| Unit name | Advanced Biological Life Chemistry |
|---|---|
| Unit code | CHEM30028 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Crosby |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
2nd year Core Chemistry and Biological Life Chemistry |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
The Art of Chemistry |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Chemistry |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
Why is this unit important?
Chemistry provides a common language that provides a framework which can be used to understand and take inspiration from biological processes. The creative aspects of chemistry inspire the synthesis of new compounds, while solving the problems that biological systems raise can feed back and enrich our understanding of chemistry. This important interface is the key driver for academic and industrial research covering drug development, the search for new antibiotics and fundamental bioscience.
This unit is optional for Chemistry programmes and Chemistry with Scientific Computing programmes and builds on biological life chemistry in years one and two to equip students with the knowledge and confidence to further explore the increasingly important chemical, medicinal and synthetic biology space.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study
This unit is optional and part of a series of life chemistry options developed through levels 4 – 6 that will equip chemistry students with the knowledge and skills necessary to tackle major societal challenges in life and environmental sciences, aligning with the ambitions of the Bristol Futures ‘Sustainable Futures’ theme. The unit will provide advanced understanding of the applications of the basic building blocks of Life Chemistry are applied to chemical, medicinal and synthetic biology. This unit has connections with both core chemistry and analytical chemistry.
An overview of content
We will develop an advanced understanding of life chemistry from the chemical biology perspective established in earlier optional units (Year 1 – CHEM10012 Life chemistry: Life through the chemistry lens; Year 2 – CHEM20011 Biological Life Chemistry). We will continue to build upon these themes based around the structure in the following components:
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
The unit extends several topics introduced briefly in CHEM20011- Biological Life Chemistry and brings these closer to state-of-the-art research and applications in academia and industry. Students will be better able to see how core chemistry knowledge is more broadly applied and will see many of these concepts reinforced by this unit.
Learning Outcomes
We aim to use a blended learning approach involving a mixture of asynchronous and synchronous lectures, online resources and individual student led enquiry.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks:
All summative tasks will be supported by formative assessment. Learning support will be supported by workshops which will offer small group teaching guided by expert staff. Workshops involve solving problems before and within the sessions to enable real time feedback and discussion with staff. Workshops will follow specific blocks of content delivery.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark:
The unit will be assessed by a combination of coursework (25%) and an end-of-year exam (75%). The coursework will be based on the analysis of research papers (ILOs 1,2&4). The exam assesses student’s progress against ILOs 1-4, with emphasis on 3 and 4.
When assessment does not go to plan
The re-assessment tasks will directly mirror those in the assessment tasks.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. CHEM30028).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
