Biological Physical Chemistry Laboratory

Code:

Q286

Acronym:

Q286

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Chemistry

Instance: 2011/2012 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Course/CS Responsible:	Bachelor in Biochemistry

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
L:BQ	61	Plano de Estudos a partir de 2007	2	-	5	-	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

Practical application of concepts teached in the discipline Biological Physical Chemistry (previous semester).
Application of various physical methods to the study of different reactions.
Learning/training in data processing, with recourse to Excell or similar programs. Learning/improving skills in presentation of scientific results and its discussion

Program

8 practical laborations

1. Conductimetric determination of cmc and ionization degree of an anionic surfactant; effect of ionic strength.

2. Influence of ionic strength on the activity of H+. Determination of activity coefficients.

3. Potentiometric titration of a solution of Glycine. Identification of pKa values by blockage of the amino group.

4. Determination of the ionization constant of benzoic acid in water and in water/ethanol solutions by use of pH measurements.

5. Determination of the isoelectric point of glycylglycine, using conductimetric and potentiometric measurements. Determination of ionic conductivities

6. Kinetic study of the hydrolysis of fumaric acid, catalyzed by fumarase, by UV spectrophotometry.

7. Application of conductimetric methods to the determination of the ionization constant of acetic acid.

8. Determination of activity coefficients ijn solutions of acetone and choloform.

Teaching methods and learning activities

Practical laborations and tutorials.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Eligibility for exams

To obtain eligibility the student needs to attend ¾ of the classes, and have a positive evaluation in 2/3 (6 out of 8) of the practical laborations + report (NTP  10).

Calculation formula of final grade

Due to its practical character, the discipline relies only on distributed assessment, and hás no exam in either the normal or the recurrent exam period.
There will be a grade attributed to each practical laboration, based on home preparation, practical performance and final written report. The final grade, NTP, will be the average of the obtained results.
As aditional evaluation element, each student having NTP≥ 10 will have an individual practical assessment, with a numerical grade (NAP), which can not be < 8 (out of 20).
The final grade is calculated as
NLAB = 0,50 x NTP + 0,50 x NAP
In order to pass, the following requirements have thus to be fulfilled:
1. NTP ≥ 10 (out of 20)
2. NAP ≥ 8 (out of 20)
3. NLAB ≥ 10 (out of 20)

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Working students that did not perform the minimum required laborations will have to do the Individual practical assessment. This also applies to students that failed too many classes but have obtained relief of absences, and in these cases

NLAB = NAP

Classification improvement

does no apply