Unit information: Practical Work for Chemical Physics in 2020/21

Unit name	Practical Work for Chemical Physics
Unit code	CHEM10014
Credit points	10
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Chris Adams
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Chemistry
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

This unit introduces safe and organised working practices within a laboratory environment and also some basic laboratory practical skills and data handling techniques.

Unit aims: To develop in students the first fundamental practical and data handling skills.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit students should be able to:

1. Competently and safely perform key laboratory skills and procedures.
2. Correctly measure, record, manipulate and report laboratory data in an appropriate format.
3. Estimate the errors associated with their measurements.

Teaching Information

Practical work both within and without the teaching laboratory, information searching, writing and data-handling tasks, and independent study. The Dynamic Laboratory Manual (DLM) provides important e-learning resource for all of these tasks, using a combination of in-silico simulations, asynchronous activities such as quizzes, videos and forums, and synchronous sessions (which will also be available asynchronously). There will also be opportunities to receive personalised feedback on formative work from tutors, demonstrators and peers. Students who either begin or continue their studies in an online mode should note that it is likely they may be required to complete practical work or alternative activities in person, either during the academic year 2020/21 or subsequently, in order to meet the intended learning outcomes for the unit, prepare them for subsequent units or to satisfy any accreditation requirements.

Assessment Information

Students will be continuously assessed in practical work and scientific reporting (summative and formative - 100%).

The majority of the work will be formatively assessed, giving the students the chance to learn and develop the skills which they will build upon in later years. At the end of the unit students will then be required to demonstrate their skills by performing assessed experiments, which will be holistically judged against the intended learning outcomes.

Supplementary or resit assessment of this unit is only possible through engagement in the following academic year.

Reading and References

All the necessary teaching materials are delivered online using the VLE (Dynamic Laboratory Manual).