SUPPORT AND ASSESSMENT OF LABORATORY WORK IN CHEMISTRY
Paul C Yates
School of Chemistry and Physics, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University
E-mail: p.c.yates@chem.keele.ac.uk
Final Report
The experiment selected for simulation was one on “partial molar volumes”.
This was deemed to be appropriate because
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it was no longer offered as a laboratory experiment due to time pressure.
the techniques required were all covered elsewhere in the practical course.
most of the measurements required involved digital displays which could
easily be represented on the computer.
The computer materials were assembled in two parts. The first consisted of a
version of the laboratory manual with appropriate hypertext links to guide students.
The second involved displays of the experimental apparatus with appropriate displays
for the student to read. These were obtained using a digital camera, and appropriate
adjustments made to the apparatus to give required predicted readings. In order to
minimise plagiarism multiple copies of a reading were provided, having similar but
not identical values. This required a total of 135 images to be provided.
Although the materials were intended primarily for reassessment of practical
work, the opportunity arose for them to be tested on a wider range of students. Due to
laboratory refurbishment there was a need for a non-practical exercise to run in the
spring semester in 2001. This allowed a wider range of feedback to be collected. This
was generally positive and showed that students
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felt that they would gain little additional benefit from actually performing this
experiment.
liked the fact that assessment did not depend on the quality of their
experimental results.
liked the mechanisms built into the simulation to avoid plagiarism.
Subsequently the materials have been used in the reassessment process for the
appropriate module. This applied to three students in the 2001-2002 academic year,
all of whom completed the exercise successfully. Students were urged to contact
myself by e-mail if they had any difficulty accessing the material, and one student did
so.
In conclusion, use of this material in reassessment does work within the
standard Keele examinations framework. It provides a far more challenging
experience to the students than simply writing up a practical experiment using
someone else’s results.
A poster describing this project has been accepted for inclusion at the
Seventeenth Biennial Conference in Chemical Education at Western Washington
University, USA and will be presented on 29th July.