The activities belong to four different categories:

Theory Lectures:

The lecturer will explain the syllabus to the classroom using blackboard and multimedia material, which will be made available to the students in the “Moodle Classroom”. These expositive sessions will conform most of the theory lecturing of the syllabus.

Problem-solving Sessions:

A list of graded exercises, classified according to the units of the syllabus, will be made available to all students in the “Moodle Classroom” at the beginning of the term. On appointed days, announced in the theory lectures, or whenever it is adequate in terms of covered material, selected problems will be solved in the lecture room, linking with the theoretical foundations seen in the theory lectures necessary to solve the exercise and in the process strengthen the concepts explained in the theory lectures. No compromise is taken to solve all problems in the collection explicitly, to leave room for individual initiative and encourage individual work by the student.

Lab Sessions:

The practical sessions will present the students the possibility to compute spectroscopic properties of certain molecules using a quantum chemistry program or other software to simulate spectra and use the detailed results to weave theoretical aspects with the outcome of spectrum recording. It is a goal of the lab sessions to bring up the benefits of a synergy between theoretical and experimental approaches in modern chemistry.

Logistically, the students of all enrollment groups will be divided in four groups, the composition of which will be known beforehand, in order to make an efficient use of the lab and computer facilities available. Practical sessions for each subgroup will take place at the appointed dates in different labs and under supervision of qualified instructors. For all lab sessions, the lab protocol will be made available in the “Moodle Classroom”, and the students have to bring their own copy (hard or electronic) and read it before the lab session. It is advisable to bring also a personal notebook to write down the results obtained and other annotations.

On appointed days, the students will be summoned to the computer room. At the end of each practical session the students will be given an answer sheet and questionnaire, to be completed and turned in before leaving the lab, which will serve the purpose of self-assessing the level of comprehension of the task just completed and the quality of the results obtained.

For each session, students will do, in groups, a final practice, where the previously developed techniques will be applied to a specific molecule (case) and make an analysis of its spectroscopic properties, this way following a problem-based learning (PBL) methodology by means of solving cases. The groups will make an exhibition of this final work in front of the professors, which will be the grade corresponding to the practical part.

Personal Work:

Personal work by the student is a very important, almost indispensible aspect of the students' attitude towards passing the topic. Besides the most obvious areas (like readying and studying notes and books, preparing exercises, etc.) specific, well delimited areas of the theory syllabus will be left to the students to work out by themselves. In these cases, personal consultation hours will be made available to help coalescing the knowledge gained by the students.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

Restricted use: For this subject, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as literature or information searches, text correction, translations, etc. For activities where students are required to submit work (for example, the presentations related to the case molecule), they must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. A lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or full penalty on the activity's mark, or more severe sanctions in more serious cases.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

The assessment can be based on a continuous assessment modality or, for those students who have taken it, on a single assessment modality.

The continuous assessment modality includes the following elements:

1. Midterm exams: Two written midterm exams will be administered. Given the distribution of teaching hours for the assessable content covered in the midterms, the first midterm will account for 60% of the midterm grade, and the second midterm will account for 40%. In order to average the midterm grade with the rest of the course assessment activities, the following is required: i) a minimum score of 4/10 on each midterm, and ii) a minimum average score of 5/10 across both midterms according to the mentioned weighting.

2. Laboratory sessions: A certain \"case-molecule\" will be solved, in groups of 4 people. Students will have to work and analyze, using quantum chemistry software and spectroscopic databases, the spectroscopic properties of a proposed molecule. Students will have to present the case-molecule in a short oral presentation and answer questions from the teachers. The mark will reflect both the quality of the results and the presentation and the individual answers of the students. A minimum grade of 4/10 is required to average with the rest of the subject's assessment activities (25%).

3. Short quizzes: Test-type quizzes will be proposed, which will be done in the classroom and will be carried out throughout the course (15%).

A second chance exam will be scheduled for those students who have not obtained a minimum grade of 4/10 in the partial exams. It will only be necessary to recover the partial (or partials) with a grade lower than 4/10. Students who wish to improve their grade may take the second chance exam, but by doing so they will forfeit the grade obtained in the partial exams and assume the grade of the final exam. Furthermore, the second chance exam will not be a valid assessment way for obtaining the Distinction with Honours.

In the continuous assessment modality, in order to pass the subject, students must achieve sufficient competence in the practical and theoretical aspects of the subject. The final grade will be obtained from the weighted average of the grades of the partial exams, the practices and the evidence. The Spectroscopy subject is passed with a total grade of 5/10.

The single assessment modality (only for those students who have taken part in it) will consist of:

1. Final written exam, equivalent to the first and second partial exams, which will take place on the same day as the second partial exam in the continuous assessment mode. A minimum grade of 5/10 is required to average with laboratory practices (75%).

2. Laboratory sessions, which will be identical to those of the continuous assessment, that is to say, carrying out the practices according to the established calendar, and presenting the molecule case on the appropriate day (25%).

A second chance exam will be scheduled for those students who did not obtain a minimum grade of 5/10 in the final exam, which will take place on the same day as the second chance exam in the continuous assessment mode. A minimum grade of 5/10 must be obtained to average the laboratory practices. The same second chance system that applies to continuous assessment will be used.

In the single assessment modality, to pass the subject, students must achieve sufficient competence in the practical and theoretical aspects of the subject. The final grade will be obtained from the weighted average of the grades of the final exam and the laboratory practices. The Spectroscopy subject is passed with a total grade of 5/10. The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for continuous assessment.

NON-ASSESSMENT STUDENTS:

Students who do not attend at least 25% of the proposed assessment items, the final grade will be NON-ASSESSMENT

IMPORTANT WARNING ABOUT LABORATORY PRACTICES:

Attendance at laboratory sessions is mandatory and those students who do not attend any of these sessions without reason will not pass the subject.

Any student who is involved in an incident that could have serious consequences in terms of safety maybeexpelled from the laboratory andsuspended from the subject.

IMPORTANT WARNING ABOUT ACADEMIC FRAUD:

The commission of any irregularity in an assessment (academic fraud, plagiarism or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorised in the course guide), which may lead to a significant change in the grade, will result in that attempt being marked with a 0. If the course guide stipulates that obtaining a minimum mark in this assessment is a prerequisite for passing the module, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessments for the same module, the final mark for that module will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who commits any of these irregularities.