CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD

FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

MUF0041 and MUF0042 Practical Sessions

Part A: Pre-Laboratory Work – to be submitted to teacher before proceeding with
laboratory work.

Plan and Undertake Investigations

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following criteria -1 to a max of -5
(which is missing or incomplete) to a maximum of 5
marks

Criteria
• Numbering of procedure
• Procedure written in the future tense
• Materials must be numbered
• Apparatus must be numbered
• At least 1 equipment missing
• At least 1 material is missing
• Any part of the Pre-Lab is handwritten

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FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

Comply with safety guidelines

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for any one of the following -1 to a max of -2
criteria (which is missing or incomplete) to a maximum
of 2 marks

Criteria
• Did not bring a labcoat (not allowed into the lab)
• Not wearing a buttoned-up laboratory coat
• Not wearing gloves
• Hair not tied up
• Wearing slippers to lab (not allowed into the lab)
• Running in the laboratory
• Carrying out experiment without including your partner
• Carrying an experiment which is not authorized by the
teacher
• Other acts which are deemed harmful to the general
health of other students
(b). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following criteria
-1 to a max of -3
Criteria
• Submitted less than 3 safety requirements (for every
less requirement I will minus 1 mark)
• At least one of the safety requirements was not
applicable or was not explained thoroughly.

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FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

You will need to submit a TYPED Pre-Lab for the Formative and the two Summative
Practical’s. The Pre-Lab will include the following

<Place your title here>

e.g.
Standardisation of a Hydrochloric Acid Solution

Date of practical: 28 July 2020 Class: 1 - 4

Your name: ……………………… ID: ………………

Names of your partners:

1. ………………………………….. ID: ………………

2. ………………………………….. ID: ………………
3. ………………………………….. ID: ………………

i. Aim
Basically, you are telling everyone why you did the experiment.

When you form the sentence it usually starts something like this: “To determine” or
“To prepare” or “To create”; basically; the sentence starts with “To”

e.g.
To determine the concentration of salicylic acid in the blood sample of a patient

To standardize a solution of Hydrochloric acid

To standardize a solution of Hydrochloric acid with a standard sodium carbonate

solution

ii. Materials
All chemicals which you plan used; Your list should be numbered
Example:
1. Salicylic acid
2. Distilled water
3. Ethanol
4. Iron (III) chloride

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FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

iii. Equipment
All glassware which you plan to use; list them and include the quantities of each
used (where applicable). Your list should be numbered

Example:
1. 6 × Test tubes
2. 2 × 100ml measuring cylinders
3. 2 × 50ml beakers
4. Tripod stand
5. Wire gauze

iv. Procedure
1. List out step by step what you will do; it may include up to 5 or 6 steps. Avoid
clumping more than one thing into each point
2. When writing this please bear in mind this in the future, hence you write it in
future tense.
3. We say…“two test tube will be taken and…” we do not say “take two test tubes
and …”. Your procedure must be numbered as well.

Example
1. Chromatography paper and pens will be taken from the side table.
2. A pencil will be used to draw a straight line about 1 cm from bottom of paper
and 1 cm from the top of the paper
3. A spot of ink will be placed at equal distance from each other on the line at
the bottom
4. Ethanol will be placed in a glass jar with a height of 1 cm from the base of
the jar

v. Three safety Precautions related to the experiment

Safety Precautions (no citation needed)
Write down 3 safety precaution which you should observe in the experiment. The
safety precaution should be numbered as well. When you write the safety
precautions, you should state what the precaution is and why are you observing it.

You can refer to this website for ideas

https://www.ors.od.nih.gov/sr/dohs/safety/laboratory/Pages/student_goodlab.aspx

Example:
Two part to writing this (what am I going to do & why am I going to do it)

i. Gloves, goggles and Lab coats are to be worn throughout this experiment,
hydrochloric acid is corrosive and when in contact with the skin it causes rashes
or burns.
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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

ii. The addition of salicylic acid to water should be done in the fume cupboard as
the vapour released may cause breathing difficulty.
iii. The gas outlet must be checked before igniting the Bunsen burner in case of a
leak which may cause an explosion.

Part B: Laboratory Work – to be submitted within 3 days after the practical session
to teacher on Turnitin via Moodle

Writing a scientific report in a correct format

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following criteria -1 to a max of -5
(which is missing or incomplete) to a maximum of 5
marks
Criteria
• Introduction to background theory
• Overall synopsis to the practical work which was
conducted
• Discussion
• Improvements
• Green Chemistry considerations
• Conclusions

Introduction
Here you give a brief introduction to the subject of your experiment and a brief overview
to the procedure and what you would expect from the testing. Dedicate one paragraph
to the background i.e. theory of the subject and one paragraph to the overview of
the procedure.
Example
This is the background theory and since it’s from theory; it is cited. (APA 6th edition format)

Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is a medication used to treat pain, fever,
or inflammation (Edwards, 2006). Specific inflammatory conditions which aspirin is used
to treat include Kawasaki disease, pericarditis, and rheumatic fever (Sally,
2018). According to Sally (2018), aspirin given shortly after a heart attack decreases the
risk of death, she goes on to add that aspirin is also used long-term to help prevent further

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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

heart attacks, ischaemic strokes, and blood clots in people at high risk. Edwards (2006)
adds on that it may also decrease the risk of certain types of cancer, particularly colorectal
cancer. (about 100 words)

This is what you did in the lab; it is not cited. This is an overview; basically, you are giving
a synopsis of what you did in the lab. Keep it to about 100 words or so.

