CIT Assignment 2015

The CIT assignment is an exercise which is designed to help you gain experience in gathering information on a given molecule. This is something which you will need to be able to do in order to do well in coursework while studying Chemistry, and in a wider context, is a skill which will be invaluable to you should you decide to take up a career in research.

There is no 'start time' for this assignment, but you must submit your report by the deadline given on Blackboard for your lab group.

Submission

Please submit your assignment through Blackboard, within the 1st Year Chemistry Laboratories module. Select "CIT Chemical Information Technology" and you will be presented with your submission folder at the bottom of the page provided you are submitting on time.

Assignments cannot be submitted by email - by submitting online you can prove you have submitted it on time and that the marker has received it!

Details of the assignment

Your task is to produce a brief report (700-1000 words) on a given molecule (no more than two sides A4), finding relevant information including its physical data, a route to synthesise the molecule, and one reaction of importance for this molecule. All information should be appropriately cited from a creditable primary or secondary resource. You will most likely turn up a wealth of information on most of the molecules shown below; part of the task is deciding what is relevant information.

Structure of report

Your report should include an introduction to the molecule of interest, explaining why it is of interest. Further discussion should go into its further reactions and explaining (simply) how it does its job, particularly if the molecule has application in biology. A synthetic route for making the molecule should include a brief discussion on the starting materials, where they are sourced (if they are natural products etc.). Any schemes should be large enough to be readable.

Physical data should be relevant to the introduction, going some way towards backing up the statement of 'interest' made in the introduction - you should not simply list the information - this will not add anything to your discussion.

Above all, your report should be engaging and interesting to read; you should be writing in language intended for a general chemistry audience, rather than a technical discussion on the preparation of the molecule.

The total text content should be between 700-1000 words (not including citations or figure captions), and the report as a whole should not exceed 2 pages.

A Book You Might Find Useful...

Study and Communication Skills for the Chemical Sciences, Overton, Johnson and Scott - Oxford University Press, 2011.

The whole book is useful, but for this assignment, particularly chapters 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 which relate to the finding of information, writing essays and preparing reports.

Publisher's price is £20.99, you may be able to do better online. Or check in the Library (bear in mind though that there are 190 of you, and there probably won't be 190 copies in the library!)

List of molecules

Choose one of the following molecules on which to base your report. Be sure to study a different molecule from those around you - it would be awfully dull reading if everyone does the same molecule! Alternatively, if there is another molecule which is of interest to you, please feel free to add it to this list and submit a report on that.

Thyroxine
Quinine
Ramipril
Acetyl salicylic acid
Minoxidil
Riboflavin
Aspartame
Serotonin
Capsaicin
Ascorbic acid
Sodium laureth sulfate
Phenylalanine
Sorbitol
Methyl salicylate
Methylene blue
Warfarin
Trimethyl arsenic
DDT
zinc dithiophosphate
formic acid
Betamethasone
Carvone
Fullerenes
Adrenaline
Oxytocin
Sarin
Carbon nanotubes
Paracetamol
Luminol
Methamphetamine

Assessment criteria and Feedback

In this assignment, you will be formatively assessed on the clarity of your message, the chemistry content, your editorial skill, and your use of CIT resources. You are free to compile your report in whatever manner you see fit, and the absence of a framework for the report is intended to stimulate your creativity!

This assignment is a formative assignment; this means the assessment is not formal and does not contribute towards award of honours. It does mean that you will be given feedback which you should expect to use in the preparation of lab reports and other assignments.

Above all else, you must cite all your information sources, and all text must be written in your own words; any words which are not your own should be in quotation marks with appropriate citation.