Spring 2027

General Biochemistry II

Covers biosynthesis, signal transduction, nucleic acid metabolism, protein synthesis, and molecular/cellular biology.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Sebastian BednarekSnehal Chaudhari

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Sebastian York Bednarek

Exams rely heavily on irrelevant details, requiring students to memorize specific enzyme and cofactor names. Success demands consistent study habits rather than last-minute cramming.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Compare the molecular biology process of DNA replication, RNA transcription and protein synthesis between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

  • Assess the investment of cellular energy during nucleic acid, protein carbohydrate and lipid synthesis

  • Predict the outcome of disruptive mutations and diseases on nucleic acid, protein, carbohydrate and lipid synthesis and hormonal signaling

  • Relate the chemical structure of metabolites to their functional role and amount of energy produced when oxidized

  • Distinguish cellular and organ signaling pathways and their downstream effects on metabolism

  • Predict how metabolism of carbohydrates and lipids changes depending on the supply of energy to the body disease state

  • Relate molecular processes in biochemistry to medicine and agriculture

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

BIOCHEM 507

BIOCHEM 508 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Spring 2027

Past student reviews · Sebastian York Bednarek

Sebastian Bednarek teaches engaging and enthusiastic lectures, though students disagreed on whether the pace was too slow or the slides were unclear. Exams were consistently described as difficult and detail-oriented, focusing on specific enzyme names and cofactors rather than broad conceptual themes. Some students found the material manageable with consistent study, while others felt the tests were unfair and relied on irrelevant minutiae.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 2.78 GPA, 39.0% A/AB (n=41 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.73 GPA, 32.7% A/AB (n=98 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.98 GPA, 39.1% A/AB (n=87 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 2.78 GPA, 39.0% A/AB (n=41 letter grades); Spring 2025: 2.73 GPA, 32.7% A/AB (n=98 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.98 GPA, 39.1% A/AB (n=87 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · David Pagliarini, Judith Simcox

Historical reviews of David Pagliarini highlighted clear lectures and exam prep that faithfully matched the actual tests. Feedback on Judith Simcox varied; some students found her passionate and clear about expectations, while others described exams as difficult and unfair. Overall, students noted the course required memorizing pathways and reactions to succeed.

DAVID PAGLIARINI is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JAMES NTAMBI is recorded teaching in Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JUDITH SIMCOX is recorded teaching in Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROBERT KIRCHDOERFER is recorded teaching in Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SEBASTIAN BEDNAREK is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SNEHAL CHAUDHARI is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1500

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Sebastian York Bednarek

Students describe Sebastian Bednarek as an enthusiastic lecturer who presents biochemistry in a way that makes sense and forces deep understanding rather than rote memorization.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.73 GPA, 32.7% A/AB (n=98 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.91 GPA, 32.8% A/AB (n=64 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.98 GPA, 39.1% A/AB (n=87 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Sebastian York Bednarek

Exams rely heavily on irrelevant details, requiring students to memorize specific enzyme and cofactor names. Success demands consistent study habits rather than last-minute cramming.

Past student reviews · Sebastian York Bednarek

Some students found Bednarek's slow lecture pace frustrating, causing them to fall behind, while others appreciated his engaging delivery and accessibility during office hours.

Topics

  • Biosynthesis of biological molecules
  • Signal transduction mechanisms
  • Chemistry and metabolism of nucleic acids
  • Protein synthesis
  • Molecular and cellular biology

Skills

  • Comparing molecular biology processes like DNA replication and protein synthesis across organisms
  • Assessing cellular energy investment in biosynthetic pathways
  • Relating metabolite chemical structures to function and oxidation energy

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.28 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

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Selected offering source records
BIOCHEM 508 · Spring 2027

General Biochemistry II

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:200:001839",
    "course_id": "BIOCHEM 508",
    "course_uid": "course_c759b64b8555402c1fff9182",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "001839",
    "source_subject_id": "200",
    "title": "General Biochemistry II",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Spring"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "d21fd709f097227e70b3ea4612a59527690154c37b6aa3272369f7d0d4ec5d34",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}