NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

SESSION 2013/2014

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS

NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering SESSION 2013/2014 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
1. EXPERIMENT AND PROJECT GROUPINGS/ Tutorial Classes : 1.1 A total of 9 laboratory groups in each semester have been arranged for the First Year Laboratory Experiments. You are to remain in the same laboratory group. Each experiment will be under the supervisory care of one faculty, PO, or TA. The Laboratory Schedule will be posted on the Schools website before the commencement of experiment/project schedules. All students are to report to the assigned laboratories according to the time-tabled experiments and projects.

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TIME-TABLE: 2.1 Laboratory experiments begin from the 3 Lab Schedule.

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week of the semester, in accordance with

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Laboratory sessions are scheduled between 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm on Monday. If any of the sessions falls on a holiday, or on a day reserved for student activities, a make-up date is arranged. All communication between faculty/TA and students will be via email.

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AT TENDANCE: 3.1 3.2 Attendance at all laboratory experiments is compulsory. You are not allowed to change the lab group which you have registered. All students shall remain in their lab group for the entire semester. If you are not able to attend any of the scheduled or arranged sessions because of illness or some other reasons, a medical certificate or letter, whichever is applicable, must be submitted immediately to the SCBE Undergraduate Office, stating your school and year of study. This also applies to approved leave. Only approved leave by NTU will be accepted. If you have missed any of the laboratory sessions, you must immediately arrange with the supervisor of the experiment concerned for alternative make-up date(s). If you fail to do so, you are deemed to have failed that particular assignment. An attendance register is kept in each laboratory, and with your supervisor and you are required to sign the register against your name for attendance record and for submission of reports / log sheets. Locations for the laboratory experiments are stated on the title page of the laboratory experiment.

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INTRODUCTION TO LABORATORY WORK: 4.1 Laboratory experiments are regarded as an integral coursework element in the First Year curriculum. The following are considered as the objectives of laboratory experiments: a) to verify principles; b) to develop practical skills; c) to appreciate the use of instruments; d) to inculcate the use of the scientific method; e) to make and record observations; f) to interpret and present findings; and g) to draw conclusions and make recommendations. For the First Year courses of CH1802, students are required to complete all 8 laboratory experiments within the semester. Assessment of the laboratory experiment work is based on both performance during the laboratory (CA) and written assessment (log sheets and formal reports). Each student will be assessed on both the CA and the individual written assessment. Continual assessment involves staff assessment of students in the process of conducting the experiments and during the discussion period. It also helps to encourage students to participate actively in the laboratory and consultation sessions. The following criteria are used in CA. Students will be assessed on their a) ability to analyse and to innovate b) understanding of the subject c) ability to work together as a group d) leadership capabilities in organising and motivating group members e) active contribution to the group effort and investigation f) display of appropriate practical skills and creative thinking g) ability to present and communicate effectively

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LABORATORY EXPERIMENT LOG SHEETS: 5.1 Each student has to submit his/her log sheets for assessment by the date and time stipulated by the instructor/TA. The log sheet is to be turned online via EdveNTUre. No marks will be given if the log sheet is not turned in. Log sheets should have a ti t le p a ge wh i c h c o ns i s ts of title of experiment, name of student, name of group members and group number he/she is assigned to. Log sheets should contain concise descriptions of the experiment, the results, discussions and conclusion.

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LABORATORY FORMAL REPORTS: 6.1 Each student has to submit formal reports for 1 lab experiment. The formal report is due by 5.00pm in 2 weeks from the day of the experiment. The formal report is to be turned in online via EdveNTUre. No marks will be given if the formal report is not turned in.

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GUIDELINES FOR LOG SHEETS/FORMAL REPORT WRITING: Brief guidelines on the format of log sheets and formal reports are given in the Appendix.

