Questions from an Inquisitive Student on February 1, 2015

Joseph Dixon ♦ February 1, 2015 ♦ Leave a comment

Questions from an inquisitive student! I received this email from a student. These are great questions and she gave me permission to share them with you.

Professor Dixon,
I have some questions that I hope you can help me with:

1. What is the format of the test (multiple choice/short answer)? Ans: Multiple choice
2. Will there be diagrams that we have to label/recognize/interpret?  Ans: Yes, maybe one per exam, but you will be fairly certain which one to prepare for.
3. Should we know all circled #’s, such as the energy burned (767 for a 10 mile run) and the numbers for Vitamin D and Selenium?  Ans: For the entire class you have to know very few numbers – I will let you know the ones you need to know.  There may be one or two that you will need to recognize on each exam, but not more than this, usually. You have to know the Atwater numbers.  Also, you need to know certain percents having to do with the average American diet.
4. Ch 3 part 1- why is there a difference in energy for the bonds? Ans:  It has to do with the characteristics of the atoms involved. Any more than this is beyond the scope of the class.  But I am glad you are asking such amazing questions such as this.
5. What do we have to know about Rubner/Hess/Thornton – Ans:  I do not ask about these on the exam –  however, I wanted you to know that these very important foundations of nutrition were already worked out over 100 years ago.
6. I’m confused about what “first brain” refers to for the gi tract? Ans: I will address this in the next class – we have only had 3 classes! The first brain concept is something I dreamed up to explain why the intestine and the brain are so closely in touch.
7. Should we know the detailed processes of nutrient absorption (passive, active etc)?  Ans: Only for glucose.  There are over 50 transporters known for amino acids alone.  If you wish to study all of these you are welcome to.  But I really only ask you about glucose uptake, at least for now.
8. Should we know the detailed processes of pulmonary and systemic circulation or just generally what they are?  Ans: In class on Friday I indicated that we are not covering this.  Did you see that on the PowerPoint for the 2nd part of Chapter 3?