FY833: Biophysics
The Study Board for Science
Teaching language: Danish or English depending on the teacher, but English if international students are enrolled
EKA: N510041102
Assessment: Second examiner: Internal
Grading: 7-point grading scale
Offered in: Odense
Offered in: Spring
Level: Master
STADS ID (UVA): N510041101
ECTS value: 5
Date of Approval: 02-10-2020
Duration: 1 semester
Version: Archive
Entry requirements
A bachelor's degree in chemistry or biochemistry & molecular biology.
The course can be taken as an elective course for bachelor students in physics.
Academic preconditions
Students taking the course are expected to:
- have knowledge of basic thermodynamics and/or physical chemistry
- have knowledge of basic mechanical physics
- be able to apply simple mathematical modeling of experimental phenomena
- be able to apply simple statistical concepts to describe data and observations
- have knowledge of basic programming in e.g. Matlab or Python
Course introduction
The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand and use key concepts in biophysics, which is a field dedicated to applying tools and methods from physics to a wide selection of problems in biology.
The course builds on the knowledge acquired in elementary courses in physics and thermodynamics / physical chemistry, and gives an academic basis for doing individual projects in biophysics or soft matter physics in bachelor, or master projects or as individual study activities (ISA) that are part of the degree.
In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:
- Based on the laws of physics to establish a mathematical description of a system and solve it quantitatively.
- Solve problems in natural sciences by using a combination of theory, numerical simulations and experiments
Expected learning outcome
The learning objective of the course is that the student demonstrates the ability to:
- Describe the most important biological structures and processes at the cellular level
- Describe the physical mechanism behind specific biological phenomena
- Establish and solve physical models for a biological problem, either analytically or using a computer.
Content
The following main topics are contained in the course:
- Building blocks and organization of cells. Bioenergetics
- Forces and interactions, molecular self-assembly
- Themodynamic concepts in cells
- Dynamical processes in cells, transport, diffusion
- Computational biophysics
- Membrane biophysics, curvature, nerve conduction, membrane proteins
Literature
Examination regulations
Exam element a)
Timing
June
Tests
Oral examination
EKA
N510041102
Assessment
Second examiner: Internal
Grading
7-point grading scale
Identification
Student Identification Card
Language
Normally, the same as teaching language
Duration
30 minutes
Examination aids
Limited Examination aids: 1 page of notes allowed at the exam.
A closer description of the exam rules will be posted in itslearning.
ECTS value
5
Additional information
The examination form for re-examination may be different from the exam form at the regular exam.
Indicative number of lessons
Teaching Method
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
- Intro phase: 28 hours
- Skills training phase: 12 hours, hereof 8 hours problem solving and 4 hours presentation day by the students.
Activities during the study phase:
- Solution of assignments in order to discuss these in the exercise sections.
- Solution to written assignments
- Self study of various parts of the course material.
- Preparation and presentation of a research article
Teacher responsible
Additional teachers
| Name | Department | City | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Wüstner | wuestner@bmb.sdu.dk | Institut for Biokemi og Molekylær Biologi | |
| Himanshu Khandelia | hkhandel@sdu.dk | PhyLife Center for Biomembranfysik |