MChem Chemistry

The course is delivered in a way which allows students to regularly receive feedback on their work through a variety of teaching activities. This is achieved through i) a significant amount of content being delivered as worked problems and discussions in lecture, and ii) through provision of workshops. These sessions allow for provision of formative feedback through material which is designed to help guide students in their own conceptualization and approach to solving problems.

Workshops and Lecture Discussions

These offer opportunities for both facilitator and peer feedback by:

Providing opportunities for students to work with and master concepts introduced in lectures, and apply these concepts to unseen material.

Encouraging development of thinking skills (with a focus on critical thinking, analysis, evaluation and application, rather than simple reproduction of knowledge/process)

The unit aims to provide:

An understanding of the nature and properties of the atomic nucleus, and of the phenomena associated with radioactivity (The Atomic Nucleus)

An explanation of the origins of the elements and their abundances, including the physical mechanisms and the relationships to the life cycles of stars (Origin of the Elements)

An understanding of criticality and the principles of nuclear fission power (Nuclear Power and Criticality)

An understanding of nuclear fission in decarbonisation and Net Zero, including the roles of nuclear electricity and nuclear heat in a changing energy mix (Nuclear Energy in Net Zero)

On the successful completion of the course, students will be able to: Developed Assessed

ILO 1 Apply their knowledge of nuclear processes and phenomena to interpret the abundance and distribution of the elements 

ILO 2 Understand how nuclear processes and phenomena underpin nuclear technologies 

ILO 3 Evaluate the benefits and disbenefits of different nuclear fission technologies 

ILO 4 Analyse the utility of different nuclear fission technologies in decarbonisation