Clarification details
Updated March 2016. This document has been updated in its entirety.
This standard involves demonstrating understanding of spectroscopic data in chemistry.
Demonstrate understanding of spectroscopic data
Discrete aspects may include molar mass, presence or absence of N, Cl or Br (from mass spec), presence or absence of particular functional groups (from IR), number of unique carbon environments in the structure and chemical shifts (from 13C-NMR). Students may also be asked to predict the presence or absence of peaks in the spectra of organic molecules for which the structure is known.
Making judgements
For all levels of achievement, students need to identify discrete aspects from each spectroscopic technique.
Merit also requires students to determine the structure of a molecule with correct explanations linked to spectroscopic techniques.
Excellence also requires students to integrate the three spectroscopic techniques to justify the correct identification of the structure of the molecule.