CM2062 CHEMISTRY & BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY 2 (3.0 AU)

Taken in: AY 19/20 Sem 2
Grade: A

Lab Reports (80%): Grade A for all
Term Paper (20%)

From what I understand, the format for this module was supposed to be 9 lab reports with 1 presentation. Out of the 9 lab reports, 5 were proformas, while 4 required full reports from scratch. You would receive a grade A to E for them, they no longer mark it such that they would deduct marks for your wrong answers. As such, you would not know if you had a high or low A compared to your peers. Everyone I knew had grade A for all their lab reports/proformas.

The experiments were quite straightforward, make sure you read the lab manual, understand the concepts behind how the instruments work and follow the instructions from the TA. Try to visualise what you would do in the lab to minimize errors and time wastage. All experiments would require you to work in groups of 3-4 people, but the lab reports/proformas are individual work. Most labs end early!! The longest lab would end at about 2pm, while the shortest lab only took an hour hahah. What was super time-consuming are the lab reports… I spent about 6-7 hours spread out on several days to complete 1 lab report. What I would do before lab: read lab manual, answer any pre-lab questions and see if I can complete the introduction and post-lab questions part of my lab report leaving only the data collection and analysis part blank. What I would do after lab: finish up whatever was empty and proofread the whole report. Also, there are now 3 pre-lab risk assessment (RA) and 3 post-lab RA, you have got to crack your brain for the post-lab RA hahah.

Due to Covid-19, some of the experiments became virtual experiments where we will be provided with the data but still required to do full lab reports. The presentation and finals became a 20% term paper, where we had to choose any instrument used within or out of 2062 lab and write about how it works, what it does and why it is essential, etc. We had to look for information from research papers online ourselves from places like SciFinder, WebOfScience, etc. The most work I have ever need to do just for 20% wow but I guess my hard work paid off.

P.S. Have fun in this lab, it is nothing like 2061 which was really such a nightmare 😐 Also, just want to add that I am really proud of my term paper hehe ✌🏻 Oh one more thing, they will probably upload the lab manual early. Since there is usually no lab in week 1, use that time to read through and do all the pre-lab questions (either write it down or type it in your computer) for the respective experiments, it would save you time when the semester starts proper lol that’s what I did. So to prep before each lab, you would just need to read through the experiment (for the second time so it is easier), and do as much of the lab report/pro forma as you can.

This review was reposted with the kind permission of Awesome NTU CBC Student. Originally published at https://awesomentucbcstudent.blogspot.com/2020/07/ay1920-y2s2-review.html

Taken in AY 20/21 Sem 2
COVID restrictions so only 3/9 labs are physical, makes you wonder why you pay sch fees to learn how to press numbers into excel/origin/python.
Experiments are done in a group of 4s or pairs, unlike CM2061. There is a lab presentation portion at the end where you will present on your last experiment. There less time for you to present, more given for the QnA where you get asked around 8-10 questions, so expect to know your stuff (then again it’s biased on the TA who is grading; had a friend who didn’t prep much get an A and another friend who read extra research papers on their topic get a B, which is an issue with all labs but just how it is).
Finals is largely MCQs with a lot of calculator pressing: no formula sheet provided, and is quite a rush to finish. You should know how to conduct each experiment and get and interpret the results/graphs by hand as well as troubleshoot. The short answer questions test a lot on understanding and underlying theory, and you need to know the reasoning behind every experiment. One good way is to check with your friends what questions they were grilled on during their presentation (cos everyone do different one) and test yourself from there.

Year Taken: AY 17/18, Sem 2

Labs (50%)
Final exam (50%)

This semester’s labs were mostly group work, and we usually ended early yay. But I still did badly for lab reports, mainly because I did them only a day before submission. Most people got As for their lab reports but I got a wide variety of grades for them HAHA. So don’t ask me for lab reports.

Here are some differences between CM2061 and CM2062
– we had to buy and use a lab notebook
– 6 precautions instead of 3
– pre-labs were not checked at the beginning of each lab

For the final exam, there were around 35 MCQs(?) and some short answer questions. Some MCQs required us to plot graph and do lots of calculations so don’t underestimate them. We had to really understand the formulas given in the lab manual to do the questions. Some questions are tricky so it would be good to take note of the units given in the questions.

This review was reposted with the kind permission of Hairdryer. Originally published at https://ionhairdryer.blogspot.com/2018/06/ay1718-ntu-spms-cbc-y2s2.html