The BIOC192 final is worth 70 percent of the paper, and it covers the whole semester: proteins and enzymes, molecular biology, and metabolism. Recent finals have been mostly multiple choice, and older ones also had a written section, so check your course outline for this year's format. Otago's semester 2 exams run from 19 October to 7 November 2026, so wherever BIOC192 falls on your timetable, you've got somewhere between one and four weeks.
Here's how we'd use that time.
Start with what's assessed
BIOC192 is unusual because the department tells you what's examinable. The sessions that walk through the slides and flag what's in and out of scope are worth more than any summary you could make yourself. If you missed some of them, catch up on those before you do anything else. We wrote more about why this matters in why so many students score well in BIOC192.
Take that guidance and turn it into a checklist with one line per topic. That list is your revision plan. Anything the department said isn't assessed comes off it, however interesting it is.
Build three maps from a blank page
The slides are dense, and rereading them won't stick. What works better is being able to rebuild the big picture of each module from memory. Do each of these on a blank A4 page, check against your notes, and fill in what you missed in a different colour. The different colour is your study list.
- Metabolism. Glucose in the middle. Glycolysis down to pyruvate, pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, the citric acid cycle, the electron transport chain and ATP synthase. Then add glycogen synthesis and breakdown, gluconeogenesis, fatty acid breakdown and ketone bodies around the edges. Mark where each one happens in the cell and which tissues do it.
- Proteins and enzymes. Amino acids and side chains, the levels of protein structure, how enzymes lower activation energy, Michaelis-Menten kinetics and inhibition, and haemoglobin versus myoglobin.
- Molecular biology. DNA to mRNA to protein, with transcription, introns, translation and the genetic code. Then the tools, like PCR, restriction enzymes and cDNA, and how receptors and signalling turn genes on.
The first time you try this, you'll probably get half of each page. That's normal and it's exactly the information you need. By the third attempt, a few days apart, most of the page should come back.
Practise the "what changes if" questions
The harder BIOC192 questions give you a change and ask what happens next. You can't memorise your way through those, but you can practise the reasoning. Here are some examples worth being able to answer in one or two sentences each.
| The change | What happens |
|---|---|
| A competitive inhibitor is added | Apparent Km goes up and Vmax stays the same, because enough substrate can still outcompete it. |
| A pure non-competitive inhibitor is added | Vmax goes down and Km stays the same, because it takes enzyme out of action whatever the substrate concentration. |
| 2,3-BPG rises in red blood cells, for example at altitude | Haemoglobin's oxygen affinity falls, so the curve shifts right and more oxygen is released to tissues. |
| Foetal haemoglobin compared with adult | It binds BPG less well, so it has a higher oxygen affinity and can take oxygen from the mother's blood. |
| Glucagon rises during fasting | The liver breaks down glycogen and makes new glucose to keep blood glucose up. |
| Muscle glycogen is broken down | The glucose is used by the muscle itself, because muscle lacks glucose-6-phosphatase and can't release free glucose into the blood. |
| Several days without food | The liver makes ketone bodies from fatty acids, and the brain shifts toward using them, which spares protein. |
Make your own version of this table for each module as you go. Write the change on the left and cover the right column when you test yourself.
Practise explaining, not only clicking
If your final has a written section, this is where people who have only done MCQs come unstuck. Even if it's all multiple choice, being able to explain a pathway in a few clear sentences is the best check that you understand it, because recognising the right option is much easier than producing it.
The good news is that written sections of past Otago exams are usually in the Otago Library past exam collection, which you can search by paper code with your student login. The multiple-choice sections aren't released, which we explain in why you can't find HSFY past MCQs.
When you practise a written question:
- Work out how many marks it's worth and aim for roughly one clear point per mark.
- Start with the direct answer, then explain the mechanism. Markers shouldn't have to hunt for it.
- Use the proper names: the enzyme, the location in the cell, the hormone. "An enzyme in the mitochondria" is weaker than naming it.
- If a diagram would explain it faster, like a pathway or a saturation curve, draw a quick labelled one.
Then mark your answer against your notes as if you were the marker, and note any point you missed.
A five-session plan for the last week
If BIOC192 is close and you want something concrete, this is roughly what we'd do across five study sessions of three or four hours.
- Session 1: Metabolism map from blank, then fill the gaps. Mixed MCQs on metabolism.
- Session 2: Proteins and enzymes map, kinetics and inhibition questions, haemoglobin questions.
- Session 3: Molecular biology map, then one past written question or a few explain-it-out-loud prompts under time.
- Session 4: Mixed MCQs from all three modules at exam pace. Fix every miss.
- Session 5: Redo all three maps quickly, go through your error list, and stop early.
If you have more time than that, repeat sessions 1 to 3 with different questions before moving to 4 and 5.
FAQ
How much is the BIOC192 final worth?
70 percent, with the other 30 percent from internal assessment during the semester. Check your course outline for this year's details.
Do I need to memorise every enzyme name in BIOC192?
No. Learn the ones at control points and the ones the department flagged, and know what they do and how they're regulated. Knowing a name without its job won't help you with the reasoning questions.
Is BIOC192 hard?
The slides make it look harder than it is. Students who follow the assessed-content guidance and learn the concepts before the detail tend to do well.
If you want exam-style BIOC192 questions with worked explanations, see how Cutline HSFY works.
Cutline is not affiliated with the University of Otago and doesn't hold or reproduce University exam papers. Assessment details are from the BIOC192 paper information, checked October 2026. Always check your own course outline.
