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Module Catalogue

CH222-15 Practical and Professional Chemistry Skills II

Department
Chemistry
Level
Undergraduate Level 2
Module leader
Stephen Bromfield
Credit value
15
Module duration
10 weeks
Assessment
100% coursework
Study location
University of Warwick main campus, Coventry

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Introductory description

N/A.

Module web page

Module aims

Following on from the corresponding Year 1 module, students are given opportunity to consolidate and advance chemistry-relevant practical skills in, and related-to, laboratory work. By undertaking this module, students will gain confidence, greater experience and ultimately become upskilled in:

  • Planning experiments which are operationally relevant, safe and effective.
  • Synthesis of ‘inorganic’ and ‘organic’ compounds.
  • Using spectroscopy to support synthetic work (e.g. structural elucidation).
  • Using contemporary methods and equipment in the area of physical chemistry.
  • Computational chemistry techniques.
  • Presenting and communicating experimental progress and outcomes using relevant spoken and written formats.
    The tasks undertaken in this module exemplify chemistry concepts encountered in core modules and, where possible, set practical work in an interdisciplinary context at interfaces between related disciplines.

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

A range of practical experiments are undertaken in the areas of physical, inorganic, organic and computational chemistry to highlight important areas covered in other core modules. The spectroscopy component is devoted to detailed interpretation of spectroscopic evidence to elucidate molecular structure. The professional skills component contextualises relevant employability skills within the framework of presenting or addressing chemistry-focused problems.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

  • The student should be able to work collegially to effectively solve chemistry-centred problems.
  • The student should be able to work competently and safely in a chemistry laboratory.
  • The student should be able to recognise relevant hazards associated with practical work and plan approaches to minimise their risks.
  • The student should be able to carry out syntheses to produce ‘organic’ and ‘inorganic’ compounds.
  • The student should be able to isolate and purify compound(s) using a variety of techniques.
  • The student should be able to set up and monitor instrumentation/computational software to record relevant data.
  • The student should be able to process data (e.g. using Excel) in order to critically evaluate experimental findings and draw conclusions.
  • The student should be able to communicate the progress and outcome of experiments through relevant spoken and written formats (e.g. useful experimental notes, appropriately structured written submissions, presentations etc).

Indicative reading list

Spectroscopic Methods in Organic Chemistry by D Williams and I Flemming

Extensive on-line support materials, references and links on Moodle.

Research element

research-based practical experiments and literature research assessments.

Interdisciplinary

cross-disciplinary with biology, physics, maths, computer science and business.

Subject specific skills

Problem solving
Teamwork
Organisation and time management

Transferable skills

Problem solving
Teamwork
Organisation and time management

Study time

Type Required
Lectures 10 sessions of 1 hour (7%)
Practical classes 15 sessions of 6 hours (60%)
Other activity 16 hours (11%)
Private study 34 hours (23%)
Total 150 hours

Private study description

Pre-lab and write-up.

Other activity description

Spectroscopy workshops

Costs

No further costs have been identified for this module.

You must pass all assessment components to pass the module.

Assessment group A
Weighting Study time Eligible for self-certification
Laboratory work and/or associated submissions 100% Yes (extension)
Feedback on assessment

For practical experiments, written feedback on all reports submitted.

Pre-requisites

To take this module, you must have passed:

Courses

This module is Core optional for:

  • UCHA-4 Undergraduate Chemistry (with Intercalated Year) Variants
    • Year 2 of F101 Chemistry (with Intercalated Year)
    • Year 2 of F122 Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry (with Intercalated Year)
  • UCHA-3 Undergraduate Chemistry 3 Year Variants
    • Year 2 of F100 Chemistry
    • Year 2 of F121 Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry
  • Year 2 of UCHA-F110 Undergraduate Master of Chemistry (with Industrial Placement)
  • Year 2 of UCHA-4M Undergraduate Master of Chemistry Variants