General Assessment Information

To successfully pass this unit, you are required to:

1. Achieve a minimum total unit mark of 50%.
2. Complete the hurdle activities to a satisfactory standard, as outlined below.

Practical Competency (Practice-based task) (30%):

Your average score over the five practicals must be 50% (= 15% of your unit mark) or greater to meet the hurdle threshold.

The practical assessment comprises:

• prelab exercises
• in-lab execution and the “prac report”
• postlab exercises

These practical classes are designated as hurdle assessments for several reasons:

• Hands-on Experience: Laboratory classes provide essential hands-on experience that cannot be replicated through theoretical study alone. This practical exposure is crucial for understanding chemical concepts and techniques.
• Skill Development: These classes help you to develop critical laboratory skills, including accurate measurement, data analysis, bench skills, and the use of specialised equipment. These skills are fundamental for any aspiring chemist and/or biomolecular scientist and are best learned through direct practice.
• Safety Training: Laboratory work involves handling potentially hazardous materials and equipment. Mandatory practical classes ensure that you receive proper safety training, understand risk management, and can conduct experiments safely.
• Application of Theory: Practical classes bridge the gap between theory and practice. They allow you to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios, reinforcing your understanding and retention of the material.
• Problem-Solving Abilities: Laboratory experiments present unexpected challenges. By working through these problems, you enhance your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, which are valuable skills in any career.
• Collaboration and Communication: Laboratory classes require teamwork and effective communication. These experiences help to prepare you for collaborative work environments and help you develop interpersonal skills.
• Assessment of Competence: Hurdle assessments ensure that all students meet a minimum standard of competence in practical skills. This is essential for maintaining the integrity and quality of the chemistry program.
• Accreditation Requirements: The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) mandates practical laboratory classes as part of the accreditation process for chemistry programs. This ensures that the program meets professional standards and adequately prepares students for careers in chemistry.

Prelab questions must be completed with a minimum score of 60% prior to your practical classes. Failure to meet this requirement will result in denial of entry to the laboratory. These questions are designed to ensure you have adequately prepared for the laboratory class, including understanding the associated risks and safety issues, and becoming familiar with the apparatus and techniques to be used.

The prelabs will be done online via iLearn Quizzes and will be due at least 48 hours before the start of your lab class, i.e. if you have a 9 am class the prelab will be due at 9 am 2 days prior to your class.

The practical report will be completed during the lab class and submitted to your demonstrator before you leave that class. Part of your practical report mark will be based on your:

• Preparation: 
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Ensure you have all necessary PPE, including a lab coat, safety glasses, and enclosed shoes. This is crucial for your safety and the safety of others.
  • Laboratory Notes: Bring your laboratory manual or notes, which include the experiment procedures and safety guidelines.
  • Understanding Safety Protocols: Familiarise yourself with the laboratory's safety rules and emergency procedures. Know the location of safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, eye wash stations, and first aid kits.
  • Knowledge of the Experiment: Review the experiment's background, objectives, and procedures. Understand the theory behind the experiment and the steps you will be performing.
  • Materials and Equipment: Ensure you have all the necessary materials and equipment for the experiment. Check that all equipment is in working order and that you know how to use it properly.
  • Time Management: Plan your time effectively to ensure you can complete the experiment within the allotted class period. This includes setting up, conducting the experiment, and cleaning up.
  • Mental Preparedness: Approach the lab with a focused and attentive mindset. Be ready to engage actively with the experiment and follow instructions carefully.

• Safety Conduct: Demonstrating the ability to conduct yourself in a safe manner.
• Ethical Conduct: Demonstrating the ability to conduct yourself in an ethical manner.
• Engagement: Showing a high level of engagement with the activities.

The postlab exercise for your first experiment will be due Monday Week 6, and the postlabs of all the other practicals will be due by Monday Week 12.

If you miss a Practical class you are NOT entitled to automatically rescheduling or a make-up class. Such an opportunity may be offered, if possible, provided sufficient warning is provided. Justification for rescheduling or make-up (Special Consideration requests) must be lodged via a special consideration request. If possible, you may be provided the opportunity to attend another practical class in the same block of prac classes. 

A make-up class for one missed class may be offered in Week 12.

Principles of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences (Problem Set) (20%):

The Principles of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences Problem Set will contribute 20% to your overall mark. It will be completed through the Mastering Chemistry system, accessed via iLearn, but external to it.

The Problem Set will be due on the Saturday of Week 7.

The Problems Set will cover all topics up to an including those delivered in Week 7.

Final Examination (Examination) (50%):

• The final examination will be two (2) hours, with 10 minutes reading time, consisting of multiple choice and long answer questions. The final examination will cover all sections of the unit (lectures, lab practicals, workshops and assignments) and is designed to address specific understanding of all the concepts presented within the course.

