Dear 3rd years,
I have several questions regarding the final examination. The format should be the same as last year so:
5 compulsory short answer questions - On average 10 minutes per question = 50 mins (in practice some of these are answerable in a few minutes, some may take closer to 15 to answer, but the sum total is supposed to be 50 minutes)
2 medium answer questions from a choice of 3 - 20 minutes per question = 40 mins
3 longer answer questions from a choice of 5 - 40 minutes per question = 120mins
Plus 30 minutes for the students to read the questions, decide which to answer and to check their answers at the end.
The timing is set by taking the time it would take somebody who knows the answer i.e. me, to write it out legibly in full and at least doubling it. So on average a 40 minute question will be 20 minutes of writing (knowing what to write) and 20 minutes time to think of all the possible answers. Some of the questions have even more thinking time associated with them.
The questions have been set by me with drafts from other people, but have been checked by all of the other relevant course convenors (and a few other people as well) to get a balance between all of the courses that should be repesented i.e. it is not biased towards courses I teach on. The exam will also be marked by me. As per all of my exams the pass mark is 35% and grade 5 is 75% or more.
The questions are designed to test understanding and not just memory of fine details, but you will need to know details of biochemistry to be able to answer them well. The long answer questions range in length from half a side to just a few lines, they are not "problem solving" like Protein Chemistry I where you have a long question to sort through lots of data. All of the longer answer and medium answer questions will require information from at least two courses to answer in full.
You might need a calculator, but since you have done lots of number crunching on other courses there will be little, if any, calculations to do, it is a test of understanding biochemistry and not a test of whether you can use a calculator.
You are allowed to take a cheat sheet into the examination. The cheat sheet is one page of A4. You can write on both sides. You can write anything you like on the paper. It does not have to be handwritten it can be printed (be warned about ink-jet printers and how the letters may run if your hands get sweaty). You cannot take a magnifying glass into the exam to cope with small writing.
There is NO negative marking, so if in doubt write something.
The questions are not as difficult as they may look, but there may be more than just the obvious answer. Be guided by how long they are supposed to take to answer.
The questions are in English. They have been checked to make sure there are no "unusual" words, but if you do not know what a word means please put your hand up and ask (English only, not biochemistry...). Dictionaries are not allowed.
The answers should be in English, but as per other exams if you do not know a word or phrase write it in brackets in Finnish and I will get it translated.
Do not rush, try not to panic and have fun.
Very best wishes,
Lloyd