Course content

The course is intended as a stand-alone introduction to the chemistry of life, including the most important types of biomolecules and their importance in biological systems, the underlying organic chemistry, relevant techniques as well as the concepts of metabolic pathways (carbohydrate metabolism), photosynthesis, the processing of genetic information and drug design. Lab exercises are related to carbonyl chemistry and biochemistry.

Learning outcome

After completing this course, we expect the student to have the following competence:

  • Basic knowledge of the organization of the cell, the organelles, cell membranes and biological molecules like nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.
  • Know the mechanisms of important reactions between organic molecules relevant to biochemistry such as carbonyl-alpha substitutions and condensation reactions, and how enzymes can be used as catalysts in organic chemistry.
  • Be familiar with the concepts of metabolic pathways, glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis.
  • Have insight into fundamental medicinal chemistry and rational drug design.
  • Know basic theory for selected spectroscopic techniques (MS, IR, UV/Vis, NMR) and X-ray crystallography, interpret results and decide what method(s) is (are) best applied for a certain scientific problem.
  • Gain insight into molecular biology and protein chemistry techniques.

Admission

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Prerequisites

Formal prerequisite knowledge

In addition to fulfilling the Higher Education Entrance Qualification, applicants have to meet the following special admission requirements:

  • Mathematics R1 (or Mathematics S1 and S2) + R2

And in addition one of these:

  • Physics (1+2)
  • Chemistry (1+2)
  • Biology (1+2)
  • Information technology (1+2)
  • Geosciences (1+2)
  • Technology and theories of research (1+2)

The special admission requirements may also be covered by equivalent studies from Norwegian upper secondary school or by other equivalent studies (in Norwegian).

KJM1100 – General chemistry (continued) or KJM1110 – Organic chemistry I (continued), or similar course.

Recommended previous knowledge

Admission to the course will be granted to students with background from KJM1100 – General chemistry (continued) only. However, these students will have a clear disadvantage and will need to be prepared to take on a higher workload to compensate for their lack of knowledge