CHEM 153A
Biochemistry: Introduction to Structure, Enzymes, and Metabolism
Description: Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: course 14D or 30B, with grade of C- or better. Recommended: Life Sciences 2, 3, and 23L, or 7A. Structure of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids; enzyme catalysis and principles of metabolism, including glycolysis, citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation. P/NP or letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - Honestly, this class was pretty hard. I really did not like the format of the exam where if you did not have a specific keyword, you would get marked off. Like why even have a free response exam. After the first exam, I did not attend a single live lecture since it was all about keywords. I would spend on average 2-3 hours watching lecture recordings and writing down word-for-word the things Gober said. Tbh, this is just not the right way a class should be conducted. The only thing I liked about this class were Gober's jokes and accidental swearing during lecture. However, Gober is currently taking a sabbatical so the next time he teaches this class it will most likely be in-person. Hopefully it will be a better experience in-person.
Winter 2021 - Honestly, this class was pretty hard. I really did not like the format of the exam where if you did not have a specific keyword, you would get marked off. Like why even have a free response exam. After the first exam, I did not attend a single live lecture since it was all about keywords. I would spend on average 2-3 hours watching lecture recordings and writing down word-for-word the things Gober said. Tbh, this is just not the right way a class should be conducted. The only thing I liked about this class were Gober's jokes and accidental swearing during lecture. However, Gober is currently taking a sabbatical so the next time he teaches this class it will most likely be in-person. Hopefully it will be a better experience in-person.
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Most Helpful Review
Summer 2021 - Biochemistry is hard, there’s no doubt about it - and the 6-week summer variant of this class makes it feel like you are drinking water from a fire hydrant. Dr. He does not make it easier. With a non-transparent, micro-detail grading rubric, and exam questions designed to be ambiguous AND penalize you for writing over sentence limits, it’s clear that this class was structured to weed out pre-meds, rather than to facilitate student learning. This is the only class I have ever taken at UCLA that penalizes the WHOLE class for regrade requests made by each student; the TA told us that when a regrade is approved, the student may have their score improved but all other students’ grades drop as a result. There was outrage resulting from students’ grades dropping AFTER their exam scores were released this quarter. Mind you, this policy was not made transparent on either the syllabus or rubrics, it was just offered as an explanation after-the-fact. Furthermore, grades were due today, and our final exams were released 30 minutes before midnight, with an email explaining that “since today is the final day”, no regrade requests would be accepted, no curves made, and no corrections accepted. Although convenient for the Biochem grading team, it reflects the “deduct first, ask questions later” policy that has been shown all quarter. Having said all that, I can’t recommend Dr. He for Chem 153A. Do yourself a favor - save yourself a lot of headache - and take someone else.
Summer 2021 - Biochemistry is hard, there’s no doubt about it - and the 6-week summer variant of this class makes it feel like you are drinking water from a fire hydrant. Dr. He does not make it easier. With a non-transparent, micro-detail grading rubric, and exam questions designed to be ambiguous AND penalize you for writing over sentence limits, it’s clear that this class was structured to weed out pre-meds, rather than to facilitate student learning. This is the only class I have ever taken at UCLA that penalizes the WHOLE class for regrade requests made by each student; the TA told us that when a regrade is approved, the student may have their score improved but all other students’ grades drop as a result. There was outrage resulting from students’ grades dropping AFTER their exam scores were released this quarter. Mind you, this policy was not made transparent on either the syllabus or rubrics, it was just offered as an explanation after-the-fact. Furthermore, grades were due today, and our final exams were released 30 minutes before midnight, with an email explaining that “since today is the final day”, no regrade requests would be accepted, no curves made, and no corrections accepted. Although convenient for the Biochem grading team, it reflects the “deduct first, ask questions later” policy that has been shown all quarter. Having said all that, I can’t recommend Dr. He for Chem 153A. Do yourself a favor - save yourself a lot of headache - and take someone else.
Most Helpful Review
Summer 2020 - Despite the issues that came up in this class, Professor Jarrett was a good instructor. She explained difficult concepts in an easy to understand manner and she was very helpful during office hours if you had any questions. Her lectures were straightforward and lecture slides got straight to the point without being confusing. It was obvious that Professor Jarrett had experience teaching and that she knew the material well. There were no problems in terms of her teaching ability. The biggest downside was the disorganization, I do not know if it was because the TA did not care (which it seemed like he didn’t) or because of the pandemic requiring us to shift to online learning. The TA and Professor would often give out contradicting statements at the beginning of the course. We were told that worksheets were to be submitted individually but then group submission was encouraged. We were then told group submission was required until finally being told group submission was encouraged in the end. In addition, nobody received grades until the very end of the second to last week after a significant proportion of our grade was turned in without any sort of way to evaluate our progress in the class. Thankfully, Professor Jarrett acknowledged this was unfair and provided extra credit. Nonetheless, the exams were very fair and tested knowledge of lecture material and problem-solving. There were not any curveballs in terms of material that we did not cover. Overall, what you learn is determined by the effort you put into this class. If you put in minimal effort to get the grade you want you will not have a good grasp on the material. However, if you put effort into this class you will come out with a solid introduction to biochemistry.
