Fundamentals of Biochemistry

Biochemistry where chemistry stops being abstract and starts explaining how cells actually work — you take the bonding, kinetics, and thermodynamics from earlier chem courses and use them to reason about why proteins fold, how enzymes accelerate reactions by factors of millions, and how membranes and metabolism stay organized. Expect problem sets on protein structure and enzyme kinetics (Michaelis-Menten, allostery, hemoglobin cooperativity), a group presentation digging into a research article, and two midterms plus a final. It's a senior elective-feeling required course for chem majors: the payoff is being able to read a modern biochem or molecular biology paper without getting lost, and it's the natural bridge if you're heading toward grad work in chemical biology, pharma, or biotech.