| Unit name | Practical Chemical Physics: Lab Skills and Computing |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CHEM10020 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Dennis |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
Building Blocks of Chemistry Core Physics I |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
Introductory Practical Chemistry Practical Physics I: Laboratory skills, Computing and Team Discovery Practical Physics I: Laboratory Skills and Computing Practical Physics I: Laboratory Skills and Team Discovery |
| School/department | School of Chemistry |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
This unit introduces you to safe and organised working practices within a laboratory environment. It forms the foundation of your understanding of basic laboratory practical skills and data handling techniques, and it introduces you to computational techniques to solve complex problems.
This unit will develop your practical and computational skills and apply them to interesting scientific investigations, developing your creative approach to solving chemical physics problems. These research practices are extremely important transferrable skills that you will rely on increasingly throughout your degree, culminating in your final year research project, and will be among the most useful tools that you take with you in your future careers.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit is the core laboratory unit for your first year and is designated must pass as it underpins all subsequent practical units. You will develop fundamental practical and data handling skills which are a key part of your training and are a requirement for the accreditation of this programme by the Royal Society of Chemistry and Institute of Physics.
An overview of content
In this unit, we will develop your experimental, computational and team-work skills. You will carry out a range of experiments which will give you:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
With a solid foundation of core laboratory and computational skills you will progress to subsequent years of your degree as a competent and confident experimental chemical physicist.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit you will be able to:
Laboratory:
Practical work both within and without the teaching laboratory, information searching, writing and data-handling tasks, and independent study. All of these tasks are supported by complementary e-learning resources, using a combination of in-silico simulations, asynchronous activities such as quizzes, videos and forums, and synchronous sessions (which will also be available asynchronously). Students will be required to complete practical work in person in order to meet the intended learning outcomes for the unit, prepare them for subsequent units and to satisfy any accreditation requirements.
Computing:
In the computing exercises, you will learn through directed programmed-learning activities. Material is delivered in bite-sized chunks so that you can immediately work through the learning point and test it on the computer. The feedback is immediate, and if errors are received you will be guided through the process of interpreting the error messages to correct your code. An important element of learning code is commenting your code; this is a personal interpretation of the code you are writing, detailing its purpose and any ‘warning notes’ as to how it is used. These strategies will help you develop skills as an effective coder and to learn how to make the computer ‘do the work’!
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks:
You will be continuously assessed in practical work and scientific reporting. This will provide you the chance to learn and develop the skills which you will build upon in subsequent years. There will also be opportunities to receive personalised feedback on work from demonstrators and academic staff.
You will undertake fortnightly tasks for the computing component of the unit and maintain these as part of a portfolio. These will be submitted at regular intervals for formative feedback, and you will have the opportunity to revise the tasks in preparation for the summative portfolio assessment.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark:
You will be required to demonstrate your laboratory skills by performing assessed experiments, which will be holistically judged against the intended learning outcomes. You will be required to engage with and submit summative scientific written reports. In the computing component you will submit your completed portfolio having revised the tasks in light of the received feedback.
When assessment does not go to plan
Supplementary or resit assessment of this unit is only possible through engagement in the following academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CHEM10020).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
