Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer/Unit convenor Fei Liu fei.liu@mq.edu.au Contact via Contact via 9850 8290 4WW 330 Make an appointment Lecturer Koushik Venkatesan koushik.venkatesan@mq.edu.au Contact via Contact via 9850 8296 4WW 123 Make an appointment Lecturer Alf Garcia-Bennett alf.garcia@mq.edu.au Contact via Contact via 9850 8285 4WW 338 Make an appointment
Credit points	Credit points 10
Prerequisites	Prerequisites (CHEM1001 or CBMS107 or CBMS103) and (CHEM1002 or CBMS108 or CBMS101 or CBMS102)
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit serves the needs of students who wish to major in chemistry or biomolecular sciences, as well as those pursuing related disciplines in biological, medical, materials and health sciences. It will be valuable to anyone with an interest in how organic and inorganic compounds react with one another, and how chemists use this knowledge of molecular interactions to synthesise new compounds with desirable properties (eg, new pharmaceuticals, new catalysts, and new materials). The unit focuses on the principles, mechanisms and synthetic procedures of organic and inorganic compounds. Topics include: chemical reactivity; stereochemistry; introduction to the spectroscopic identification of compounds; reaction mechanisms; and synthetic methods. The study of these mechanisms and methods provides an understanding of chemical processes and reactivity applicable in designed and living systems. The practical component is aimed at developing laboratory skills and deductive reasoning; it comprises syntheses of various classes of compounds and identification of unknown compounds by chemical and spectroscopic means.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

ULO2: Assess the risks and hazards associated with working in a synthetic laboratory environment
ULO3: Plan and carry out different types of synthetic reactions: specifically, perform functional group transformations to change one molecule into another and use carbon-carbon, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-oxygen, and metal-based bond forming reactions to construct larger molecules in a laboratory setting with confidence in a safe and efficient manner
ULO1: Predict the relative reactivity of a series of related compounds
ULO4: Use spectroscopic information to deduce the structure of simple organic and inorganic molecules
ULO5: Purify organic and inorganic compounds using basic synthetic techniques
ULO6: Write a report in a scientific format

General Assessment Information

Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you must:

Attempt all assessments, and
Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%, and
Participate in, and undertake all hurdle activities

Hurdle Activities

As explained in the assessment section, practials/experiments are the hurdle activities as they have interconnected learning outcomes and demonstrate the necessary techniques. A passing grade in the practical component (hurdle) is required to pass the unit. You are allowed one missed practical without a medical certificate but missing two or more practicals even with approvals means serious risk of failing the unit, in whick case you must consult with the unit convenors for options or you will fail the unit if left unaddressed. Further details are in the laboratory manual/notes (see the iLearn website).

General Faculty Policy on assessment submission deadlines and late submissions:

Online quizzes, in-class activities, or scheduled tests and exam must be undertaken at the time indicated in the unit guide. Late submissions generally will not be accepted for all iLearn online quizzess/test/exercises. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. Should these activities be missed due to illness or misadventure, students may apply for Special Consideration as explained below:

-Periodic spot tests or quizzes (normally 10-20 minutes each; see unit iLearn site for details and specific dates) are to help you with revising and keeping up with the course material as the course progresses, and late submission is not accepted. The questions in the periodic quizzes resemble those in the exams. The answers will be provided afterwards. You can miss any or all of the periodic quizzes without apparent penalty (you do not need a special consideration request for missing this). However, no make-up tests will be given, and the final exam’s mark will be automatically used for a missed spot test or quiz. This means that you should engage regularly and keep up with the content.

-The mid-semester test (50 minutes) will be in week 6 (the specific date, format, and coverage will be given on the iLearn website). Late submission is not accepted and there will be no make-up exam for the mid-semester test. With an approved special consideration, your final exam mark will be used for a missed mid-semester test mark.

-For pratical-related online assessments, due dates will be extended only with an approved special consideration request. Further extensions with approved special considerations may be permitted. No late submission accepted after extended due dates.

Please refer to the unit’s iLearn website for further details (normally available for viewing one week before semester start).

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Practical Assessment	20%	Yes	Weeks 2-13; see iLearn for details
Final Examination	50%	No	Final examination period of S1
Periodic online quizzes to encourage continuous learning	10%	No	Weeks 1-13 excluding week 6; see iLearn for details
Midsemester Test	15%	No	Week 6; see iLearn for details
Workshop	5%	No	Weeks 6, 7, 12, and 13; see iLearn for details

Practical Assessment

Assessment Type ¹: Lab report
Indicative Time on Task ²: 12 hours
Due: Weeks 2-13; see iLearn for details
Weighting: 20%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

These experiments have interconnected learning outcomes and demonstrate the necessary techniques. The student is required to participate in all practical sessions and allowed no more than one missed practical without a medical certificate. The student is required to perform the experiments according to instructions and complete post-lab exercises/reports satisfactorily.

Missing two or more practicals even with approved disruption-based exemptions means that the learning outcomes of this hurdle requirement have not been met. In this case, the student should consult with the lecturer-in-charge for options. Otherwise, a fail mark may result from this hurdle and ultimately a fail mark for the unit.

Details on what is expected for assessment of the practical component, including penalties for late submissions, are provided in the laboratory manual/notes (see the iLearn website). The mark will reflect the level of practical performance and safety/laboratory techniques seen within the laboratory as well as clear presentation, interpretation of results and addressing of specific questions within post-lab exercises/writing up.