Summer 2020 - Despite the issues that came up in this class, Professor Jarrett was a good instructor. She explained difficult concepts in an easy to understand manner and she was very helpful during office hours if you had any questions. Her lectures were straightforward and lecture slides got straight to the point without being confusing. It was obvious that Professor Jarrett had experience teaching and that she knew the material well. There were no problems in terms of her teaching ability. The biggest downside was the disorganization, I do not know if it was because the TA did not care (which it seemed like he didn’t) or because of the pandemic requiring us to shift to online learning. The TA and Professor would often give out contradicting statements at the beginning of the course. We were told that worksheets were to be submitted individually but then group submission was encouraged. We were then told group submission was required until finally being told group submission was encouraged in the end. In addition, nobody received grades until the very end of the second to last week after a significant proportion of our grade was turned in without any sort of way to evaluate our progress in the class. Thankfully, Professor Jarrett acknowledged this was unfair and provided extra credit. Nonetheless, the exams were very fair and tested knowledge of lecture material and problem-solving. There were not any curveballs in terms of material that we did not cover. Overall, what you learn is determined by the effort you put into this class. If you put in minimal effort to get the grade you want you will not have a good grasp on the material. However, if you put effort into this class you will come out with a solid introduction to biochemistry.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - His midterms were more than fair. Between 80-90% averages are the same as or BETTER than what I have heard from other 153A classes. He's honestly a pretty decent lecturer and helpful at his office hours, not the best not the worst. He did improve a lot throughout the quarter. Not a fan of these people showering hate on him because they did poorly in the class.
Winter 2022 - His midterms were more than fair. Between 80-90% averages are the same as or BETTER than what I have heard from other 153A classes. He's honestly a pretty decent lecturer and helpful at his office hours, not the best not the worst. He did improve a lot throughout the quarter. Not a fan of these people showering hate on him because they did poorly in the class.
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Most Helpful Review
I didn't think that Dr. Martinson was "easy." So, I think I arrived at the conclusion that the class, 153A, is hard no matter who you take. My advice to you, who's reading this, is don't take Martinson just because his review for difficulty is a 7 instead of an 8 compared to bates. I loved this class, and it was because I thought the material was so interesting and applicable to everything that I have learned in sciences so far. Dr. Martinson is a great lecturer. You walk out of class learning something everytime you attend lecture, but you also have to do your part. You MUST read the book!!! Even though he is conceptual, his so called concepts come right out of the book. It's just that he explains them more clearly than the book does. It's really really annoying how he spends lecture time talking about how to study. That kind of bothered because I think that he thinks we're stupid. I mean, we're all UCLA students and I think that by the time someone takes chem 153A, he/she knows how to study! But then again, that's just how he is. He thinks his teaching style if revolutionary, but I didn't really think so. Overall, exams are very tough. But, he makes them that way in order to challenge our learning (sarcastic tone here), and the averages are very low. So in terms of getting an A, it's totally doable. I liked the fact that he is very patient with students and is available to talk to you anytime. Occasionally, he'll put you down for asking dumb questions, but I wouldn't get discouraged because who cares...it's your grade and he doesn't know you. I'd recommend him but the class is TOUGH!!! Study a little for it almost everyday, do his past exams, read the book, understand lectures, ask him questions...and good luck!
I didn't think that Dr. Martinson was "easy." So, I think I arrived at the conclusion that the class, 153A, is hard no matter who you take. My advice to you, who's reading this, is don't take Martinson just because his review for difficulty is a 7 instead of an 8 compared to bates. I loved this class, and it was because I thought the material was so interesting and applicable to everything that I have learned in sciences so far. Dr. Martinson is a great lecturer. You walk out of class learning something everytime you attend lecture, but you also have to do your part. You MUST read the book!!! Even though he is conceptual, his so called concepts come right out of the book. It's just that he explains them more clearly than the book does. It's really really annoying how he spends lecture time talking about how to study. That kind of bothered because I think that he thinks we're stupid. I mean, we're all UCLA students and I think that by the time someone takes chem 153A, he/she knows how to study! But then again, that's just how he is. He thinks his teaching style if revolutionary, but I didn't really think so. Overall, exams are very tough. But, he makes them that way in order to challenge our learning (sarcastic tone here), and the averages are very low. So in terms of getting an A, it's totally doable. I liked the fact that he is very patient with students and is available to talk to you anytime. Occasionally, he'll put you down for asking dumb questions, but I wouldn't get discouraged because who cares...it's your grade and he doesn't know you. I'd recommend him but the class is TOUGH!!! Study a little for it almost everyday, do his past exams, read the book, understand lectures, ask him questions...and good luck!
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