Scientific Literacy

Introduction to units

1. Why units are important
   
2. What SI base units are
   

1. What the common metric prefixes are and how they relate to the base unit
   
2. What the difference is in powers of 10 between different metric prefixes
   
3. How to convert from small units to big units
   
4. How to convert from big units to small units
   
5. How to apply metric prefix conversions to calculations
   

Scientific numeracy

1. Define what is meant by accuracy and precision
   
2. Define scientific notation and how we represent numbers in this format
   
3. Define when it is appropriate to think in terms of decimal places and significant figures in a value
   

1. How to round a value to the requested decimal places or significant figures
   
2. How to calculate percentage and percentage change
   
3. How to write values as powers of 10
   
4. How to convert between metric prefixes and apply to calculations
   
5. How to determine the most suitable graph type for a given set of data
   
6. Define what should be plotted on each axes of a graph and how to select suitable ranges
   

1. How to identify the slope and intercept value from the trendline equation
   
2. How to rearrange the trendline equation to calculate the concentration of an unknown
   
3. How to determine the central tendencies and distribution for a set of data
   
4. How to identify outliers in a set of data
   
5. How to rearrange and solve the C1V1 = C2V2, pH and proton concentration and ideal gas law equations
   

Micropipetting

1. How to apply micropipetting skills and knowledge when identifying minimum, maximum and measured volumes using different types of micropipettes
   
2. How to differentiate what each number in the display dial represents
   
3. How to recognise appropriate actions in the case of the micropipette malfunctioning
   

1. How to convert volumes in millilitres to microlitres and vice versa
   

Moles and molarity

1. Define a mole
   
2. Define molarity
   

1. How to use the periodic table to identify the molar mass of a substance
   
2. How to calculate the number of moles from the mass and the molar mass
   
3. How to rearrange the moles equation to isolate and calculate mass or molar mass
   
4. Define molarity
   
5. How to calculate the number of moles from the concentration and volume
   
6. How to rearrange the moles equation to isolate and calculate concentration or volume
   

Single step dilutions

1. When to utilise dilutions
   

1. What the C1V1 = C2V2 equation can be used to calculate
   
2. How to rearrange the C1V1 = C2V2 equation to isolate each component
   
3. How to identify which concentration or volume component needs calculating and then perform the relevant calculation
   

Dilution factors

1. How to calculate dilution factors from concentration
   
2. How to calculate dilution factors from volume
   
3. How to calculate volumes and concentrations knowing dilution factor
   

1. How to identify givens and unknowns in scenario based practice
   

1. How to identify the appropriate algebraic rearrangement to solve for unknowns
   

Serial dilutions

1. Define what is meant by a serial dilution and 10-fold dilution
   

1. How to calculate the dilution factor when given the concentrations of solutions in the series
   
2. How to rearrange the dilution factor equation to calculate the successive concentrations in a serial dilution
   
3. How to rearrange the dilution factor equation to calculate the volume of solution and diluent required for each step in a dilution series
   

Calculating pH

1. How to calculate the pH from the proton concentration
   
2. How to calculate the proton concentration from the pH
   
3. Define the relationship between pH and proton concentration
   
4. How to determine the proton concentration of a strong acid
   
5. How to determine the hydroxide concentration of a strong base
   
6. How to calculate the proton concentration using the Kw equation
   
7. How to calculate the pH of a resulting solution from a neutralisation reaction
   

1. How to apply the pH equation to different situations
   

Acid base titration

1. How to use titration data
   

1. How to calculate the concentration of an analyte using titration data
   

Beer-Lambert equation

1. How to calculate the absorbance using the Beer-Lambert equation
   
2. How to convert between metric prefixes
   
3. How to rearrange the Beer-Lambert equation to isolate and calculate the concentration
   
4. How to rearrange the Beer-Lambert equation to isolate and calculate the absorption coefficient
   
5. How to calculate the absorbance using the light absorption ratio version of the Beer-Lambert equation
   
6. How to rearrange the Beer-Lambert equation to isolate and calculate the percentage light exiting a solution
   

1. When to apply the fundamentals of Beer's Law to various solution scenarios
   

Henderson-Hasselbach equation

1. How to calculate the pH of a solution using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
   
2. How to rearrange the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to isolate and calculate the pKa
   
3. How to rearrange the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation to isolate and calculate the conjugate base:acid ratio
   

