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BIOL 439Environmental and Natural Products Biochemistry

Units
0.50
Faculty
Science
Subject
Biology

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 4 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

This course deals with the functions, distribution, and environmental ramifications of natural compounds produced by plants and other biological systems. Natural products are those compounds usually described as secondary metabolites, i.e., those apparently non-essential products whose physiological and ecological functions are either obscure or are of peripheral importance to the organism. However, many of these non-essential products have profound competitive, economic, and pharmacological significance; and as research proceeds, their physiological roles within the parent organisms are becoming clearer. As well, this course has a strong emphasis on how environmental chemical and physical processes impact on living organisms and their biochemistry.

Prerequisites

  • Complete all of the following
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • CHEM233 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry (0.50)
      • CHEM237 - Introductory Biochemistry (0.50)
    • Must have completed at least 1 of the following:
      • CHEM264 - Organic Chemistry 1 (0.50)
      • CHEM266 - Basic Organic Chemistry 1 (0.50)

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 0017119262 / 350F 14:30–17:20

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00170610 / 100W 14:30–17:20
LEC 701263680 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

84% liked it85% easy51% useful

From 44 ratings and 19 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I am, beyond upset that i trusted other students on flow to adequately describe this course.. 93% easy is absolute bull. So the content is not all that bad, but its not EASY by any means. Add this to the fact that you have to fill in 100 marks of non multiple choice questions in a 50 minute midterm and you do not have "an easy 90". The reason why a lot of people likely thought that this course was easy, is because there is a circulating google doc that has all the previous midterms/tests in it. Therefore, if you have an extensive social group, you were bound to get the doc early, and study only according to the doc, and therefore were likely to get a solid 100% for solely memorizing what…

    Nov 2019 · liked it · 4 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Studying hints he gives in class will land you at least a 60-70 % (he emphasizes what is important), then if you made any type of notes the other 40-30 % is not TOO hard to obtain. Material at face value can look daunting, But you can definitely achieve 100 studying hints/powerpoints/readings. on top of that, there is a huge bonus paper if you choose to do it *edit

    Dec 2019 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • A must have biology course - take before Greenberg retires. He is a great professor who does not test you on stuff outside of class so make sure you really know the content well. 10% bonus for writing a paper where you are pretty much guaranteed a 7 and can potentially get a 10 if you have a very creative topic.

    Dec 2017 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Really easy fourth year bio course that can easily be used to pad GPA. Okey knows this and runs practice quizzes that are the exact same as the midterms. Course content is interesting but very disorganized, really hard to parse anything of value that has been retained. Would have appreciated a deeper dive into the biochemistry. Vast as the ocean but deep as a puddle.

    Nov 2025 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Fun course, really enjoyed it. Lots of material to learn

    May 2019 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

52 posts and comments in 47 threads mention BIOL 439, August 2012 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Fall 2023

Spring 2023

Fall 2022

Spring 2022

Fourth Year Bio Courses 2 points, 0 comments

u/Godatgaming111222: “Right now I have selected Biol 447 and 439 but I heard that 439 might be kind of difficult now. Has anyone taken one of these courses or if anyone has taken anyother fourth year bio courses that were relatively easy. I have already taken biol 449 as well”

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Winter 2022

400-Level Easy BIOL Courses 3 points, 5 comments

“I need to take some 400 level BIOL courses and I was wondering which ones are the easiest to obtain a high mark in?”

u/kenatsu: “Biol 439 has literally like 2 200 level prereqs and was 3 assignments and then a final worth not too much (in person and online was same format was what I was told).”

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Winter 2021

Science 400 Level Course 1 point, 3 comments

u/ChemicalMessage: “I'm in biomed and need to take two 400 level science courses in order to graduate. Does anyone have any suggestions for what courses to take? Right now I'm thinking of taking BIOL 439, but I need one more course. Thanks!”

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Fall 2020

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar