Use of checklists to help students better prepare for exams

Enrique Arce-Medina
Escuela Superior de Ingeniera Qumica e industrias Extractivas INSTITUTO POLITECNICO NACIONAL MEXICO

Checklists

PBL

Can improve learning

Checklists help us to Organize

Set priorities Prevent worries

Study preparation checklist while solving material balance problems

1 Did you make serious efforts to read and understand the text? 2 Did you establish the basis? 3 Did you define an action plan? 4 Did you clearly define targets to review progress while implementing your action plan? 5 Did you identify the process steps required to transform raw material to finished products? 6 Did you draw a sketch or schematics of the process steps? 7 Did you labeled all your flows, including symbols and units on the given values? 8 Did you have a clear idea of your inputs and outputs? 9 Did you check if your reactions are properly balanced? 10 Did you use mol units in reaction calculations? 11 Did you properly apply the fixed proportions principle? 12 Did you note any especial relationship between molar variables given in the data e.g. what input terms in the mol balance are related to what parameters? 13 Did you take into account any impurities (inert and diluents) in the inputs? 14 Did you take into account all the outputs, purge, product and by-products? 15 Did you correctly do the conversion from moles to mass in all input and output streams to check the mass balance? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Checklist in solving mass balance problems

Material balance problems can be solved by listing and solving a series of equations, or using a table.

AA Molar mass Mass fed Moles fed Molar change MA

BB MB

CC MC

Example 1
A mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen is fed to a reactor, where they react to form ammonia (NH3). The nitrogen flow rate into the reactor is 280 kg/min and the hydrogen is fed at a rate of 60 kg/min. Of the H2 fed to the reactor, 50% is consumed by reaction. What is the flow rate of N2, H2, and NH3 in the reactor outlet?

Process diagram
H2 (60 kg/min) N2 (280 kg/min) H2 (?) Reactor N2 (?) NH3 (?)

Basis: H2 fed to reactor

Reaction: H2 + 3 N2

2 NH3

Did Did you properly apply the fixedproperly balanced? you checkDid youreactions are proportions given in if your check Did you note any relationship unitsthe reaction calculations? the data betweenmass variables Did you take into account all balance principle Did you use mol in molar the outputs
N2 Molar Mass, + 3 H2 2 3 60 60/2=30 30*0.5=15 (15/3)*1=5 10-5=5 5*28=140 (15/3)*3=15 30-15=15 15*2=30 240 240 (15/3)*2=10 10 10*17=170 2 NH3 17 2 0 0

Mi
0

28 1 280 , 280/28=10

Stoichiometric coefficients, i Mass fed, kg/min wi Moles fed, kmol/min

0 i 0 i

n = w / Mi
0 H2

Moles H2 reacted, kmol/min

nH 2 = n * x

Molar change, kmol/min ni = (n j / j ) * i , Moles at reactor outlet, ni = ni0 ni kmol/min, Mass at reactor outlet, kg/min, wi = ni M i Total mass flow in, W 0 = wi0 kg/min, Total mass flow in, kg/min, W = wi

Example 2
Nitrogen and hydrogen are fed at a 1:3 molar ratio to a reactor, where they react to form ammonia (NH3). 50% of the H2 fed is converted to ammonia, and the reactor produces 170 kg/min NH3. Calculate the flow rate of N2, H2, and NH3 in the reactor inlet and outlet?

H2 (3*moles N2) N2 (?)

H2 (?) Reactor N2 (?) NH3 (170 kg/min)

Solution
N2 Molar Mass, + 3 H2 2 3 2 NH3 17 2 170 170/17=10 (10/2)*3=15 15/0.5=30 30/3=10 10-5=5 30-15=15 240 240 10 (10/2)*2=10

Mi

28 1

Stoichiometric coefficients, i NH3 produced, kg/min wNH 3

Moles NH3, produced kmol/min n NH 3 = wNH 3 / M NH 3 (10/2)*1=5 Molar change, kmol/min ni = (n j / j ) * i , Moles H2 fed, kmol/min

0 H2

= n H 2 / x
0 N2

Moles of N2 fed, kmol/min,

=n

0 H2

/3

Moles at reactor outlet, 0 kmol/min, ni = ni ni Total mass flow in, kg/min, W 0 = wi0 Total mass flow in, kg/min, W = wi

As the examples show the checklist were meant to serve as an aid in accomplishing goals through a set of guided questions.

Students own monitoring of their work help them to appreciate how concepts and principles fit together for better understanding of what has to be done while solving problems.

Survey results
How useful was the checklist for you?
not useful somehow useful very useful 21% 37%

24%

32%

42%

44%

Girls

Boys

We have found that common mistakes identified in previous semesters can be converted into checklists items for future tests.

As the course progress it was observed that students perform better, because they can check by themselves how well are doing their job, by knowing their goals.

But
Not all students were enthusiastic about adopting the checklists.

When asking to students to write and use their own checklist they show too much opposition.

Conclusions
Two thirds of students stated that using the checklists help them to learn better, get more organized and focus on what is important.

After two semesters of using the checklists the grades remains almost at the same average, but the number of students falling the course decreased, compared with previous semesters when checklists were not used.

Thank you