Friday, 22 November 2024

Making a start on TMA02

As I’ve mentioned before, the TMAs on this course are very 'bitty' and this continues with TMA02, which has a cut-off date of 13th January, so lots of time to go. Like TMA01, it consists of five questions, and I outline them below.

Question 1 is the Python question in two parts. The first part involves explaining what each line of a provided simple program does, and the second part involves modifying that program to improve it.

Question 2 is the writing up of the ‘baked bean tin sliding down a chopping board’ practical. It’s really a standard A level type practical write up, possibly even high-end GCGE. There’s a bit of trigonometry involved but it’s all very well explained in the course materials.

Question 3 involves calculating potential and kinetic energies of planets orbiting the sun. The information required is taken from a provided data table and it asks for an explanation of the steps needed to perform the calculation.

Question 4 requires the plotting of a graph showing the relationship between the electrical conductivity of solutions of ionic compounds and writing a few words about the differences between them.

Question 5 is the obligatory skills audit question. It just involves posting of few ‘radar diagrams’ showing the various skills acquired and developed during the progress of the course, followed by a few words of reflection. It’s easy marks if it is taken (at least) semi-seriously.

The entire assignment is worth 6% of the total mark for the course.