This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.

Undergraduate Handbook 2006-2007 (archived)

Module CHEM4321: CONTEMPORARY CHEMISTRY

Department: Chemistry

CHEM4321: CONTEMPORARY CHEMISTRY

Type	Level	Credits	Availability	Module Cap	Location
Open	4	20	Available in 2006/2007	None.	Durham

Pre-requisites

Core Chemistry 3 (CHEM3012) AND two from CHEM3021, CHEM3031 and CHEM3041.

Corequisites

Core Chemistry 4 (CHEM4311).

Excluded Combinations

Bioactive Chemistry 4 (CHEM4211) OR Chemical Physics 4 (CHEM4411) OR Chemistry and Society (CHEM3061).

Aims

To demonstrate the unified nature of chemistry by using modern applications that incorporate aspects of all branches of the subject.

Content

Functional materials*: oxides; superconductors; magnetically ordered materials; materials for power supply and applications; molecular electronics and display technology.
Medicinal chemistry*: drug classifications; molecular targets for drug action; pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics; strategies for drug discovery and development; computational chemistry.
Macromolecular chemistry:* configuration; thermodynamics of polymer systems; elasticity; synthesis; blends, blocks and self-assembly in polymer systems; amorphous and semi-crystalline states; kinetics of crystallisation.
[*Each student will follow two of the three lecture courses.].

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge

After attending the relevant lecture courses, students should be able to:
rationalise the conductivity/magnetic properties of materials using simple theoretical methods.
explain how the properties of materials and their technological application is related to their structural properties.
classify drugs according to their site and mode of action.
describe methods by which drugs may be discovered, optimised and formulated.
use molecular modelling packages to predict the mode of action of certain classes of compounds.
understand the quantitative description of the three dimensional distribution of polymer molecules and use this description to explain retractive forces in elastomers;
distinguish between major synthetic routes to polymer molecules and describe the characteristic features of each;
distinguish between amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers and identify molecular features that promote crystallinity.

Subject-specific Skills

Key Skills

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

Facts and new concepts are introduced in the lecture courses.
Students' knowledge is tested by examination.
Undergraduates are aided in the learning process by workshops where they attempt sample problems and office hours where staff are available to answer any queries about the lecture courses.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Activity	Number	Duration	Total Hours
Lectures	36	1 Hour	36
Seminars	4	1 Hour	4
Office hour	6	1 Hour	6
Preparation and Reading			154
Total			200

Summative Assessment

Component	Component Weighting	Element	Length/Duration	Element Weighting	Resit Opportunity
Examination	100%	Written examination	Three hours	100%

Formative Assessment

Workshop problems.

Students who do not attend monitored activities shown under Teaching Methods and Learning Hours, or who fail to complete the summative or formative assessment(s) specified above, may be subject to the Academic Progress procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University.