I sent off TMA02 a few days ago, even though the cut-off date isn't until Monday 13th. This is a good thing because I will just keep tinkering with it otherwise, and that doesn't necessarily gain more marks. It just causes anxiety and wastes time that could be spent on other things, such as tackling TMA03.
TMA03 follows a similar format to the previous assignments and is comprised of several questions on various parts of the course, but is slightly biased towards the practical work. It is worth 13% of the total mark for the entire course which is the same as TMA01 and TMA02 combined.
Question 1 (20%) involves authoring some PowerPoint
slides and writing a script to go with them. The activity in question is the presentation
of the results of a virtual ‘cloud chamber’ practical.
Question 2 (20%) is also about the cloud
chamber practical and takes the form of a peer review of another student’s PowerPoint
slides and their written script.
Question 3 (16%) This involves freehand drawing of atomic orbitals of hydrogen and is connected with Topic 4 - The quantum realm. The freehand drawing malarky is not very popular with the other punters who prefer something a little more sciencey and less arty. I don't blame them.
Question 4 (16%) This is more mathematical than most TMA questions and relates to Topic 5 - ‘Energy in society’ calculations, involving the
heat losses in a domestic hot water tank.
Question 5 (16%) is another mathematical one. This is
on radioactive decay and half-life calculations. It is quite a common type of radioactivity
question and is connected with Topic 6 - Nuclei and particles.
Question 6 (12%) is the obligatory skills audit question. There’s one on all four of the TMAs. It involves posting a 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’s taken (at least) semi-seriously.