1. How to use the Henderson-Hasselbach equation in different situations
   

Fundamental numeracy

1. Working familiarity with terms such as decimal places, significant figures, precision, powers of 10, normalised scientific notation, reference ranges and more
   
2. Applying this familiarity to answer a range of questions in biomedical contexts
   

1. Importance of portraying scientific values in different ways e.g to various precisions and in different notations
   
2. Converting values between different representational formats
   

1. Making use of numerical data and text information from a biomedical experimental scenario
   
2. Using the skills learned throughout the sheet to interpret and analyse this data
   

Units and unit conversions

1. How to convert values to scientific notation and select appropriate units
   
2. How to perform unit conversions within calculations involving concentration
   
3. How to calculate the concentration of a solution
   
4. How to calculate dimensions of microscopic objects
   

1. How to identify which of two solutions is more concentrated
   
2. How to describe to what extent a change in volume affects the concentration of a solution
   
3. How to describe the process of converting a concentration from mg/mL to g/L
   
4. How to identify the type of white blood cell based on its size
   

Scientific formulae

1. How to calculate centrifuge force based on radius and RPM
   
2. How to determine percentage of lymphocytes in a blood sample
   
3. How to calculate monocyte cell count based on percentage and total cell count
   
4. How to dilute solution volume from a stock solution
   
5. How to calculate number of moles in a mass of EDTA and molarity of an EDTA solution
   

1. How to identify the variable that needs to be isolated in a dilution calculation
   
2. How to apply the mathematical operation to rearrange equations to isolate a specific variable
   
3. How to identify constants in formulae
   

1. How to identify the likely type of a white blood cell based on its measured diameter
   

Data visualisation and graphing

1. Why appropriate graph types must be used for varying data types
   
2. How to identify presentation issues in a scatter plot
   

1. Choose appropriate data, axes and and plot elements to construct a graph
   
2. Calculate protein concentration using a scatter plot's trendline formula
   

Averages, spread and precision

1. How to identify and calculate the outlying value in a patient dataset
   
2. How to determine to what extent a patient's blood glucose level compares to the standard deviation of a reference group
   

