CH3PRANU: Advanced Laboratory Skills

Module code: CH3PRANU

Module provider: Chemistry; School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Roger Bennett, email: r.a.bennett@reading.ac.uk

NUIST module lead: Mingxia Song, email: smx839@163.com

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have Part 2 BSc Chemistry. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is designed to provide students with advanced practical skills in chemistry and incorporates organic, inorganic and physical disciplines.

Aims:

To give the students training in advanced practical techniques as well as oral and written communication of their experimental findings. The course is split into three sections to reflect the disciplines of organic, inorganic and physical chemistry. The training provided ranges from specific techniques required for synthesis of both organic and inorganic compounds, to quantitative measurements, characterisation and the use of specific instrumentation.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Plan and execute advanced laboratory procedures and experiments safely by stating the risks of undertaking a particular experimental procedure and completing an appropriate COSHH assessment;
2. Make accurate observations and measurements and record them clearly;
3. Evaluate results from experiments and provide explanation for any experimental outcome, referring to and citing appropriate literature;
4. Work efficiently in small groups and will be able to plan their time effectively and develop written and oral communication skills in preparation for the project.

Module content

The course is arranged into blocks of organic, inorganic and physical practical classes. Due to the arrangement of the academic year the practical timetable will be as follows:

Organic Chemistry

Experiments will cover the synthesis, purification and characterisation of a number of organic molecules and reflect the corresponding Part 3 lecture content.

Inorganic Chemistry

Experiments will cover synthesis, purificationand characterisation of inorganic complexes and materials.

Physical Chemistry

Experiments will cover aspects of physical chemistry including advanced preparative, analytical and measurement techniques.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

1 x 9 hour introductory practical class.

3 x 9 hours for each of organic, physical and inorganic chemistry.

Please note that laboratory supervision will be available during each of the semesters and the amount provided would depend upon the nature of the project being undertaken.

Study hours

At least 90 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will receive oral feedback on their performance throughout the course. The first week of the organic chemistry component will be assessed formatively in order to ensure the students understand what is expected of them.

Reassessment

Additional costs