Requirements to Pass this Unit

To pass this unit you need to:

• Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50% across all assessments

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.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

From 1 July 2022, Students enrolled in Session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information. 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7^th day (including weekends). After the 7^th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

 For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Assessments where Late Submissions will be accepted: 

In this unit, late submissions will accepted as follows: 

LABORATORY BOOK - Yes, standard late penalty applies (unless Special Consideration is granted). 

CASE STUDY REPORT - Yes, standard late penalty applies (unless Special Consideration is granted). 

CASE STUDY ORAL PRESENTATION - NO, unless Special Consideration is granted. 

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 https://connect.mq.edu.au.

Methods of Communication: We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.

COVID Information: For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.

Week1 Classes: During Week1, we have two 1-hr Letcures as scheduled in the timetable. 

Lectures: There are two lectures per week as per the university timetable. Lectures are delivered on-campus and will also be recorded. All lecture material will be made available on iLearn.

Workshop Sessions (Dry-lab, 2 hrs): There are five scheduled on-campus workshop sessions in total. Workshops 1-3 will include a non-assessable quiz, facilitating engagement and early feedback. There is an optional workshop (workshop 4) to assist with Laboratory Book assessment. Case study oral presentations will be conducted during Workshop 5.

SGTA (1 hr): SGTAs will be held during the scheduled workshop sessions (3 hrs - 1 hr SGTA + 2 hr Workshops) on-campus in Weeks 5,7,9, 11 and 13. Each SGTA session will involve a 30 min discussion followed by a non-assessable quiz (except week 13).

Laboratory Sessions (Wet-lab): 3 hour Laboratory sessions are scheduled according to the timetable. There are two timetabled sessions available.

Practicals 1 - 4 will be held on-campus at Science labs in 14 Sir Christopher Ondaatje Ave (E7B) 349+350 Science Lab. In total, there are FOUR lab sessions held in weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10. Attendance at all four laboratory sessions is required to collect data to complete the Lab book assessment (40%). If you cannot attend, you must submit a Special Consideration request if you wish your absence to be considered.

** Students must bring their own lab coats to be allowed to enter the labs. It is also recommended that students bring their own safety glasses. However, these will be provided if students to not have their own safety glasses. Other PPE will be provided.

Case study presentations: Will be held during the scheduled SGTA/Workshop session in Week 13. A short presentation (~ 10 mins) will be given in small groups on the topic of a contemporary macromolecule. Half of the marks are for the group and half the marks are for your individual contribution, to be submitted on the day of presentation. If you cannot attend, a Special Consideration request must be submitted if you wish your absence to be considered.

** It is a requirement that students bring their own laptops to workshop sessions held on-campus. Please ensure your laptop is fully charged as powerpoints may not be available for all students. If you require a loan of a laptop, this can be arranged PRIOR to the workshop session by contacting the unit convenor. 

Textbooks: Reading material and required text will be advised by your lecturer. A list of suggested reading material and text will be made available on iLearn and through the library website https://libguides.mq.edu.au/leganto.

To enable students more time to focus on learning, understanding and reflecting on the content of our unit we have revised the assessment structure as follows. There are now only three assessments: a case study (20%), Full Laboratory book (40%) and final exam (40%).

Although no marks are associated with attendance, all activities provide you with key content designed to help you understand content and complete the assessments.