most challenging courses, and become a competitive contributor in one of science's most exciting and fast-moving fields, you must not be a stranger to hard work.
Good luck in your biochemistry course! Just remember that luck has little to do with it.