In this experiment, a set of standards of aspirin ranging from 200mgL-1 to 600mgL-1 were
prepared. The absorbance of the standards and the unknown were determined using a
visible spectrophotometer. The wavelength of the visible spectrometer was set to be
580nm. A calibration graph was plotted using the data collected and the concertation of
the unknown was determined by interpolating the absorbance reading.

Conduct investigations to collect data and record data

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following criteria -1 to a max of -5
(which is missing or incomplete) to a maximum of 5
marks

Criteria
• Significant numbers or the decimal place for the data
(even if one of the data is in the wrong sf or with wrong
decimal place)
• Header on each column on the data table
• Title for the data table (to be written at the TOP of the
table)
• Title for the graph or figures (to be written at the
BOTTOM of the table)
• At least one of the data is missing or it was excluded
• Data analysis accidently placed into the data table
(b). Data table not present -5

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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

Results
You present all your raw data here. Please note that you only place data that you obtained
from the experiment here; you cannot place data which you obtained from data analysis
(which is the next part over here). Draw an appropriate table for your data. Usually the first
column will have the manipulated variable. The table must have units and all data
presented must have units as well. The table must have a title.

Table 1: concentration and reaction times

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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

Evaluate and Explain Data

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following -1 to a max of -10
criteria (which is missing or incomplete) to a
maximum of 10 marks

Criteria
• All calculations steps are clearly shown
• Units used in calculations are displayed for the final
answer at least
• Significant numbers for the final answer
• Graphs or Charts are drawn (when applicable)
• Any graph drawn must have its axes labelled
• Any graph or chart drawn must be labelled i.e. title
below the chart or graph
• Trends from the graph or chart is clearly stated
• Data obtained from analysis is related to the
theoretical value or to theory
• A clear explanation provided to explain any deviation
from normal theoretical value
• All of the above criterions are met
(b). Data analysis not present -10

Data Analysis
Here you will plot graphs or charts or carry out relevant calculations or anything else which
is suitable to study any trend to be observed.

If you are drawing a graph, please make sure the graph has the following
1. Labelled axis e.g. volume of gas collected, time, temperature etc.
2. Title under the graph or chart
3. Units for both axis cm3, g, 0C etc.

Graphs should be drawn using MS Excel only.

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FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

Use the results you got from the data analysis and related it to theory

e.g. based on the graph, the concentration of aspirin in our blood sample is 450mg/L but
according to Smith (1984) the safe amount is in a range of 150 to 250 mg/L. This means
the patient is experiencing acute aspirin poisoning. It has been stated that taking aspirin
along with other medications can cause an increase in the aspirin in the bloodstream
(Edwards, 2006).

Analyse Practical Procedure

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following -1 to a max of -5
criteria (which is missing or incomplete) to a
maximum of 5 marks

Criteria
• Improvement suggested is related to the experiment
• Improvement is explained thoroughly, and it is logical
• Green Chemistry principle stated is related to the
experiment
• Green Chemistry principle is explained in context to
the experiment conducted
(b). No improvements written -4
(c). Only 1 improvement written -2
(c). No Green Chemistry written -1

You should include 2 suggestions on how to improve the experiment (no citation needed);
when you write them think (what I am suggestion and why am I suggesting it)

e.g.
When carrying out this experiment, special care must be given to the addition of Creosol
to the aspirin sample, if too much of it is added then the aspirin will decompose.

Furthermore, heating for more than 5 minutes may cause the precipitate formed to
dissolve and it may be removed during filtration

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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

You should include 1 suggestion on how you incorporated green chemistry into the
experiment

Green Chemistry considerations (no citation needed)

Pick one of the 12 green chemistry principles and how they were implemented during your
lab work.
You can refer to this website to have an idea.
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/greenchemistry/principles/12-principles-of-green-
chemistry.html

(what you need to do & how did you implement this during the practical work)

Example
It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created; the
quantities of chemicals used were calculated and measured accurately to minimize
wastage

Or

Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process

monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances. All organic waste
were disposed in the waste bottles as they will contaminate the environment if poured into
the sink.

Conclusion
Did you meet your aim of your experiment?

e.g.
the aspirin content of the blood sample was determined to be 450mg/L which is above the
safe limit.

Reference
Use APA 6th edition format and include all references which you had used in this
experiment.

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CHEMISTRY AND THE CHANGING WORLD
FOUNDATION YEAR CHEMISTRY UNIT 1

Communicate and Explain Scientific Ideas

Description Max marks lost

(a). You will lose 1 mark for each of the following -1 to a max of -5
criteria (which is missing or incomplete) to a
maximum of 5 marks

Criteria
• All chemical formulas used were correct
• Equations used were balanced
• Citations were provided for introduction
• Citations were provided for data analysis
• References provided at the end in the correct format

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