Microbiology struggles.

conandcait · Oct 4, 2009

Live it, Love it!! Just kidding! I HATED IT!!! I googled it and got a ton of stuff. There are a bunch of you tube videos worth watching that really help explain it. Also, our micro book had a website (the publisher) and CD-ROM with MP3 downloads that were awesome. Check the inside of your text to see if there is any help there. Also, ask...I MIGHT remember enough to help you!!! Good luck!!

Kelli

presnall4 · Oct 4, 2009

YUCK!!! I hate cellular respiration, Kreb's Cycle, ATP and everything else that goes along with it (only because I don't understand it and I don't like not understanding anything)...I just had a test on this stuff in A&P I last week and I failed it!!! I haven't made below an 82 on any other test in that class all semester and now I failed that one!

I am still studying it because I know it will come up again in Micro and later in the A&P semester (muscles). I listen to lectures from iTunes University and hope that the way someone else explains it will turn the light on for me...

Just wanted to let you know I feel your pain...that's all! :redbeathe

bluechick112, BSN, MSN, RN · Oct 4, 2009

I LOOOOOOOOVED the Kreb's Cylce when I took Micro. Why? Because I had already learned it in Anatomy, Physio, Nutrition, AND Organic Chemistry. I swear I could teach that crap myself.

I don't know of any helpful sites for it...but I know it like the back of my hand now so if you have questions you can PM me! I'm sure a lot of people on here know it so I'd suggest posting questions on it and we can all help :)

Diver Dude · Oct 4, 2009

I would second the reccomendation of textbook internet resources and animations. There's no magic bullet... just keep repeating the lessons and you will get it eventually.

GrayMatter · Oct 4, 2009

How detailed is your prof wanting you to get? My bs is micro/chemistry and I have taught this before, though only to high school students and not in a university setting. I like animations, but they can get wordy and kindof overwhelming if it's all new (I don't know your background so not sure if any of it is familiar to you or not.) I suggest pausing them at each step and make a flowchart with very brief descriptions of each step.

Since the kreb's cycle is only really one step of aerobic cellular respiration, I would suggest making a flowchart of the entire thing- my HS students would often get so focused and concerned about the lengthy names of the reactants and products they lost sight of important facts:

3 steps:

1. glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm whether O2 is present or not; splits glucose and produces pyruvate, ATP, NADH2

2. krebs cycle occurs in the mitochondria when O2 is present; takes the pyruvate and produces 6CO2, ATP, NADH2, FADH

3. electron transport occurs in mitochondrial membrane; is basically transferring electrons from one molecule to another...this produces a proton (H+) gradient and eventually kinetic energy to be transferred to ATP; NAD and FAD are electron transport molecules.

I don't know how detailed your professor wants you to get though IMO memorization of every single step of any of these cycles would be beyond the scope of an intro. micro course so hopefully that's not what you have to learn! Animations and flowcharts of your own are the best way to cover the information. Good luck!! :)

SockMonkey.ecb · Oct 4, 2009

My a/p instructor laid it out in table form. If you can memorize the table, it's easier to place it into a drawing on an exam.

Diver Dude · Oct 5, 2009

Interesting that Micro is requiring the Krebs and cellular respiration details. Usually that info is review and expected to be well known from Physio.

Remilekun · Oct 5, 2009

How detailed is your prof wanting you to get? My bs is micro/chemistry and I have taught this before, though only to high school students and not in a university setting. I like animations, but they can get wordy and kindof overwhelming if it's all new (I don't know your background so not sure if any of it is familiar to you or not.) I suggest pausing them at each step and make a flowchart with very brief descriptions of each step.
Since the kreb's cycle is only really one step of aerobic cellular respiration, I would suggest making a flowchart of the entire thing- my HS students would often get so focused and concerned about the lengthy names of the reactants and products they lost sight of important facts:
3 steps:
1. glycolysis occurs in the cytoplasm whether O2 is present or not; splits glucose and produces pyruvate, ATP, NADH2
2. krebs cycle occurs in the mitochondria when O2 is present; takes the pyruvate and produces 6CO2, ATP, NADH2, FADH
3. electron transport occurs in mitochondrial membrane; is basically transferring electrons from one molecule to another...this produces a proton (H+) gradient and eventually kinetic energy to be transferred to ATP; NAD and FAD are electron transport molecules.
I don't know how detailed your professor wants you to get though IMO memorization of every single step of any of these cycles would be beyond the scope of an intro. micro course so hopefully that's not what you have to learn! Animations and flowcharts of your own are the best way to cover the information. Good luck!! :)

Thanks alot for the description. I do get the jist of it. Funny thing is, cellular respiration is the next thing we're discussing in class, so I don't know how detailed my teacher want us to learn it. I'm just one of those students who likes to reach ahead. I thank everyone for their help, I really appreciate it.

jenndslp · Oct 5, 2009

Interesting that Micro is requiring the Krebs and cellular respiration details. Usually that info is review and expected to be well known from Physio.

At my school, Micro is a pre-req for physio...

Diver Dude · Oct 5, 2009

I just looked at chapter 8 in my current book which is "Microbiology, A Systems Approach" by McGraw Hill. It covers Krebs, the ETC, and so forth. My instructor has chosen to gloss over that material in favor of specific and non specific immunity, sterilization, identifying microbes and knowing the genus and species of important pathogenic microbes. He wants us to be able to write a general essay on the other chapters. Because Chem is a prereq for Micro, he expects us to know all the chemistry in the book.

As far as your school, it makes sense to have Micro as a prereq for physio. I wish I had micro before physio. I may have been able to get an A instead of a B.