This is an archived handbook for a previous year. The current undergraduate and postgraduate handbooks can be viewed using the links above.
Undergraduate Handbook 2025-2026 (archived)
Module CHEM2147: Practical Chemistry 2 - Synthetic
Department: Chemistry
CHEM2147: Practical Chemistry 2 - Synthetic
| Type | Level | Credits | Availability | Module Cap | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied | 2 | 10 | Available in 2025/2026 | Durham |
Tied To
- CFG0: Natural Sciences
- CFG1: Natural Sciences with Year Abroad
- CFG2: Natural Sciences with Placement
- FGC0: Natural Sciences
- FGC1: Natural Sciences with Placement
Pre-requisites
- Core Chemistry 1 (CHEM1078) AND Practical Chemistry 1A (CHEM1087)
Corequisites
- Core Chemistry 2 (CHEM2012) and either Structure and Reactivity in Organic Chemistry (CHEM2087) or Chemistry of Elements (CHEM2077).
Excluded Combinations
- Practical Chemistry 2 Integrated (CHEM2138), AND Practical Chemistry 2 Measurement (CHEM2157).
Aims
- To expand and promote the knowledge and understanding of chemistry through practical work.
Content
- Practical work in intermediate chemistry.
Learning Outcomes
Subject-specific Knowledge
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the chemical principles underpinning the practical work carried out.
Subject-specific Skills
- Perform and discuss more complex laboratory experiments, including dry reactions, the use of vacuum equipment, and purification by chromatography.
- Prepare, purify and identify a range of compounds.
- Understand the importance of more complex experimental design and safety.
- Develop skills in conducting procedural and chemical risk assessments.
- Perform more complex experimental manipulation.
- Evaluate results in terms of the theory underlying the experiment.
- Write coherent scientific reports on obtained data.
- Demonstrate time management skills and an ability to plan experimental work.
- Interpret spectroscopic data (e.g., NMR, IR, Mass spectrometry).
Key Skills
- Problem solving.
- Verbal and written communication.
- Numerical skills.
- Group working.
- Information retrieval.
- Scientific writing.
Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module
- Laboratory classes teach students techniques in various aspects of chemistry.
Teaching Methods and Learning Hours
| Activity | Number | Frequency | Duration | Total Hours | Attendance Monitored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practicals | 19 | 19 sessions Terms 1 and 2 | 3 hours | 57 | Yes |
| Dry lab skills sessions (out-of- lab) | 3 | 3 sessions Terms 1 and 2 | 3 hours | 9 | Yes |
| Induction including health and safety briefing | 1 | At start of Term 1 | 1 hour | 1 | Yes |
| Preparation and Reading | 33 | ||||
| Total | 100 | ||||
Summative Assessment
| Component | Component Weighting | Element | Length/Duration | Element Weighting | Resit Opportunity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practical Work | 100% | Results of laboratory work | 100% | 3-hour practical examination |
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment occurs continuously by means of feedback for pre-lab activities, verbal and written feedback in practical activity sessions, and via written feedback on assessed work.
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.