1. How to differentiate between mean and median in datasets with and without outliers
   
2. How to identify whether a dataset demonstrates high or low accuracy and precision
   

1. How to calculate mean, median and mode for patient blood glucose datasets
   
2. How to calculate the standard deviation for a patient dataset
   
3. How to calculate data ranges in specific standard deviations from the mean of the dataset
   

Data types and measurement

1. How to record data and identify errors in data tables and lab books
   

1. How to assess and construct data results
   

1. How to classify various types of data
   

Data display and distribution

1. How to identify the correct equation for constructing histograms
   

1. How to calculate data frequency for histogram construction
   

1. How to interpret histogram distributions and results
   

Interpreting averages and quartiles

Variability and confidence intervals

1. How to analyse and compare statistical values
   

Correlation

1. How to identify appropriate statistical values under different circumstances
   

1. How to interpret statistical values

Biosciences

Analytical foundations

1. Answer questions about gel electrophoresis setup and procedure
   

1. Compare and measuring migration distances of bands on a gel
   

1. Generate standard curves for migration distance
   

1. Draw conclusions from looking at gels
   

1. Answer questions related to agarose gel electrophoresis
   

Selecting appropriate time, voltage and concentration

1. How to identify the ideal time, voltage and agarose concentration conditions to run effective gels
   
2. How to determine the usability of gel results for various purposes considering imperfect results
   

1. How to use gels to to verify the presence of DNA
   
2. How to use gels to quantify DNA fragment length
   

1. How to adjust time, concentration and voltage to obtain optimal results
   
2. How to determine if your gel has run for the required time
   

Troubleshooting potential errors

1. How to verify the presence of all DNA fragments
   
2. How to quantify the length of all DNA fragments
   

1. How to determine the loading errors causing the results
   
2. How to determine the gel preparation error causing the result
   
3. How to determine the post-run error causing the result
   

Pathogen identification experiment

1. What the purpose of experimental controls is
   
2. How many experimental controls need to be run for a scenario
   
3. How to identify the appropriate DNA ladder for an experiment
   
4. How to identify the presence of a pathogen using gel electrophoresis
   

1. How to determine if gels are giving the expected results from controls
   
2. How to match control bands with sample bands
   
3. How to determine the validity of results and what conclusions can be drawn
   

Triplet repeat disease risk

1. How to calculate the length of the repeat region and PCR amplicon for reference samples
   
2. How to calculate appropriate values and assemble a standard curve
   
3. What are appropriate axes titles and graph title for the standard curve
   
4. How to identify appropriate trendline for the standard curve
   
5. How to calculate the number of repeats in the TRD region for the patient sample and low-risk control
   

1. How to decide the contents and controls to run in each gel lane
   

1. How to record migration distances of ladder bands
   
2. How to record migration distances for control samples and patient sample
   

1. How to select the appropriate DNA ladder for experimental scenarios
   

1. What actions to take if the gel results are not as expected
   
2. How to identify the slope and y-intercept from the standard curve graph
   
3. How to determine the patient's disease risk based on calculated repeats

PCR primer design

1. Use the key principles of PCR to design primers
   
2. Write DNA sequences of primers
   
3. Design primer extensions
   

1. How primers are affected by length, melting temperature and GC content
   
2. How restriction enzymes create overhang regions
   

Enzyme kinetics: plotting fundamentals

1. Manipulate data to construct Michaelis-Menten and Lineweaver-Burk plots
   
2. Identify and interpret Michaelis-Menten and Lineweaver-Burk plots
   

1. Apply the Michaelis-Menten equation to a variety of scenarios to calculate Km and Vmax
   
2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of Michaelis-Menten in conjunction with other analytical methods
   

