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Unit 2 Aim D
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Unit 2 Aim D assignment. Aciheived Distinction with overall grade D*D*D*.
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Unit 2- Learning Aim DReviewing personal development of scientific skills for laboratory work
During this assignment, I will be reflecting upon the range of key skills that I have developed during the
Unit 2 practical’s which included titrations and colorimetry, cooling curves and chromatography. I will
then be reflecting on my personal strengths and weaknesses, suggesting potential areas of improvement
in order to maintain competency, and will be evaluating these skills in relation to how they can be used
for future careers and progression.
The skills that I have developed over the course of this unit during the practicals will help me immensely
when it comes to university. As I aspire to study pharmacy in the future, these key practical skills have
given me greater confidence and independence when it comes to doing practical work. Overall, this unit
required me to apply prior knowledge, such as health and safety whilst carrying out these experiments.
Some of the health and safety procedures I had followed throughout all practicals to ensure I was
working safely includes, wearing goggles at all times especially when being exposed to hazardous and
harmful substances, trying my hair back and keeping food and drink out of the lab to prevent cross
contamination. There were however, still various skills in which I had to research in order to gain
knowledge upon allowing me to perform the experiments independently, confidently, and accurately.
Some of the main personal skills I had developed was communication which was essential whilst
working with my class peers and teachers in order to ensure that the experiment was carried out in an
appropriate manner and correct findings were obtained. Communication was key to ensuring any issues
that arise during the practical’s could easily be resolved. Observation was also another key skill that I
had developed. This was because I was able to observe my teacher demonstrating how to carry out the
practical which was beneficial as there were pieces of equipment that I had never seen before and as a
result, I was unaware of their use prior to carrying out these practical’s.
A lot of the practical skills I had learnt throughout the course of this unit can also be transferred and
used in future units. This includes knowing how to use pieces of equipment, identifying the strengths
and weaknesses of the methods involved, understanding the risks and hazards involved and data
collection and analysis.
Before this unit, I had a limited set of skills that I was able to carry out accurately and independently.
These skills included, measuring temperature with a thermometer, measuring distances with a ruler,
and measuring the mass of substances using a balance.
, After successfully completing this unit, I was able to gain a vast array of practical skills to include, the
calibration of various pieces of equipment such as balances, pH meters, pipettes, and thermometers,
identifying titration endpoint using coloured indicators, calculating the Rf of different components, using
fume cupboards safely, understanding the importance of rinsing lab apparatus, drawing and interpreting
cooling corves and drawing tangents in order to determine the rate of change.
Talking to my teachers about the experiments and receiving feedback allowed me to develop and
improve on several practical skills. An example of this would be when carrying out the titration practical,
I found it very difficult to use the burette tap to open it slowly whilst trying to identify a colour change
however, I discussed this issue with my teacher, and she had guided me with a technique to control the
speed of the tap which helped me to obtain accurate results. Another issue that I had faced throughout
the unit that communication was able to resolve was being able to catch up on missed practical in order
to obtain a reliable set of results to help me draw precise conclusions in my assignment. Throughout the
unit, there were a few practicals I was unable to attend which meant I had missed results and was
therefore unable to make any comments on certain practicals. By communicating this issue with my
teacher, we were able to work out a time we’re I could come and complete the practicals I had missed
allowing me to collect my own set of reliable results that I could then use as part of my assignment. Had
I not have communicated this issue with my teacher, I would have been unable to complete my
assignment to its fullest as it would have undoubtedly been incomplete due to these absences.
Communicating thoroughly with my peers also, to both receive and provide feedback to one another
helped to develop our competence even further as it allowed us to identify potential areas for further
improvement that we could have been unaware of had we have not communicated our personal
thoughts to one another. For example, one of my peers was struggling to obtain results during the
calorimetry practical as she was unsure on how to correctly create serial dilutions. I then provided her
with some feedback in order to help her obtain correct results. Being able to teach others the skills I
used in order to help them also helped me to develop my competence as a result. One step I will take to
further improve on this area in the future is by communicating with school’s lab technician for guidance
on techniques that would make it easier for me to work with lab equipment such as a burette tap to
help me successfully obtain accurate results. Being able to ask someone who has experience in the field
is the best way in helping me to improve my competence and technique as they will have the best
advice and tactics due to being exposed in the field for some time.
Skills developed during titrations and colorimetry practical’s-
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