CHEN20007: Chemical Process Analysis 1

Official assessment description: Four assignments spread throughout the semester, each of no more than 750 words (10% each). Two of these assignments are associated with the laboratory experiments.
One written two hour end-of semester examination (60%). 2014's CPA1 class may be different but my assessment comprised of:
- 1 group (3-4 members) written assignment consisting of a higher difficulty question with multiple parts. 10% of final mark.
- 1 group (3-4 members) oral presentation assignment (NOTE: You are marked individually) on either a manufacturing or safety case study allocated to you. 10% of final mark.
- 2 lab reports written individually. 10% of final mark per lab report. - 60% final exam (HURDLE REQUIREMENT).

Lecturers: Shallcross has been teaching this subject for 30-odd years and it really shows. He knows the subject extremely thoroughly and is very engaging. His notes are very clear and have some examples that you will go through in class like in Calculus 1,2, Linear Algebra etc. Seeing that this is basically the first Chemical Engineering subject that you will likely take, Shallcross offers a great introduction to some of the fundamentals of Chem. Eng.

The key sections in the course that you will learn about are:
- Material balances (THE MAIN TOPIC THAT APPLIES TO ESSENTIALLY ALL OTHERS).
- Humidity
- Non-ideal gas behaviour
- Safety and process equipment

Assessment:
Overall, I found the assessment very fair and finally having an exam that has a weighting less than 80% was very nice!
Oral presentation - This assignment is a good practice for public speaking and actually meeting some of the people you will likely be seeing for the next 4 years. The assessment comprises of 2 sections actually, where (if I remember correctly), 75% of the mark is associated with your INDIVIDUAL presentation, and 25% is associated with a "written critique" on a peer's presentation. In my opinion, the written critique isn't very useful and you basically have to bs some of it. To do well on it, be very attentive to the student you are critiquing and make notes during the presentation on each section you will need to write on.

Written assignment - This assignment is again a group assignment and is essentially a more difficult tutorial question with multiple sections to it (ie. a), b), c) etc.) Typically part a) is quite simple, part b) is difficult and will take some time to do, and part c) involves plotting your results from part b). A peer assessment form is available for this assignment where you critique your own and your peer's performance which is great, especially if you get partnered up with a slacker.

Lab reports - These lab reports are quite simple and involve some questions to complete. There is a particular format to follow (ie. Abstract, Intro, Questions, Conclusion, Appendices), so make sure you follow it to avoid losing any marks. The actual labs themselves were not particularly exciting (simply measuring heights, temperature etc. with time).

Exam - The 60% exam was very fair and if you keep up to date with the provided tutorial sheets, you will be very well prepared. I will stress here that YOU SHOULD KEEP UP WITH THE TUTORIAL SHEETS! You may be finding it difficult, but don't put it off as more work will pile up. Ask your peers for assistance (if you are finding it tough, it is likely many more people are as well), the tutors or the lecturer even. From personal experience, I did put off a good amount of tutorial sheets for several weeks and had to force myself to study literally 7am - 12 pm for 3 days nonstop before the exam to be as prepared as I normally am. Do not put yourself in that position as I did haha.

Recommendation: If you are a Chemical Systems major, you will be doing this subject and it is a great introduction to some of the fundamental concepts in Chemical Engineering. If you are considering this for a science elective, then I would say you would enjoy this subject if you like doing applied math problems/questions. In retrospect, a lot of the questions (involving material balances) are just like doing a puzzle, so I suppose if you like doing those then you will like the subject! I will warn those considering chemical engineering that you will NOT be doing a lot of chemistry. You will however be using concepts like using moles quite a bit for material balances.

Yes, with screen capture.

Assoc. Prof. David Shallcross (absolute legend).

Yes. There are 5 available.

5 Out of 5

There are no prescribed texts, however you will most likely be recommended in class by Shallcross (REPEATEDLY) to pick up a copy of his Physical Property Data Book. I would strongly recommend you to pick up this book especially if you are a Chemical Systems Major as it will become an invaluable resource in CPA2. Although you will not be using the steam tables in CPA1, it is useful to have a set of psychrometric charts and general compressibility charts on hand with you for CPA1.

3 x 1 hour lectures per week, 1 x 2 hour tutorial per week, 2 x 3 hour laboratory sessions per semester

2013, Semester 1.

H1