Protein purification and yield

Pharmacokinetics: single dose

1. What is meant by absorption and bioavailability
   
2. What is the volume of distribution
   
3. What factors contribute to the elimination of a drug from the body
   
4. What is the difference between zero order and first order elimination kinetics
   
5. What is meant by the elimination half-life, elimination constant and total clearance
   
6. What is meant by the steady state and therapeutic window
   

1. How to calculate the bioavailability when the IV and non-IV dose are the same and when the doses are different
   
2. How to calculate the volume of distribution and total clearance
   
3. How to calculate steady state for a single dose and multiple doses
   
4. How to calculate the dose interval for a dosage regimen
   
5. How to calculate the loading dose and maintenance dose
   
6. How to graphically estimate the initial plasma concentration and rate
   

1. How to estimate the volume of distribution from a graph
   
2. How to calculate steady-state concentration
   
3. How to analyse graphs to estimate the drug's half-life
   
4. How to analyse a graph's trendline to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters
   

Pharmacokinetics: multiple doses

1. How to calculate suitable drug dose intervals
   
2. How to calculate loading dose and maintenance dose amounts for given drug parameters
   
3. How to calculate time to achieve steady state
   

Competitive antagonism

1. How to calculate and determine drug concentrations
   
2. How to calculate and record the normalised response %
   
3. How to calculate the dose ratios for each antagonist
   

1. How to correctly plot a dose-response curve
   
2. How to identify the type of physiological response being measured
   
3. How to determine maximum response from plots
   
4. How to analyse the effect of the antagonist
   
5. How to identify errors in dose-response curves and remedies for error
   
6. How to determine gradient for Schild plot
   

1. How to abbreviate maximum response and concentration at which half-maximal response is achieved
   

1. How to select independent and dependent variables for experimental set up
   

1. How to record histamine concentrations and volumes for experiment
   

Ileum organ bath

1. How to analyse pharmacology data acquired using an organ bath
   
2. How to interpret meaning of dose response curves
   

1. How to plot dose response curves
   

Ecology

1. Estimate the population size of a range of mark-recapture scenarios
   

1. Apply principles around the application of mark-release-recapture
   

1. How to use both visual and textual information to measure the number of marked and unmarked individuals
   

Simpson's biodiversity index

1. Interpret and use case study data to calculate Simpson's Diversity Index
   

1. When to apply Simpson's Diversity Index to various situations
   
2. Compare the diversity of different habitats
   

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Chemistry

States of matter and phase diagrams

1. How to calculate experimental values for binary systems
   

1. How to interpret graphs and ternary phase diagrams to calculate percentage of components
   

1. How to identify correct binary phase diagrams
   
2. How to define degrees of freedom for ternary systems
   

Calculating equilibrium constant

1. How to use an ICE table to calculate concentrations and moles
   
2. How to calculate the equilibrium constant, Kc, using equilibrium concentrations
   

1. How equilibrium shifts due to changes in concentration or pressure
   
2. How to write the equilibrium expression for a reaction
   
3. How to interpret Kc in regards to product or reactant favourability
   

Redox and electrochemistry

1. How to calculate the cell potential of a redox reaction

Iodine clock reaction (persulfate variation)

1. How to calculate rate reactions from concentrations and time
   
2. How to calculate reaction order and rate constant
   
3. How to calculate activation energy from an Arrhenius plot
   

1. How to use the iodine clock reaction 
   
2. How to derive the linearised form of the Arrhenius equation
   

Determine an unknown concentration of acid by titration

1. Interpreting equivalence points in titration curves
   
2. Calculating concentration of a species from titration data
   

1. How to standardise NaOH with KHP
   

1. Why solutions of NaOH need to be standardised

Making a buffer

1. How to apply and rearrange the pH and pKa equations
   

1. How to calculate the proton concentration from the pH
   
2. How to calculate the relative concentration of A- and HA from the Ka and proton concentration
   
3. How to determine the relative moles of A- and HA from the relative concentration
   
4. How to calculate the relative volumes of A- and HA to take from stock solutions
   
5. How to determine the actual volumes of A- and HA to take from stock solutions
   

1. How to calculate the required volumes of weak acid and conjugate base needed to make a buffer solution of desired pH
   

Kinetics: rate equations

1. How to identify which experiments would be suitable for determining the reaction order with respect to each reactant order
   

1. How to derive the reaction order equation from the rate of reaction equation</li><li>How to calculate the reaction order
   

1. How to calculate the rate constant of a reaction
   

Introduction to naming organic molecules

1. How to identify and name the parent chain
   
2. How to identify the functional group and its position on the parent chain
   
3. How to name organic molecules with functional groups
   

Naming multi-chain molecules

1. How to name an alkane with side chains
   
2. How to name an alkane with side chains and functional groups
   

Synthesis of paracetamol

1. How to identify experimental hazards and proper disposal methods
   

1. How to calculate the yield and Rf values
   

1. How to interpret TLC and melting point data to determine the purity of the synthesised product
   
2. How to interpret spectra relating to the synthesis
   

Introduction to food tests

1. What the different food groups are
   
2. How and when to use different food tests
   
3. How food tests interact with macromolecules to give results
   

1. How to determine if various food tests are positive or negative: iodine solutions, Benedict's reagent, emulsion and biuret reagent
   
2. How to identify the macromolecule composition from food test results
   

The oxidation states of vanadium

1. How to apply basic principles of oxidation-reduction reactions
   
2. How to balance oxidation-reduction half reactions
   
3. How to balance oxidation-reduction full reactions
   

Inorganic pyrotechnics

1. How to calculate moles, mass, volume, theoretical yield, changes in enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy
   

