How to get TOP grades in Biochemistry (or STEM subjects) | uni vlog, exams, student, science labs

Main ideas / lessons (how to study biochemistry for top grades)

The speaker shares an approach for studying biochemistry (and, more generally, STEM) effectively. They emphasize that biochemistry feels overwhelming mainly because it mixes different kinds of knowledge—so studying should match that structure.

1) Break biochemistry content into 3 types

1. Concepts (what you must understand)
2. Basic facts to memorize (used repeatedly to support understanding)
3. Experimental techniques + logic (how methods connect to questions, results, and research)

What to do for each type

• Memorize basic facts strategically

  • Examples given: the 20 essential amino acids, their abbreviations, and some math conversions.
  • Prepare beforehand if possible, but the key point is that repetition makes them feel “second nature” through use.

• Understand concepts during lectures

  • Don’t just copy notes or try to transcribe lectures.
  • Actively understand what is being taught while you’re in the lecture.
  • Review at regular intervals so recognition becomes automatic (e.g., protein names, symbols).
  • When exams approach, revisit lectures in detail until you fully know “what’s going on.”
  • Self-check method: try to teach/explain the concept to someone (or imagine doing so). If you can explain it clearly, you likely understand it.

• Learn experimental logic and technique purpose (later, but important)

  • Focus on why techniques are used and what they are testing.
  • Understand how techniques and concepts integrate into the bigger picture—similar to how research papers are structured (especially the results section).

2) Prioritize learning during lecture time (don’t rely on transcripts)

• Avoid spending lecture time writing a full transcript.
• Instead:
  • Understand the concept being introduced.
  • After listening, write a simple sentence summary with key words to help later recall.
• Even if you miss some details, understanding part of the lecture is better than understanding nothing.
• Since lectures are often recorded, you can revisit them—so don’t sacrifice comprehension for note volume.
• Practical reasoning: you’re “stuck in the room” for an hour, so you should extract real learning from that time.

3) Use active recall (not just rereading/highlighting)

Highlighting and reviewing notes can make you overestimate how much you know. The speaker recommends:

• Initially you can review notes, but then test yourself to confirm you truly understand.

Personal note system described:

• As they study, write a short list of key points on one A4 page per lecture.
• Keep it minimal (not crowded), with space for recall.
• Make the notes intentionally vague so that seeing them triggers your memory and reveals gaps.
• Add questions alongside the notes.

Example active-recall questions (given):

• For an enzyme:
  • Why is a co-factor needed?
  • What happens when it is present?

4) Learn from past papers using mark schemes (side-by-side)

The speaker criticizes doing past paper questions “blindfolded.” Better approach:

• Compare a past paper question with the mark scheme and study them together.

This teaches both:

• the content, and
• the examiner’s language/format for how to answer.

5) Connect concepts to practical lab work

A neglected factor is understanding how concepts link to lab experiments. This makes learning feel more effortless because you understand the purpose behind each step.

Recommended framing while studying practicals:

• Why are you doing certain experiments?
• What do they prove?
• What is the hypothesis?
• What are you testing?
• How do the techniques produce results relevant to the hypothesis?

6) Know the expected outputs/results of techniques

Understand what a technique produces, such as:

• data
• a color change
• other observable outcomes

Use this to guide lab decisions:

• Where to start
• Which technique to choose
• Why it is the right technique

Core scientific justification emphasized:

• You should be able to explain the chain: hypothesis → technique choice → expected data/output.

Follow-up content mentioned

The speaker says they will make another video about:

• how they take notes for biochemistry lectures
• how to make notes concise despite dense content (many concepts and pathways)

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Speakers / sources featured

• Primary speaker: The YouTube creator (no name provided in the subtitles).
• Sources: No external sources are named explicitly (no specific textbooks, papers, or channels cited).