Unit 2- Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques
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Unit 2d - review personal development of scientific skills for laboratory work
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Unit 2- Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
Unit 2d - review personal development of scientific skills for laboratory
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All the points in the pearsons btec level 3 applied science specification are included
Unit 2- Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques
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Btec Applied Science
Unit 2d
Unit 2D - Review personal development of scientific skills for laboratory work
In unit 2, I expanded my knowledge and experimental skills from GCSE level into
A-level on standard solutions, titrations, colorimetry, cooling curves, paper
chromatography, and TLC chromatography.
Skills I had previous to unit 2:
- Calculating a rate from a graph
- Taring a balance
- Drawing an accurate graph
- Reading from a meniscus curve
- Basic titration skills
- Basic paper chromatography skills
- Using a scale
- Using a mol equation
- Recording data in an appropriate table
Skills I have developed in unit 2:
- Using a pH probe
- Using a calorimeter
- Using a volumetric pipette
- Using a burette
- Why getting fingerprints on a TLC plate is bad practice
- The uses and basics of ninhydrin spray
- Using an analytical balance
- How to determine the precision of a piece of equipment
- The scientific explanation behind chromatography
- How to obtain concordant results
Unit 2a : Standard solution
Personal responsibility -
When making the standard solution, I had to follow different safety procedures to
ensure the work was done safely. Sodium carbonate was used which is an irritant
and can cause injuries to the skin, eyes and airways if they are exposed to it. In
order to work safely, I wore safety goggles and washed my hands immediately if they
came into contact with the sodium carbonate. When weighing out the sodium
carbonate, some was accidentally spilled onto the scales. This meant we had to
restart and gently blow the residue off the scales otherwise it would have made the
reading inaccurate. We did this very safely by gently blowing the residue off into a
sink and making sure nobody was nearby that could have been affected. When
handling the glassware, such as the volumetric flask, I was very careful and made
sure it was never at risk of being dropped.
1
, Btec Applied Science
Unit 2d
For the entirety of the experiment, I had to cooperate with my group members, the
teacher and the lab technician. For example, our teacher first showed us a
demonstration of the techniques used and we could ask any questions on things we
were confused about. Then in our groups, we had to communicate with each other in
order to get the practical done. We also had to communicate and cooperate with the
lab technician because they provided us with all the equipment and raw materials
required.
Strengths:
I think my main strength in this experiment was dissolving the sodium carbonate in
water and then transferring this into the volumetric flask. This is because I was very
thorough when mixing the sodium carbonate with the water and made sure no
clumps were left. When transferring it into the volumetric flask, I made sure to keep
the meniscus line at eye level and was very diligent when pouring the solution in. In
addition, I think I was good at reading the balance because we ended up with a very
clear cut measurement.
Weaknesses:
My main weakness was my first trial of measuring out the sodium carbonate
because I spilt some of it on very sensitive scales. Luckily I did clean them off and
start again, but if i didnt the accuracy of the experiment would have been
compromised. One error / weakness that we could not control was that we were
given the sodium carbonate without lids on. When exposed to air, sodium carbonate
will absorb the moisture which can affect the experiment.
Interpersonal skills:
I took responsibility for spilling some of the sodium carbonate onto the scales
because I was the one measuring it out. I alerted the teacher and they helped me fix
the issue by cleaning the scales.
My partner's feedback was to add smaller amounts of sodium carbonate to the
weighing boat instead of big chunks, and slowing down when I was near the needed
measurement. However, the second time I measured it out they said that I was very
accurate and controlled.
The feedback I gave to my partner was that they were very precise when adding the
distilled water to the volumetric flask and making sure it went up to the meniscus
line. To improve, I suggested that they should be more gentle when mixing the
solution with the glass rod because it could break if not. I knew to give them this
feedback because they were very aggressively mixing the solution and it looked like
the glass rod would have broken at any minute.
How can I improve:
2
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