| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Convenor
Alf Garcia-Bennett
Contact via 0298508285
4WW Room 337
1-2pm
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
CHEM2201
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit covers advanced aspects of chemical analysis, building on the foundations laid in Analysis and Measurement. Modern chemical principles and practice of identifying substances and of determining their composition are discussed. Topics include many analytical techniques commonly employed in both industrial and academic research laboratories. The unit emphasises hands-on experience in analysing real life samples, using a wide range of techniques from a chemical, structural and physical perspective. Learning in this unit enhances student understanding of global challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; Responsible Consumption and Production |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
To pass this unit you must achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%. Attendance to all Laboratory Practicals is expected in this unit.
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. 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.
For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as the problem sets, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for 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.
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due | Groupwork/Individual | Short Extension | AI Approach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory | 35% | No | 15/05/2026 | Individual | Yes | Open |
| Assignment 1 | 15% | No | 19/04/2026 | Individual | Yes | Open |
| Final Examination | 50% | No | 13 | Individual | No | Observed |
Assessment Type 1: Experiential task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 15/05/2026
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open
Communicating laboratory results is an essential skill for all scientists. Students will complete a written report based on experiments from several laboratory sessions. For each experiment, students are also required to complete some pre-laboratory work including Materials Safety Data Sheets and the general understanding of aim and procedure of the experiment. Students will then complete a written report based on the results from obtained from the laboratory sessions.
Assessment Type 1: Problem-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 19/04/2026
Weighting: 15%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open
Qualitative and quantitative questions requiring processing and critically analysis, both critical skills for chemists.
Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 45 hours
Due: 13
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed
Closed book examination.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.
3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.
This unit requres150 hours of work over the semester (formal contact hours and self study time). This is an average of 10 hours of work per week over each of the 15 weeks of semester. For students with weaker chemistry backgrounds, more time per week will likely be needed to perform satisfactorily in this unit. Formal contact hours for Analytical Chemistry and Measurement consist of 2 hours of lectures and a 1-hour interactive SGTA per week, along with 5 x 4-hour laboratory classes throughout semester. Students are expected to participate in all lectures, SGTAs and laboratory classes. Active participation by students in all of these activities will be essential for success in the unit.
Lectures
The unit will cover 2 hours of lecture material each week. This will consist of a mixture of pre-recorded lectures (uploaded prior to the lecture) and interactive (live) lectures. Some lecture material will be available on the unit web site, while other material will be provided during the lecture classes. You should use these lectures as a starting point and supplement their content with material from the text book, the scientific literature and from other online sources. Much of the unit content builds on content covered in previous weeks, so it will be essential to keep up to date with the lecture material throughout the semester.
Interactive Classes (SGTAs)
A 1-hour interactive classes (SGTA) will be held each week. This is your opportunity to interact directly with the teaching staff, to ask lots of pertinent questions and to identify any weaknesses or clarify misconceptions you may have. Learning is an active process, and as such, you must engage with the material. This means reading the textbook (and beyond) before and after lectures, attempting the assignment questions and discussing the concepts with your classmates and lecturers. Do not be afraid to ask questions – everyone benefits from a robust and open discussion of the topics.
Problem Sets
There will be one open book problem exercises that will be issued towards the mid-semester break and towards the end of the semester. They are designed to challenge your learning and revise the material covered in prior weeks. You will be given suffient time to cover these exercises (typically 7-10 days).
Laboratory Classes
The classes will emphasise the importance of teamwork and being well prepared and efficient. You will need to be fully aware of safety procedures, proper recording and reporting of raw data and interpretation of results. This will require an analytical and inquisitive approach. The first (dry) laboratory class starts in Week 1, where you will meet your fellow team members, plan your synthetic routes and complete risk assessments. There will then be 5 wet labs sessions run in two streams (Group A and Group B) on alternating weeks, starting in Weeks 2/3. To maximise the amount of wet lab time available to complete the experiments, you will need to be highly organised and to have prepared thoroughly BEFORE entering the laboratory. If you are not able to "hit the ground running" each laboratory class, you will almost certainly run out of time by the end of semester.
Methods of Communication
We will communicate with you via your university email or through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the convernor directly from your university email address.
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.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook