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Assignment 4 - Review personal development of scientific skills for laboratory work
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Macy ParsonsReview personal development of scientific skills for laboratory work
With regards unit 2, my newly appointed occupation of a technical assistant at a chemical
plant (Chemcalequip) requires a variety of versatile, scientific skills in which I will
demonstrate throughout the unit. Over the course I have achieved and completed a large
number of practical's which allowed me to successfully complete Unit 2. These procedures
have aided me in progression and development to attain useful skills which I can
concordantly apply to my technical assistant position which will give me further
independence for completing laboratory work. From this, I feel I have bult the necessary
skills which employers in the science industry find useful as a basic expectation to apply
within scientific jobs. During this time, I investigated: titrations, calorimetry, colourimetry,
and chromatography. This array of scientific procedures empowered me to use different
scientific instruments as well as put them into practice in order to gain valid results. As well
as practical work, the use of chemicals has helped me to understand health and safety
procedures such as risk assessments and COSHH. From this I was able to evaluate my
performance with the regards the skills I have developed thus successfully driving me into
Unit 3 with these transferrable skills. This is all observable through my progression from the
start of the unit to now, for example not knowing how to use a burette to then individually
carrying out several full titrations which produced concordant results. Conversely, although
my overall experience in the lab has produced positive results and feedback, there have
been several limitations and failures which have shown imperfections in my work however
have allowed me to develop and reflect. Examples of this include
Titration
Scientific procedure titration was the first component in which unit 2 consisted off. Overall,
the purpose is to determine an unknown concentration of a dissolved solution. This will
allow me to adopt an understanding of the dangers and risks of specific chemicals and what
precautions to take, as well as grasp knowledge on the use of scientific equipment and how
to accurately carry out a practical with instructions. The role and responsibilities of my job
include, communicating with the plant's production units, support services (maintenance,
process, pilot/lab, HSE, engineering design), and outside units (technical management).
During this time, to develop the required skills for my tasks, I was able to achieve
engagement both individually and as a group within practical work, this enabled me to use
skills of independence as well as cooperation and listening. This is a positive result from
completing titrations as it has had a useful and effective outcome on my occupation as a
technical assistant due to it giving me the standard abilities required. The first practical
consisted of standardising hydrochloric acid, the second a titration to determine the
concentration of sodium hydroxide and thirdly a pH titration to determine the concentration
of sodium hydroxide. These separate and different components allowed me to showcase a
wide array of abilities and strong points as, when put in practice, use different equipment
and different methods.
, Colorimetry
Colorimetry was the next procedure which I successfully completed. More specifically visible
colorimetry which was my experiment to identify the concentration of a coloured
compound (unknown copper solution). This allowed me to broaden both my knowledge and
physical work as I learnt new content about the procedure such as light waves and the affect
concentration has to do with absorbance. My practical work clearly improved after
colorimetry was completed as I had the opportunity to use different scientific instruments
such as a colorimeter as well as use different chemicals to make a copper solution. With
regards my independent work, colorimetry most definitely allowed me to exercise and
demonstrate this useful skill out of all the components. This is because I was instructed and
carried out producing different concentrations of the same-coloured chemical compound
individually as well as test the absorbency of them in a colorimeter.
Calorimetry
Progressing from colorimetry, calorimetry has allowed me to understand cooling curves of
different elements and compounds which enabled me to successfully measure the heat
released or absorbed during a chemical reaction. This will help me within my occupation as
it has empowered me with knowledge of how different elements/compounds react when
put in different temperature environments. This will therefore give me a basic
understanding on how to safely handle and store different chemicals in order to avoid
potential hazards.
Chromatography
Lastly, I have carried out multiple chromatography experiments, both thin layer
chromatography and simple paper chromatography for extraction purposes. This extra skill
set has given me the ability to identify the separation of mixtures such as dyes or
vegetables/fruits, giving me insight to how the separated compounds have a different
attraction towards the paper and what that means. This is a curtail skill to have for my job at
a chemical plant as it displays the basic ‘DNA’ of what is being tested, this may be for
identification purposes, or for purifying …
Skills when I started the course
Firstly, I had to grasp a simple understanding of the purpose which these practical's are
executed for. From this I attained primary knowledge on the basis of equipment and
chemicals which therefore became useful to safely complete a simple practical in an orderly
fashion. For titrations I learnt how to weigh precisely using a top pan balance as well as
identify that an analytical balance is more accurate. I also learnt how to dissolve solids
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