Natural Sciences

This module will give you a broad foundation in experimental science, through laboratory sessions, which you will build upon in Stage 2 and your research project in subsequent years. The laboratory sessions are compulsory and consist of core experiments designed to complement and support the biology, chemistry and physics taught in the first year.

It will also help you to develop transferable skills, such as report writing, which are essential to all scientists.

This is a compulsory module for students on the BSc/MSci Natural Sciences and should be taken in parallel with NSC1002 Mathematics and Computer Science: Integrative Tools for Natural Sciences, NSC1003 Foundations in Natural Science and NSC1005 Frontiers in Science 1.

The aims of this module are to give you a foundation in the key experimental skills required to become a successful scientist and to help you learn how to apply the experimental method, developing your ability to make reliable measurements and reporting them in an effective and ethical manner.

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge

The module will begin with three introduction lectures on topics such as error analysis and report writing.

The laboratory sessions consist of core experiments designed to complement and support the biology, chemistry and physics taught in the first year. There will be six sessions for biology, six for physics, and five for chemistry. Each session will run for approximately three hours and there will be laboratory sessions most weeks during term time.

Deferral – if you have been deferred for any assessment, you will be expected to complete relevant deferred assessments as determined by the Natural Sciences Mitigation Committee. If there are valid reasons why you cannot submit one or more of the original summative assessments, your assessment mark may be set aside or substituted by proxy mark as agreed by the Mitigation Committee and as described in the Mitigation section of the Assessment Handbook. The mark given for re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a replacement laboratory report as determined by the Natural Sciences Board of Examiners. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of referral will be capped at 40%.

Basic reading:

Michael P. Marder (2011) Research Methods for Science, Cambridge University Press

ELE: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4504

Web based and Electronic Resources:

Other Resources:

Reading list for this module: