BTEC Level 2 First Award: Application of Science Year 12

The aim of this unit is to further develop your knowledge and understanding of the scientific process and build on the scientific investigation skills you have developed in other units.

It is essential that scientists have good investigatory skills, for example:

• carrying out theoretical and practical research
• working in a pilot scale department
• carrying out quality control tests on chemical, biological or physical samples during the stages of the manufacture of products
• calibrating audiological, optical or medical equipment to ensure accuracy of readings when testing hearing
• growing cultures in a laboratory
• testing waste products
• ensuring food products are not harmful
• ensuring water is safe to drink
• testing and drawing conclusions from forensic science evidence.

The examination will contain questions on planning, processing, presenting and analysing data, drawing conclusions and evaluating methodology and conclusions.

You will need to demonstrate the application of the skills learnt in this unit, based on familiar and unfamiliar contexts given in an examination paper.

It is important for chemists working in the manufacturing industry to be able to measure the amount of energy given out or absorbed during chemical reactions. This will enable them to manufacture products safely and efficiently, and also to find uses for chemical reactions that increase or decrease in temperature, in applications such as heat or cold packs.

For exothermic and endothermic reactions, you will measure the amount of heat that some reactions give out and other reactions take in. You may also be able to relate this to the chemical bonds that are broken and made.

Organic compounds are used extensively in society. Many of these are derived from crude oil. You will look at how crude oil is distilled to produce different fractions.

Many of these have uses as fuels. You will study the structure, reactions and uses of some important organic chemicals.

Chemists are constantly finding and developing new types of materials and new ways to use existing materials. More and more composite materials are being used – for example, to make cars, aeroplanes and mobile phones, and in building materials.

Some of these composites use waste plastics. Most recently, smart materials (those that change their properties in response to changes in their environment) are finding applications. Polymers with exceptional insulating properties are used in niche applications, such as firefighting.

Scientists have been vital in improving safety in everyday life and in developing many modern technologies by applying their knowledge of forces, waves and electricity. You will develop an understanding of motion and how it relates to road safety. You will also have the opportunity to find out how to represent motion graphically and to carry out investigations, for example, on the way speed cameras operate.

Following on from this, you will develop your understanding of forces and how they are used in applications such as weight measurement or car safety. This theme could be continued through to the investigation of the motion of vehicles.

You will also investigate light and find out, for example, how the reflection of light is used to make our roads safer. You could also explore how the human eye functions and how eye glasses are used to correct defects in vision.

Finally, you will investigate how electricity is used in our world, looking at practical uses of electricity by building circuits.

The knowledge and skills developed in this unit are essential for biological science technicians and scientists working in biology, health care, laboratory services and other biology-related industries.

You will consider both the positive and negative aspects of diet and exercise, and the learning programme should encourage you to develop a balanced view of issues such as obesity and eating disorders. There will also be an opportunity to study the human immune system and how vaccinations can be used to boost the natural system.

Consideration of the public’s response to issues surrounding the use of vaccinations could also be included. There is also a good opportunity for you to investigate some of the screening programmes that are used to help early identification of conditions or early diagnosis of disease. A fascinating study can be made of how scientific research has improved in recent years. Other interesting medical applications, such as blood transfusions and stem cell research, are covered in this unit.

By the end of this unit you will have gained knowledge of medical advances and research that use biological processes in the prevention and treatment of certain conditions and diseases.