Overview
CHEM 495 and CHEM 496 are based on contracted study arrangements between you and your project supervisor. You will improve your skills in choosing and defining problems, obtaining information from libraries or experiments, organizing facts and ideas, and reporting ideas and conclusions in written form.
These courses are for students who wish to carry out science-related projects in chemistry or obtain formal recognition of science-related skills and training they have received on the job in fields such as agriculture, business, forestry, or industry. You may complete one three-credit project (CHEM 495) or two three-credit projects (CHEM 495 and CHEM 496).
The courses may involve library, field, or laboratory work as agreed to by the student and the supervisor. You are expected to obtain and pay for all materials used in the projects. Before registering, you must submit an acceptable project proposal.
Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to
- search, critically evaluate, and summarize the primary chemistry literature relevant to a given research question.
- develop and perform experiments to test and refine hypotheses based on data.
- analyze and interpret data in order to draw conclusions.
- communicate original research findings in a variety of scientific formats.
Evaluation
To receive credit for CHEM 495 and CHEM 496, you must complete successfully written reports and other prepared materials based on guidelines derived from the learning contract, receiving a course composite grade of at least D (50%). Typically, the evaluation is based on your project supervisor's assessment of you as a student and on your instructor's assessment of your written thesis. These courses are excluded from the challenge-for-credit policy.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
This course either does not have a course package or the textbooks are open-source material and available to students at no cost. This course has a Course Administration and Technology Fee, but students are not charged the Course Materials Fee.