BS00910 - LABORATORY TECHNIQUES

Module Identifier

BS00910

Module Title

LABORATORY TECHNIQUES

Academic Year

2007/2008

Co-ordinator

Dr John Scullion

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Dr Christopher L Davey

Course delivery

Practical

6 x 3h practical classes

Lecture

1 x 2h lecture

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Laboratory practical reports	100%
Supplementary Assessment	resubmit laboratory practical reports	100%

Learning outcomes

At the end of the module students will be able to:

demonstrate an awareness of relevant Health & Safety issues

undertake a range of standard analytical procedures to acceptable standards of accuracy and precision

convert primary analytical readings to obtain experimental data

produce experimental reports to a required format.

Aims

The module aims to introduce students to the basic principles and practice of laboratory based analyses. It is also designed to complement and underpin other modules in level 0 of the Life Sciences degree scheme. Emphasis is given to training in basic laboratory skills, to developing an understanding of factors affecting the quality of analytical data and to building confidence in manipulating these data.

Content

The course consists of integrated workshop and practical sessions covering several basic laboratory procedures that are relevant to other level 0 modules. It commences with a consideration of laboratory safety issues and the principles underlying laboratory analyses. An initial laboratory class then introduces students to issues of accuracy and precision using volumetric analyses to illustrate these points. Practical classes will then continue covering aspects of solution preparation and titration, instrument calibration and the basis of spectroscopic analysis, and light microscopy. After the initial introductory classes, students will be expected to produce experimental reports; they will be tutored in the content and format of these reports.

Reading Lists

Books
** General Text
(2003.) Practical skills in biomolecular sciences /Rob Reed ... [et al.]. 0130451428
** Recommended Text
Duck, R., Jones, R., & Weyers, J. (2003) Practical Skills in Environmental Sciences 2nd. Pearson
Jones, A., Reed, R. & Weyers, J. (2003) Practical Skills in Biology 2nd. Pearson

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 3