Notes:

pages are still under development
knowledge is not pre-requisite but helps - we will cover everything in the courses but rather fast

These pages have been developed for you who are about to start studies on the Bachelor Programme in Biomedicine at Karolinska Institutet. There is question material here that you can work through to make sure that you come well-prepared, having the knowledge required to be able to absorb the teaching in a good way.

The page is open to everyone. Are you going to study on another programme at Karolinska Institutet or at another university, or do you just want to check your old high school knowledge - you are welcome to try it too! The content will be built on gradually, and in this first version we focus on areas of knowledge that will be important to take with you into the first semester of the biomedicine programme. The focus is therefore on basic chemistry and biomedical terminology, as we know that chemistry and language are bottlenecks in the beginning. You are in control of what and how much you choose to focus on. Pay attention to which questions you hesitated on, and where you answered incorrectly. Maybe that's where you need to practice a little extra?

For those of you who are about to start the biomedicine programme at Karolinska Institutet: the teaching is based on the assumption that you have the equivalent of these skills with you into the first two courses of the programme. Of course, we will touch upon these basics in the first courses, but we will take it at a rather fast pace, so it will be very helpful for you to have this background clear. We suggest that you approach the questions in the following way: take these main quizzes

A) Units, basic chemical equations and calculations in the chemistry lab

study support:

Acids and bases and redox;

Balancing Chemical Equations -atoms;

Balancing chemical equations-charges;

Basic chemical calculations;

Numbers and Units

B) Polarity, Chemical Bonding and Naming Organic Compounds

study support:

Atoms

Polarity and dipoles

Naming I: atoms and ions

Naming II: organic compounds

C) The Atom and the Periodic Table

study support:

Atoms

Acids and bases and redox

Numbers and Units

D) Biomolecules

study support:

Biomolecules

Analyze your incorrect answers and review the areas they represent.

You can redo the quiz and repeat it until you get all the answers right.

To practice specific areas of knowledge that you want to brush up on, there are the quizzes 1 to 8 (below) and study materials to specifically address the topics you would like to refresh or strengthen.

Quiz 1: Numbers and units -Value digits, prefixes and common unit conversions. Study support can be found here.

Quiz 2: The atom-Mass number, atomic number, structure of the atom. Study support can be found here.

Quiz 3: Nomenclature I: atoms and ions-Where are the different atoms found in the periodic table? Which symbol corresponds to which element? Names and designations of common ions. Study support can be found here.

Quiz 4: Polarity, chemical bonds and and their geometry-Electronegativity and polarity. VSEPR theory (bond angles), different types of chemical bonds (covalent bonds; e.g. disulfide bridges, amide bonds, peptide bonds and non-covalent bonds: ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, van der Waals bonds and hydrophobic effects - amphiphilic molecules). Study support can be found here.

Quiz 5: Naming organic compounds-To be able to name simple compounds and to be able to make rough predictions about chemical properties based on the names of molecules. Systematic name, trivial name and structural formulas for water, alkanes with 1-4 carbons, alcohols (methanol, ethanol, glycerol), aldehydes (acetaldehyde, glyceraldehyde), ketones (acetone), carboxylic acids (acetic acid), ammonia, amines, and for the following groups : acyl, acetyl, methyl, hydroxyl, amide, amino, carboxyl, thiol, ester and phenyl. Study support can be found here.

Quiz 6: Basic chemistry calculations-Calculating with moles and concentrations (this one may take a little longer). Study support can be found here.

Quiz 7: Reaction formulas and chemical equilibrium-How to interpret a reaction formula. Molar ratios, the law of mass action and the concept of chemical equilibrium. Study support can be found here.

Quiz 8: acids and bases, redox -What does pH mean? Acid and base effects, the buffer concept, oxidation and reduction. Study support can be found here.

It's worth pointing out that you're not expected to know all of this right away. Admittedly, the chemistry covered here is part of the content of the upper secondary and upper secondary courses on the subject (in Sweden), but some things are forgotten and others might have escaped your notice.

*Quiz 1-8 emanate from a question material which was originally developed by Håkan Andersson, Kjell Edman and Boel Lindegård at the Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, for a course in General chemistry. Adaptations and additions has since been done by the colleagues at the Karolinska Institutet. Most illustrations have been taken from Människokroppens kemi by Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg and Bengt Persson, and is used with the permission of the authors. The study support texts have been inspired by the same source, but have been formulated by Tomas Bergman, Karolinska Institutet. Translation of quizzes to English and adaptation to the biomedicine programme has been carried out by Markus Dagnell and Lucia Coppo, Karolinska Institutet.