CH0FC2: Foundation Chemistry 2

Module code: CH0FC2

Module provider: Chemistry; School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy

Credits: 20

Level: F

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Silvia Baldanza, email: s.baldanza@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 April 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module follows on the CH0FC1  Foundation Chemistry 1 module and covers more challenging topics of Foundation chemistry, to equip students with a wider background on the subject. It aims to provide the students with a deeper comprehension of the principles that govern chemical reactions, with a particular focus on physical chemistry, chemical calculations and chemical analysis and techniques.

The material covered in the lectures will be consolidated through workshops and practical classes, also developing students’ collaborative and practical skills. 

By the end of the year, students taking this module will feel confident with using the language and terminology of chemistry and be able to apply chemical concepts to new and unfamiliar scenarios.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Apply their understanding of thermodynamics, kinetics and equilibria to predict the feasibility, the rate of reaction and to which extent a chemical reaction has proceeded.
2. Balance equation and perform calculations based on titrations, including redox and acid-base titrations, quantifying the errors associated with an experiment to assess its efficiency. Calculate the EMF of electrochemical cells and use redox potentials to predict the spontaneity of reactions.
3. Understand how different analytical techniques (elemental analysis, MS, IR, 1H and 13C NMR) can be used to determine the structure of a molecule.
4. Report on experimental results and draw conclusions based on them, critically evaluating errors in experimental work and reflecting on how experimental procedures could be improved.

Module content

Topics include: thermodynamics; equilibria; kinetics; redox reactions; titrations and spectroscopy.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The course is taught through a mixture of face-to-face lectures, interactive workshops and practical classes. The workshop sessions will offer a range of exam-style questions and provide practical examples relevant to the students’ intended pathways. Videos of experimental techniques will be used to support practical skills and recordings of the lectures will be made available for revision purposes wherever possible. Students are expected to spend at least one hour of independent study for every hour spent in class.

Study hours

At least 60 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Throughout this module there will be opportunities to obtain feedback from formative assessments. These include: 

• Formative online quizzes on Blackboard 
• Formative informal feedback on workshop problems
• Formative informal feedback on practical experiments
• Formative informal feedback on lab report drafts
• Formative general feedback on mock exam

Reassessment

Additional costs