[NUS Module Review] CM3242: Instrumental Analysis II

(INTRODUCTION)

This is by far one of the most popular modules when it comes to CM3000 modules. This is because this module can unlock many other future modules like Trace Analysis and some people do deem it as a module that can be useful for future internships/jobs, which I do agree that this module helps a lot. But the reason I took this module is for none of these reasons simply because I know what I wanna be when I graduate and it probably does not require the use of any of this knowledge. Instead, I took this module because I'm somewhat interested in how the machines actually work; little did I know that electrochemistry would be part of this. Ugh. And little did I know too that this module would be so useful for CM3292. So let's get started!

(LECTURERS)

The lecturers were A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan and Dr Linda Sellou. A/P Chuah will cover the first part of the module, talking about things like HPLC and GC. Dr Sellou will cover all of electrochemistry. In terms of teaching style, both are relatively similar; both will fill their slides with all the things you would need to know and you wouldn't need to copy much other than the usual calculations answers. And pretty much, both lecturers tend to read off from the slides too. Most people will tend to prefer Dr Sellou over A/P Chuah lectures, but I feel the opposite. Dr Sellou just left me confused most of the time (Sorry! I really don't get electrochemistry) while A/P Chuah just made me feel tired due to the huge amount of content being taught. 

(EXPANSION OF TOPICS COVERED)

The topics covered include:

• Extraction (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Introduction to Analytical Separation (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Gas Chromatography (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• High Performance Liquid Chromatography (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Other Liquid Chromatography (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Electrophoretic Separation (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Thermal Methods (A/P Chuah Gaik Khuan)
• Electrochemistry Fundamentals (Dr Sellou Linda)
• Potentiometry (Dr Sellou Linda)
• Coulometry (Dr Sellou Linda)
• Voltammetry (Dr Sellou Linda)

So as you can easily see, A/P Chuah has more chapters and more content to cover. And given that she is given almost the same amount of duration to teach, you can imagine the amount of content A/P Chuah has to run through every single lesson. Dr Sellou's part is pretty short and so she will take her time to finish teaching. Concurrently, Dr Sellou will also teach a new coding language "R" to us as side information that will not be tested. Here is a breakdown of what you will be taught:

• Extraction - Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE), LLE involving acid-base and metal ion, Solid-liquid extraction, Solid-phase extraction, Solid-phase microextraction, Supercritical fluid extraction and Microwave-assisted extraction
• Introduction to Analytical Separation - Flow rates, column efficiency, resolution and van Deemter's equation
• Gas Chromatography - Carrier gas system, different type of columns, split and splitless injection and detectors
• HPLC - Type of columns, normal/reverse phase, pumping systems, detectors and mass spectrometry
• Other liquid chromatography - HILIC, Liquid-solid chromatography, Ion-pair chromatography, Gel/Size-exclusion chromatography and Supercritical fluid chromatography
• Electrophoretic Separations - Electrophoretic mobility, electroosmotic flow, factors affecting the separation, injection methods, separating neutral molecules and alternatives to the separation
• Thermal Methods - Thermogravimetric analysis, Differential thermal analysis and Differential scanning calorimetry
• Electrochemistry Fundamentals - Basic electrochemistry and the five conditions needed
• Potentiometry - Junction potentials, reference electrodes, indicator electrodes, membrane electrodes, glass ion-selective electrodes, solid/liquid based ion-selective electrodes and its applications. 
• Coulometry - Overpotential, ohmic potential, concentration polarisation, controlled potential and current effects and applications
• Voltammetry - Mercury electrodes, Faradaic, anodic and cathodic current, mass transport, electron transfer kinetics, non-faradaic, residual current, Voltammetry and polarography

So it may seem like a handful from what I've ritten, but fret not because it's actually pretty manageable. And I say this because the depth of the tests and exams were not that deep, especially for the first seven chapters. So the first seven chapters can be considered to be touch-and-go topics if you know what I mean.

(PASSING THE ASSESSMENT)

The grading for the assessments in this module are as follows:

• CA1 (Test) - 15%
• Weekly Assignments - 5%
• CA2 (Project and Individual Assignment) - 20%
• Finals - 60%

So as you can see, the main crust of the rubrics falls towards the final grading of 60%. The weekly assignments and the CA2 are pretty much doable for everyone so CA1 and finals will be the ones that will test you. Nonetheless, they are doable. Weekly assignments will only cover chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4. CA1 will cover chapters 1 to 3 and CA2 mainly focuses on answering a few questions with regard to a research paper, as well as a project based on an experiment that you will have to do on one of the weeks. Finals will cover everything.

(Schedule)

The schedule for this module is pretty much the same as most non-lab modules; two two-hour lectures a week and one one-hour tutorials. Most students demanded for webcast when there wasn't supposed to be one in the first place. So you're technically in luck since you're gonna enjoy the benefits of most of our batch whining to get the webcast going on. Not that I actually use it a lot though, so it's meh to me. 

