SK185 - Molecules, medicines and drugs: a chemical story

I registered for the course SK185 in August and intended it to be a test to see whether I was still interested in chemistry.

Ive done a few 10 point level 1 courses in the past, generally as time fillers between courses relevent to my previous degree, and found them to be a nice gentle introduction to a subject.

I was especially interested to see that the course included a molecular model kit. Ive used them in the past and found them very useful for visualising things like chirality.

The course is set to start in September and I want to submit my ECA at the first date (end of October) so I have 2 months worth of work ahead of me.

Just have to wait for the course material to arrive and then I can make a start.

I can't wait!

My Study Plan

OK, before I go any further I have a confession to make...

I get a bit excited looking through the Open University prospectus and planning what courses I intend to do each year.

I like knowing what I will be studying when, what my accumulated points will be and how long until ive finished.

Yes, I know I need help but I can't help it.


Anyway, I spent a happy afternoon with Excel and a copy of the prospectus and have come up with this plan:-

Start Date	End Date	Course Number	Course Title	Level	Points
Sep-10	Nov-10	SK185	Molecules, medicines and drugs: a chemical story	1	10
Nov-10	Jan-11	S151	Maths for Science	1	10
Jan-11	Oct-11	S104	Exploring Science	1	60
Jun-11	Oct-11	SXR103	Practicing Science	1	10
Oct-11	Jun-12	S205	The Molecular World	2	60
Apr-12	Oct-12	SXR205	Exploring the molecular world	2	10
Sep-12	Nov-12	S187	Elements of forensic science	1	10
Nov-12	Jun-13	S283	Planetary science and the search for life	2	30
Feb-13	Oct-13	S282	Astronomy	2	30
Oct-13	Apr-14	S347	Metals and Life	3	20
Oct-14	Apr-15	S346	Drug design and synthesis	3	20
Oct-15	May-16	S346	Chemical change and environmental applications	3	20
May-16	Oct-16	SXR342	Physical chemistry	3	10
Feb-17	Oct-17	S330	Oceanography	3	30
Feb-18	Oct-18	SXM390	Science project course: frontiers in chemistry	3	30

Now I know that some of the courses listed will end before I intend to do them but they act as placeholders for the replacement courses the OU will (hopefully) offer.

A little bit of an explanation...

So what is my motivation?
18 years ago (thats half a lifetime to me) I finished my A levels and got a place at Bath University, studing chemistry.

This was the first time I was away from home for an extended period of time and frankly I was homesick (it didn't help that I was too cheap to cough up for a TV license so didn't have my comfort blanket!!).

I also found that the A level chemistry course I had done didn't really prepare me for an undergraduate degree so I struggled.

To cut a long story short (I was there for a year) I bottled it after the first year and gave up.

Since then I have always had the feeling that I have left some unfinished business.

Introduction

This is the story of my studying for a chemistry degree with the Open University.

My reason for doing this is to help me study. I will be using this blog for my notes and as a sounding board for my thoughts as I try to understand what i'm studying (this should be interesting...)

I also hope that other people will find this blog useful ar at least entertaining.


Let the games begin!!!