Curricular Unit:			Code:
Applied Chemistry			1019QAPL
Year:	Level:	Course:	Credits:
1	Undergraduate	Clinical Analyses and Public Health	7 ects
Learning Period:		Language of Instruction:	Total Hours:
Spring Semester		Portuguese/English	91
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
Applied Chemistry is mainly a measurement science consisting of a set of powerful ideas and methods that are useful in all fields of science and medicine. Clinical chemistry, food quality control and pharmaceutical chemistry are some of the numerous examples of branches of chemistry and other sciences that make wide use of Applied Chemistry. The main objective of this course is to transmit solid theoretical and practical basis in this area of knowledge that are essential to the professional future of students. Concepts of the main steps in an analytical process, uncertainty associated with experimental data, solution equilibria (acid-base, precipitation, oxidation-reduction and complexation) and traditional volumetric analysis will be studied in detail in theoretical-practical classes. The aim of practical classes is to transmit important general laboratory safety rules as well as train students for the proper and convenient handling of equipment.
Syllabus:
1. Introduction 2. Solutions and nomenclature of inorganic compounds 3. Fundamental operations of a chemical analysis 4. Measurements, errors and significant figures 5. Fundamental concepts of chemical equilibrium 6. Acid-Base Equilibria 7. Equilibria in oxidation-reduction reactions 8. Equilibria in precipitation reactions 9. Complexation equilibria in reactions
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
The diagnosis of some pathologies and the deviations from homeostasis is based on the measurement of the levels of proteins, enzymes, antibodies, electrolytes and gases in various biological fluids. As these are chemical substances, their concentration depends on the occurrence of chemical reactions, namely complex chemical equilibria that are established in biological fluids. In the applied chemistry course students will learn the fundamental concepts of solution chemical equilibrium essential to the understanding of the chemistry of biological fluids and classical methods of quantitative analysis based on acid-base reactions, oxidation-reduction, precipitation and complex-formation.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
In theoretical-practical classes, the general principles inherent to chemical analysis are addressed, ranging from the preparation and manipulation of solutions to the uncertainties associated with an analytical procedure. Then, the different types of equilibria and their application in traditional quantitative analysis are studied. These contents are developed using a series of objective answer questions and numerical problems. The practical classes include the execution of 7 practical works that allows to apply and demonstrate some of the most important knowledge that was the subject of study. The acquisition of knowledge is validated through the completion of two written tests (with a weighting coefficient of 80% in the final grade of the course). The assessment of the practical component will be based on student performance, the quality of the reports delivered and 2 written tests. The final classification will only be assigned when both components are approved.
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
Given the relative complexity of the theoretical topics covered (chemical equilibrium and quantitative chemical analysis) its teaching and comprehension requires theoretical-practical expositive classes as well as problem solving lessons. The laboratory classes enable familiarization of the student with the practice of quantitative chemical analysis of species of biological interest using classical analysis procedures based on acid-base reactions, oxidation-reduction, precipitation and complex-formation.
Reading:
Christian, G. D., Analytical Chemistry, 7ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2014. Harris, D. C., Lucy, C. A. Quantitative Chemical Analysis, 10ed., Macmillan, 2020. Skoog, D. A., West, D. M., Holler, F. J. and Crouch, S. R., Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry 9th Edition, Thomson-Brooks/Cole, 2014. Souto, R., Pimenta, A., Catarino, R., Manual Prático de Análise Química, Lusodidacta, 2018.