Dr Sellou will allocate some lecture slots to teach the R language for coding. This is entirely optional so if you don't like coding, you don't have to attend. It's not covered in the finals anyways. 

(EXPERIENCE AND FINAL GRADING)

So I was pretty shook when I saw the notes in the first chapter; all words that seem so alien to me. And yes, looking back, I think that those words still seem alien that could have been phrased better. Yet, after running through the lectures, it was actually pretty easy. Other than the fact that A/P Chuah lectures just... makes me... feel like...... this..., it was still understandable when you force yourself to sit back and actually read through the notes again and again. Chapters 1 to 4 were pretty easy, so nothing much to comment there. However, things began to get tricky from chapter five onward, because this was when you would have tests and VIVA going on, so it's a bit hard to juggle those and study the chapters at the same time.

And speaking of VIVA, if you have read the module review on CM3292, you would have noticed how I kept on saying that this module would certainly help you in CM3292. And it did. Using the knowledge from chapters one, two, three, four and six, most of the analytical part of CM3292 can be well understood. Plus, it gives you an advantage of being able to say more during VIVA as well.

Anyways, back to the main story. So CA1 decided to focus mainly on chapters one to three. The concepts tested were fairly easy. Lots of calculations from chapter one came out, while things like injection methods, detectors, selectivity factors and the Van Deemter's equation all came out in the test. A/P Chuah somehow loves to test things that involve deriving the final equations from the very beginning. So remembering formulas could come in handy, but being able to reproduce is given different scenarios is something that she loves to see her students do. The bell-curve was high on this one because of how easy the test was. 

I left out studying chapter five and seven till the week before finals. And before we know it, Dr Sellou's part came. She dropped a bombshell with the fact that there will be a lab that we need to form groups of three and conduct the experiment for an hour (as if our own labs weren't more than enough). And in addition to that, we are required to write a report and do a five minute video on it. Individual (or technically a group) assignment involving a research paper would also require us to read and answer several rather difficult questions. This will span approximately three to four weeks, so you do have ample time to accomplish this while the main content continue to wreck you silly. 

Dr Sellou's part was no easy feat. I struggled a lot in this not so much because... she talks... like...... this, but rather the content and ways of teaching felt very very choppy. It almost feels that whatever I was learning was incoherent and disjointed. Electrochemistry was already difficult enough, but coupled with this just makes it even worse. And I'm sure most people felt the same. You can never see the links between them until you truly sit down for a few hours to know what you are even learning in the first place. And even so, you would probably not know what you're even doing or learning. Surprisingly, many people knew how to do the tutorials. And yASSSS, yours truly didn't know how to even start. All I did was pretty much stare at other people's answer on the board to know what the question was asking about. 

So during the break before the exams, I had to chiong study chapter five and seven, and all of Dr Sellou's part. The rest was already somewhat committed to memory and just required a little refreshing. I was so worried at not being able to finish studying everything because chapter five and seven were difficult to remember la sia. But I still made it with two days left before the finals. I did all three of Dr Sellou's tutorials and redid them because I got most wrong the first time. And while most of them used the textbook to find more practices for Electrochemistry, I just didn't want to because I had planned to put all my chips in A/P Chuah's part and hope and pray for the best in Dr Sellou's part.

And when the finals came, I was really happy that I did what I did. Putting all my faith in A/P Chuah's part was the best thing I could've done in this module. I found her part very manageable. Like I said; a lot of touch and go topics. Apart from one calculation question which got me like "what the freak was that?", the rest was a breeze. Then comes Dr Sellou's part and all, and I do mean, all of her questions were similar to the tutorials. Although that didn't mean that it was any easier, but it was still a good sign that I still had a chance to answer at least part of it and hopefully get some method marks for it. When I came out, I've heard a lot of people either not being able to answer some of A/P Chuah's part or had spent so much time for A/P Chuah's part that they didn't have time to do much for Dr Sellou's part. So I guess putting all my effort on A/P Chuah's part could give me leverage on any errors I made in Dr Sellou's part. 

(CONCLUSION AND TIPS)

So that is that for this module review. I feel that this module is useful for future internship, module readings and even FYPs. But you should be well prepared for a content heavy module with lots of memorization. I would recommend this module in general and a module that you should take if you're not looking to specialize in other areas. Start preparing for this module from the get-go and not wait till the last minute before starting. 

Ratings out of 5⭐:

• Should you take this module - If you're looking to intern in an analytical lab, this would be useful. Try not to take this module if you have other content demanding modules to take. 
• Degree of Difficulty - ⭐⭐⭐
• Effort Required - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Timetable Impact - ⭐⭐⭐

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