APPENDIX GUIDELINES ON THE STRUCTURE OF FORMAL REPORTS

A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Be prepared for your laboratory work; study the Manual beforehand and read up the theory. 2. No marks will be given for copied material and/or copied reports. 3. Be relevant in content, concise in expression and correct in the use of English. Grades will depend on the quality of the report, not quantity. 4. The formats set out below will be used to record all laboratory experiment. If there are modifications or special requirements for a particular experiment, your Supervisor will give you the necessary instructions. FORMAL REPORTS: Assume that your reader is a fellow student who is not familiar with the specific work you are reporting. It consists of the following sections. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Title Page Aim: Describe the objectives of the experiment. Introduction Principles: This section prepares the reader to understand the report. Equipment and Materials Give a brief description of the equipment and materials you used. If detailed descriptions are required, they should be placed in the Appendix. Illustrations by simple diagrams may save you a long description. Provide titles and label your diagrams clearly and refer to them in your text by using a clear numbering system (eg. Fig. 1 A Pressure Transducer). Procedure Describe briefly in the correct sequence the important aspects of the procedure you adopted to conduct the experiment and obtain the results, explaining any modifications you have made to the instructions in the Manual. Use the past tense to report on the procedure. Results This section usually includes (a)observations; (b)sample calculation(s); and (c)results of your calculation (tabulated and/or presented graphically). To present your data or results clearly, make sure that proper titles or lead-in statements are used and appropriate explanations are given. Some types of laboratory work are descriptive and the results will not be quantitative, hence, you may describe the key observations and results in prose paragraphs. 8. Discussion (not more than five pages) In this section, you discuss the findings and results of your work. You might want to explain any differences between your measurements and theoretical predictions by comparing the theoretical curve with the experimental curve. You might want to account for any errors and suggest improvements through modification to the experiment/project equipment, procedure or precautions to be taken. You may draw deductions from the results. Conclusion Here briefly (not more than half a page) present the conclusions you have reached as a result of your work; or state to what extent the objectives of the project have been met. It is not a repetition of the Discussion but a statement of the key point(s) or inferences logically deduced from the results and discussions. Appendix Any detailed technical information, for example, the theory and derivations, description of equipment referred to but not put in the main text, will be appended at the end of the report. It should also include all graphs, tables etc. not directly needed in the main sections of your report but which may be useful information for the reader. The appendices are lettered in the

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order in which they are mentioned in the text (Eg. Appendix A) and labelled with appropriate titles, (Eg. Appendix A. Method Used to Calibrate Pressure Transducer). C. USE OF GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATIONS IN REPORT WRITING 1. Graphics provide important illustrations in technical reports. They are classified and numbered as Tables and Figures. Both tables and figures can be incorporated into the text of the report or attached under the Appendix section, according to their relative importance. 2. Tables are used to record data taken from readings or to present quantitative findings. They are hence numbered and referred to exclusively as tables. For example: Table 1 Results of fibreglass impellers endurance test at variable rpm Figures include all other illustrations used in the report, such as diagrams, schematics, flow charts, statistical charts, graphs and photographs. They should be numbered clearly according to their order of appearance in the report. For example: Fig. 1 Test rig with three degrees of freedom Fig. 2 Flow chart of instruments used in the experimental set up Fig. 3 Lateral force spectra at difference angles of incidence In the use of graphic illustrations in the report, the following points should be observed: (i) All tables and figures must be numbered. (ii) A title should be devised (in a noun phrase) for every table/figure. (iii) Every illustration should be complete with proper legends and labels. (iv) Units used must be accurate and where possible, SI Units should be used. (v) Scales for the figures should be appropriately devised. For example, to allow comparison of results, the scales of four graphs can be reduced so as to be able to display them within the same page. (vi) An illustration used in the text should be well integrated with a lead-in sentence or phrase in front. For example: Figure 1 illustrates the forces on a triangular building for a given wind direction. Figure 2 shows the test rig which allows a semi-rigid model to oscillate. Figure 3 shows a flow chart of the instruments used in the collection of data. The variations of tip displacements with reduced velocity are shown in Figures 4 to 6 below. (vii) Relevant explanations or interpretations should immediately follow the illustrations. (viii) Illustrations used in the appendices should be mentioned in the text so that proper reference can be made. A sample of a figure used as an illustration in a report is attached.

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Fig. 1 Comparison of theoretical and experimental steady state torque of two blade wind turbine at different wind speeds.