Supplementary exams

• If you receive a special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session. By requesting a special consideration for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a re-sit 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.

Gradebook

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

Special Considerations

If you have difficulty attending and participating in a hurdle assessment task, please contact the Unit Convenor, in ADVANCE if possible, and immediately after if not, as there may be alternatives available to make up a missed task. In the circumstances that you miss a hurdle assessment task, you must apply for a special consideration. To support your extension, you must submit a "Special Consideration Request". See the SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS web page for instructions on how to do this. Please note that evidence must be given to support your request for an extension. You have a limited time after the event to submit a special consideration request (see SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS web page).

Submission Deadlines:

Scheduled assessments and examinations must be undertaken at the time indicated in the unit guide. Should these activities be missed due to illness or misadventure, you may apply for Special Consideration.

Late Assessment Submission

Late assessments are not accepted in this unit unless a SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS has been submitted and approved.

Attendance and Participation

We strongly encourage all students to actively participate in all learning activities. Regular engagement is crucial for your success in this unit, as these activities provide opportunities to deepen your understanding of the material, collaborate with peers, and receive valuable feedback from instructors, to assist in completing the unit assessments. Your active participation not only enhances your own learning experience but also contributes to a vibrant and dynamic learning environment for everyone.

Workshop Classess commence in Week 1. See the iLearn site for more details.

Methods of communication:

General communications about the unit during semester will be via the Annoucements page on iLearn.

As this unit is an infrequent offering with weekly workshops as the only regular contact, the Discussion forum on iLearn should be used to ask and answer questions. This forum is a means to communicate both between students and the teaching staff about unit content or issues with iLearn or Mastering Chemistry. 

Email may also be used but if the enquiries are of a general nature you will be directed to the Discussion forum so that all students can benefit. The unit convenors will email you individually from time to time using your university email address.

Required Textbook:

"Chemistry the Central Science- Global Edition" by Brown and Lemay

Lectures (RECORDED ON ECHO360 SYSTEM)

Lecture recordings and supplementary shorter summaries will be available through iLEARN ECHO, and powerpoint slides via iLearn.  Lectures will also include working through examples of problems, to strengthen and increase understanding of the concepts. Learning is an active process, and as such, you must engage with the material. This means watching the Echo recordings and downloading and reading the lecture notes and relevant sections of the textbook (and beyond) before and after attending the workshops is strongly recommended. You will be given regular practice quizzes (not assessed) to attempt, plus a problem based task (assessed) that will build on these quizzes. It is strongly recommended that you listen and work through lecture examples prior to attempting these quizzes and problem based task. These tasks, along with the regular workshops are designed to allow you to continuously learn and to identify what you understand and the areas that you need to spend more time on.

Workshops

Workshops will be run weekly (along with a special session in the mid-session break) to assist your understanding of the course material. Attempting the questions before the Workshop class to identify what you need assistance on is highly recommended. You will often be asked to assist in answering questions throughout the class. Anonymous teaching evaluations from past students have identified these teaching activities as a valuable learning tool.

Laboratory classes (On campus and are compulsory)

Practical classes are designed to develop basic laboratory skills, general safety practices and 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 safety practices necessary. The pre-practical questions MUST be submitted on-line through iLearn by the due date as in iLearn PRIOR to the scheduled practical class. In-lab and post-lab work are designed to allow you to appropriately record your experimental observations and your calculations in a detailed and accurate manner and assess your understanding of the theory behind the experiments conducted and to use this understanding to solve related problems. The practicals are scaffolded such that the expectations of pre-practical, in-practical and post-practical reports increase throughout the course as understanding of the concepts and skill in how to record the data and interpret results develops.

A detailed schedule is provided in the unit iLearn site.

Workshops begin Week 1 (Monday February 24)

Workshops will be held weekly on Mondays across Weeks 1-7 (February 24 - April 7) and Weeks 8-13 (April 28 - June 2). A 2 hour workshop will also be provided during the mid-session break (9-11 am April 17).

Practical 1 is on Sunday March 23, 1 pm - 5 pm in 14SCO Room 308.

Practicals 2-5 are from Tuesday April 15 - Thursday April 17 in 14SCO Room 308.

In alignment with the recently introduced Macquarie University Assessment Policy, which limits assessments to only three assessment types, we have revised the assessment structure for this unit. This change ensures compliance with the policy.

The new assessment structure will include the following three types of assessments:

1. Problem Set: These will evaluate students' understanding and application of theoretical concepts.
2. Practical Reports: These will assess students' hands-on skills and ability to conduct and report on laboratory experiments.
3. Examination: These will test students' comprehensive knowledge and problem-solving abilities.

The unit also has two new co-convenors (Joanne Jamie and Koushik Venkatesan).

We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer this unit. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.

We look forward to meeting and teaching our students in CHEM1002.

Joanne and Koushik