1. How to interpret the results of change in Gibbs free energy
   

1. How to determine the oxidation states of elements in different molecules
   
2. How to balance equations and analyse the causes of observable features of redox reactions
   

Coordination compounds

1. How to calculate the theoretical yield of a synthesised coordination compound
   

1. How to identify ligand types, geometry and the structures of different coordination compounds
   
2. How to identify the reaction conditions required for organometallic coordination compounds
   

Chemical tests

1. Why precipitates form and what their colours indicate
   
2. What the causes of effervescence are
   
3. What the chemical equations and reactions are that can be leveraged for chemical test
   
4. How to balance chemical equations
   

1. How to identify halide ions based on precipitate colour
   
2. How to identify the presence of a metal based on flame colour
   
3. How to use a litmus paper and determine results
   
4. How to use carbonyl tests and identify results
   

NMR spectroscopy fundamentals

1. Identify the number of proton chemical environments and predict the number of signals in the 1H NMR spectrum
   
2. Relate number of protons to relative intensity of peaks
   
3. Identify splitting patterns from neighbours
   

1. How chemical environments will result in peaks of different chemical shifts
   

Mass spectroscopy fundamentals

1. How a mass spectrometer works to achieve fragmentation of a molecule
   
2. How to identify lost radicals and their effect on mass spectrometry data
   

1. What the required steps are to run a mass spectrometer
   

1. How to identify the structure of a fragment ion based on its m/z value
   
2. How to determine m/z value of the base peak from a spectrum
   
3. How to determine m/z value for molecular ion peak
   

Infrared spectroscopy analysis

1. Identify key peaks in an IR spectrum
   
2. Correspond peaks with functional groups
   
3. Use spectra to identify corresponding compounds and molecules
   

Identification of an unknown compound

1. Identify peaks on a mass spectrum of an unknown compound
   
2. Identify functional groups from an IR spectrum
   
3. Interpret and assign hybridisation and splitting patterns of an H-NMR spectrum to an unknown compound
   
4. Interpret and assign hybridisation of a C-NMR spectrum to an unknown compound
   

1. Calculate empirical formula from percent mass
   
2. Use a combination of analytical techniques to identify an unknown compound
   

Scene management: prior to the examination

1. What Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to use
   
2. How to keep yourself and others safe at a scene
   
3. How to manage a crime scene
   

1. How information gathering informs the dynamic health and safety risk assessment
   
2. How information gathering informs crime scene management
   
3. How information gathering informs forensic assessment processes
   

1. Forensic Science Regulator Codes of Conduct and Practice
   
2. ISO 17020 accreditation criteria
   
3. Dynamic health and safety risk assessment
   
4. Locard's Principle
   
5. Crime Scene Management
   
6. College of Policing Murder Investigation Manual
   

Incident scene: assessments and examination

1. Why information gathering and communication skills are important in maximising forensic evidence opportunities
   
2. How to identify priority forensic evidence and other evidence types relevant to the investigation
   
3. How to record observations, actions and priority evidence
   
4. How to develop a forensic strategy for evidence recovery and a hypothesis
   
5. How to maximise forensic evidence opportunities
   

1. How to interpret fingerprint, DNA, footwear, drugs, fibres, glass and other forensic evidence
   
2. What factors to take into account when considering the value and significance of evidence
   
3. How to interpret forensic evidence and its priority and significance for the investigation
   
4. How to develop a forensic strategy for evidence recovery and a hypothesis as to the circumstances of the incident
   

1. Forensic Science Regulator Codes of Conduct and Practice
   
2. ISO 17020 accreditation criteria
   
3. Dynamic health and safety risk assessment
   
4. Locard's Principle
   
5. Crime scene management
   
6. College of Policing Murder Investigation Manual