Your marks will be displayed at iLearn.  It is your responsibility to regularly verify that the records displayed at iLearn (Tools -> Grades) are correct. 

If you fail to attend a hurdle assessment task, please contact the Unit Convenor as soon as possible, as well as applying for special consideration. Please note that special consideration applications must be made within five working days of the assessment task due date.

Final grade: 

• Your final grade will be based on the mark from the aggregation of your individual assessments (practical, quizzes, mid-session test, final exam), noting that you must satisfy all hurdles (participation and mid-session test) to pass CBMS107 overall.

Attendance at practical classes and tutorial classes: 

• You must attend and participate in all four practical classes to pass CBMS107.
• You must attend and participate in tutorials to pass CBMS107.
• Please note that if you miss a practical class or a tutorial class, we are not required to offer you a make-up class.

Mid-session test: 

• The mid-session test is a hurdle assessment and you will need to get >= 40% to meet the hurdle.  In the event that you make a serious first attempt at the mid-session test, you will be provided with an opportunity to sit a new test to meet the hurdle.  The faculty define a serious attempt as a mark of 10% below the hurdle, which in this instance is a mark between 30-40%. You will NOT be given a second attempt to pass the mid-session test if you get below 30% in your first attempt.
• The mid-session test will be held during the second on-campus session, as this will give failing students time to withdraw without academic penalty.  Note that the last day to withdraw without academic penalty is Saturday 28 September 2019.
• Students that fail the mid-session test hurdle MAY be able to re-sit the test during the second week of the semester break. Regrettably, however, we cannot guarantee that this will occur and you may have to re-sit the test AFTER the last day to withdraw without academic penalty.
• Historically, students that do poorly in the mid-session have an unfortunately high failure rate, which is our motivation for applying a hurdle to the mid-session test.

Final examination:

• The final examination will be a two-hour written examination (plus ten minutes' reading time) and will be held during the examination period.

Information on Supplementary Exams:  

If you receive special consideration for the final examination, a supplementary examination will be scheduled in the interval between the regular examination period and the start of the next session.  By making a special consideration application for the final examination you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments.  Please ensure that you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. You can check the supplementary examination information page on FSE101 in iLearn (bit.ly/FSESupp) for dates, and approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

Communication

During the semester, the CBMS107 iLearn site will be used to communicate important information to you.  In addition, email will be sent by email to your student email account on a frequent basis.

We cannot overstate the importance of regularly checking your email and the CBMS107 iLearn site, in particular the student forum.

Classes

A daily schedule of activities for the on-campus sessions will be provided at iLearn.

• Lectures:

Recordings from first semester are available at the CBMS107 iLearn site. However, other material will be provided during the on-campus sessions. 

• Tutorials: 

During tutorials, the problems assigned (available at the CBMS107 iLearn site) will be discussed.  We recommend that you work on the tutorial question sets before coming to class, so that you can take full advantage of the exercises. 

• Practicals: 

​The practical classes for CBMS107 are run in 14SCO 320 and 14SCO 308 (note that these rooms are connected). You are not be allowed to enter the laboratory unless you are wearing enclosed footwear.  Safety glasses, laboratory coats and disposable gloves are supplied.  Please note that we cannot guarantee that the lab coats that we supply are in good condition, as they are shared across the unit.  We recommend that you consider purchasing your own laboratory coat, particularly if you are a science major.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

CBMS107 is a 3 credit-point, half-year unit and will require an average of 9 hours study per week (contact hours plus self-study time).  For students with weak chemistry backgrounds, more than 9 hours per week will be necessary to perform satisfactorily in this unit.

CBMS107 is designed to introduce you to the principles of the molecular sciences, including developing an understanding of the practical skills required to undertake simple chemistry experiments in an efficient and safe manner.  The lecture materials, tutorials and practical classes complement each other, and along with quizzes, have been developed to increase your understanding of the topics so that you can achieve the learning outcomes. 

The unit expectation is that you will:

·        Watch the lecture recordings and attend the lectures presented at the on-campus sessions

·        Actively engage in the tutorial classes and attempt the set exercises

·        Demonstrate reasonable competence in all practical exercises

·        Spend an average of no less than 4 hours per week of private study in addition to class contact

If you prepare for, and attend, all components of the unit and work consistently and continuously throughout the semester, you should be able to develop a strong understanding of the general chemistry and organic chemistry presented, and perform satisfactorily in this unit.  Students who try to memorise just before exams do not do well in this unit - this is especially true for organic chemistry content.  

·        Lectures will be presented formally, although quizzes and general questions may be asked in class, demonstrations provided, and examples of problems worked through, to strengthen and increase understanding of the concepts. Please note that based on observations of related units, we know that students fall behind and perform poorly if they do not attend the lecture classes.  Learning is an active process, and as such, you must engage with the material.  Reviewing lecture notes and relevant sections of the textbook (and beyond) before and after the on-campus sessions is strongly recommended.

·        Tutorials (SGTA) classes are run to assist your understanding of the course material.  Attempting the questions before the tutorial class to identify areas in which you need assistance is highly recommended.  Past experience has demonstrated that there is a strong correlation between success in the unit and the level of effort put in to preparing for SGTA classes.

·        Practical classes are designed to develop basic laboratory skills, general safety practices, as well as critical and analytical thought.  Pre-practical questions are designed to make sure you are ready for the practical work and have grasped the relevant theory and necessary safety practices.  In-lab work is designed to teach you to appropriately record your experimental observations and to present your calculations in a detailed manner.  Post-lab exercises are designed to assess your understanding of the experiments conducted.

A mid-session test hurdle has been introduced.

Dr Damian Moran, Unit Convenor, 4WW 329, ph 02 9850 8299, email damian.moran@mq.edu.au.  Please see iLearn for consultation hours.

A/Prof Joanne Jamie, Lecturer, 4WW 231, ph 02 9850 8283, email joanne.jamie@mq.edu.au.  Please see iLearn for consultation hours.

Dr Moran and A/Prof Jamie will be presenting the lectures.  Dr Moran is the convenor of this unit and should be consulted in relation to administrative issues.