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Essay Unit 2 - Practical Scientific Procedures and Techniques
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This assignment is about the overall reflection of the experiments in PSPT.
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Unit 2: Practical scientific procedures techniques: How am I doing?Charley McClellan
How am I doing?
Titrations
During my 1st year I have learnt a lot of different skills in my practical lessons whilst
carrying out experiments. Before doing this course, I had never carried out titrations
nor used a colorimeter machine. Therefore, these were new skills that I had
developed.
I have been able to effectively reference my work and in cases where my plagiarism
is too high I sometimes struggle to reword and Nikki one my lecturers will have to
help me with this. I have also learnt how to evaluate scientific procedures in depth.
For example, peer review, conclusions, evaluations and improvements. (This is
clearly shown in my grades of getting distinctions.)
When we started doing titration in chemistry for the PSPT unit, my partner and I
struggled to get concordant titres. However, as the unit went one we were able to
improve which enabled our results to become more accurate. I am also able to draw
graphs very well and be able to plot a good line of best fit and in graphs where
needed I am able to calculate an r2 value to show how precise my results are. (This
is shown in my Chemistry: Learning Aim A.) Drawing graphs will be a transferable
skill as I will be able to use this in different upcoming units and in my future career.
During unit 2 assignment, Learning aim A (Titration) there were many new skills that
I hadn't learnt from high school or even skills that I was meant to have been taught
but hadn't due to covid.
For example, I had never calibrated equipment before and so this was a new skill
that I had gained. Another skill I have learnt is weighing products to the full gram
which took a lot of practice and patience. I had to weigh sodium carbonate out using
a balance, which was difficult to do as this was in a powder form. I overcame this
issue with my partner by using a spatula to get the desired mass. Again, like graphs
this skill is very helpful and will be transferable for further experiments in 2nd year
and even in my future career.
One last skill that I improved on was being able to use a graduated pipette to carry
out titration. Originally, my partner and I was getting a lot of air in instead of air
bubbles. Over the time of doing titrations, we both improved dramatically being able
to take precise and accurate measurements using the pipette. In addition, using the
, bulb to transfer certain volumes of liquid was a challenge however after practice this
got a lot easier.
I worked towards the standards and protocols by learning the purpose/function of
apparatus. When knowing how apparatus works, I achieved accurate results safely.
For instance, when I handled corrosive substances such as hydrochloric acid, I had
to know what hazards were present with this in order to know what correct PPE I
should be wearing , i.e. gloves and goggles as well as a lab coat.
During titration, I applied safe working practices to keep myself and my peers safe.
For example during this experiment I accidentally spilled hydrochloric acid on the
bench and so had to wipe this up to prevent the hazard. This is a serious hazard and
if it isn't dealt with properly could potentially irritate the skin and eyes. Clearing up
this hazard meant that I can follow health and safety legislations during the lab.
I believe I was fully responsible for my work when conducting the titration
experiment. For example, I developed my ability to learn the methods by engaging
myself. I was able to apply my knowledge of titration practically in the experiment
after reading this further reading. I poured the solution above the 25cm*3 mark by
mistake. By using a pipette to remove the excess, I corrected my mistake.
I took responsibility for completing tasks and procedures in the set time given. I did
this due to our lecturer giving us the full method explained step by step which helped
us understand what to expect and what the desired outcome of the experiment was.
In this practical, due to working in partners, we both shared the responsibility of
knowing what to do in order to carry out the experiment.
It was essential that we each had to know our roles within this experiment and know
how much time we had to carry out the experiment. Teamwork proved to be
beneficial for the titration practical and resulted in reliable results.
During this experiment, I worked with a peer. When looking back at my
communication and cooperation skills, I think that we both did well working in pairs
and that I was able to communicate clearly when we were discussing who was going
to get what equipment and chemicals. In addition, when I needed help and wasn’t
sure what to do I was able to ask my partner and give them positive feedback and
negative feedback on what they needed to work on. Overall, I think my
communication and cooperation was good.
My partner, Tilly, was able to give me beneficial constructive feedback each time we
did titrations which helped me improve each time. One piece of feedback I was given
was when opening the tap on the burette to do it slowly and be observant when
looking for a colour change so we get accurate and precise results. Overall, my peer
thought my performance in the experiment was good because I was helpful.
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