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BTEC Applied Science, Unit 2, Assignment 4, How am I doing?
- Module
- BTEC Applied Science
- Institution
- BTEC Applied Science
This gave me a distinction and is the overview of all your experiments carried out in unit 2
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Assignment 4- How am I doingIntroduction
Within Unit 2, I have undertaken many scientific practical investigations. This report evaluates my
personal performance and skill level employed in these practical and investigations. The results gathered
were supported by feedback gathered from peers, an assessor and an external perspective. The external
perspective being an assessor who had an outsized range of information and skill gained from
working within a laboratory. In studying practical scientific procedures and techniques, I investigated
colorimetry, titrations, calorimetry and chromatography techniques. These investigations all developed
my knowledge of non-public and practical laboratory skills. After the practical’s were all complete, I
began to look back and evaluate my performances and also the skills I have developed. I realised
that I've gained several useful new skills and have improved my practical techniques significantly. These
skills will assist me within the successful completion of other units of this course.
Colorimetry:
New skills learned
Within this assignment I have learnt how to calibrate a digital colorimeter. This is a skill which is quite
basic but can be used in other topics within chemistry. I have educated myself on the Beer Lambert Law
which helped me to decide which wavelength to choose and how to select the specific wavelength on
the colorimeter. Also, I now know to make up serial dilutions from copper sulphate
How did I accept responsibility for the quality of my work?
By completing my work individually, I was able to take all responsibility for the quality of my work. I
know that my work hasn’t been interfered with by any other students as I stood at my desk at all times
when carrying out the practical. I also was able to draw up a graph showing the level of absorbance for
each dilution and from that was able to detect the level of concentration within the unknown
substances.
How did I communicate and co-operate with my peers?
Communication was good between me and my peers. When discussing our results, we were able to
both make the decision on if we had any anomalies or similarities between our results.
Strengths?
I was able to use the colorimeter correctly and use it to find out the level of absorbance. I know that my
recordings were correct as I compared them to my classmates and they either matched or were 0.1
away from each other, meaning the results were accurate. I was able to form a graph in which I could
detect unknown concentration levels absorbance and I also know these were accurate as they also
matched with my peers.
Weaknesses?
In this practical I was limited on time, this meant I wasn’t able to carry out several attempts of the
colorimetry, because of this I wasn’t able to find an average answer for each dilution and couldn’t point
out any anomalies. Even though I did compare my results to classmates, it could be argued that there
still may be inaccuracies between our results because each students copper sulphate dilution could be
slightly different for each person.
What will I do differently next time?
In my spare time I would ask to use the lab under supervision to carry out more attempts at the practical
to be able to get more results.
, Assignment 4- How am I doing
How did I follow health and safety regulations?
All safety measures were took into account and obeyed to. This included the risk of glassware,
electrocution and the chemical copper sulphate. I ensured all glass equipment were placed into the
middle of the table to avoid it falling off the edge and smashing and if it were to smash, I knew to
dispose of it correctly into the glass bin. To prevent electrocution, I ensured the colorimeter was dry
before use and if any chemicals spilled on it, I knocked the colorimeter off and wiped it over. By wearing
goggles, I reduced the risk of copper sulphate going in my eyes and after handling it I would wash my
hands.
How could I transfer the skills I had learned while carrying out my practical work into other areas of
my current/ future studies and work?
Following a set of instructions well is a transferable skill. Also being able to use different types of
thermometer is a transferrable skill I can use in the future for everyday life such as reading weather
temperatures or using a digital thermometer to take a child’s body temperature when ill.
Chromatography:
New skills I have learned
In this practical investigation, it required me to carry out 2 differing variations of chromatography
techniques, including paper and thin layer (TLC). This developed my skills needed in order to carry out
chromatographic techniques as prior to this assignment I only knew how to perform paper
chromatography using a teat pipette which doesn’t give very accurate Rf value results as the dots of
pigment are too large. Another skill I have learnt is how to correctly use a pestle and mortar in order to
grind up the plant pigment, so it was fine enough to dissolve when mixed with the solvent. Also, in
relation to development of my personal skills, I learnt how to extract plant pigments and amino acids,
and this led to me being able to carry out paper chromatography and TLC for both extractions. When
performing my plant- based separations, I used different types of solvents which were, propanone,
water and 9:1 (petroleum ether: propanone). By managing to complete chromatograms for plant
pigments and amino acids, I was able to work out the Rf values of these which is a new skill I have learnt.
Furthermore, I now know ways in which I can manifest my practical’s in order to gain the most accurate
results. An example of this is when letting the solution run up the paper in the boiling tube, don’t let the
paper touch the sides of the tube so that the pigment runs straight up the middle of the paper or TLC.
Another example is for paper chromatograms, before dotting the pigment on the paper I used scissors
to straighten the paper in order to allow the pigment to run straight up the middle in order to improve
accuracy of Rf values.
How did I accept responsibility for the quality of my work?
In this assignment I have accepted responsibility for my own work by making sure I watched everything
that was done. I watched and listened to the teacher’s instructions carefully so that I was able to follow
these instructions well and be able to carry out the practical to a high standard. In my first set of plant
pigment chromatograms, I wasn’t happy with the first set of results which were from turmeric. I wasn’t
able to identify any separations in order to work out Rf values, so I took it upon myself to change the
pigment to paprika so that I was able to get a better set of results and have clearly identified
separations. As I repeated this set of work, I personally feel that I gained a well valued set of data and
results that I could work with and the second set were to a higher degree of accuracy. I developed my
independence skills in repeating the procedure and used my own judgement to see whether I was happy
with the results obtained. I ensured no one touched my work and everything carried out was by me. I
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