The activities required to achieve the competences of this course include theory lectures, problem-solving classes, laboratory practicals, and evidences.

Theory classes

Theory classes will be lectures with audiovisual support, which will be available to students on the course Moodle Classroom. To reinforce learning, activities (evidences) will be proposed, which can be carried out in groups or individually. These activities are designed to promote the learning of specific competences as well as to develop transversal skills. Furthermore, autonomous work by the student will be necessary to reinforce knowledge through reading and understanding the suggested reference books, websites, or books provided for specific topics.

Problem-solving classes

The contents of the theory classes will be developed in the problem-solving sessions. Problem sets will be delivered before the classes so that students can work on them beforehand and resolve any doubts that may arise.

Practical classes

For the laboratory practicals, students will be provided with a laboratory manual indicating the objectives, the fundamentals of the experimental procedure, the intended results, and questions for reflection. It is crucial that, prior to the practical session, students have read the manual and reflected on the proposed questions to understand the experiment they will perform. Each lab day, students will spend 4 hours conducting laboratory experiments under the guidance of instructors, and 1-2 hours of autonomous work for reading and understanding the manual and for preparing a report with the results obtained, their discussion, and the most relevant conclusions.

Laboratory safety warning: Any student involved in an incident that could have serious safety consequences may be expelled from the laboratory and fail the course.

Evidences

These activities are designed to deepen knowledge and ensure a complete understanding of the theoretical topics explained. The possibility of autonomous work for a "flipped classroom" approach will also be considered. Activities will take place inside and/or outside the classroom and aim at problem-solving and/or information searching. Activities carried out outside the classroom must be submitted within the fixed deadline. Some of these activities will be in English.

Permitted use of AI

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted as an integral part of the work development, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student 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 in the use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty and may lead to a penalty in the activity grade or major sanctions in severe 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.

Continuous Assessment:

Continuous assessment will be carried out through two midterm exams, evidences, and laboratory practicals. The final grade for the course will be calculated according to the following expression:

FINAL GRADE = 0.8 x GLOBAL THEORY GRADE + 0.2 x GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE

where,

GLOBAL THEORY GRADE = EXAM GRADE (out of 10) x 1 + EVIDENCE GRADE (OUT OF 10) X 0.05

EXAM GRADE = 0.50 x Midterm Exam 1 + 0.50 x Midterm Exam 2

GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE = 0.5 x Laboratory Grade + 0.5 x Practical Exam Grade

LABORATORY GRADE = 0.9 x REPORT GRADE + 0.1 x ATTITUDE GRADE

To pass the course, students must obtain a GLOBAL THEORY GRADE of 5 or higher (out of 10 points) and a GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE of 5 or higher (out of 10 points). If either of these two conditions is not met, the FINAL GRADE published in the records will be a maximum of 4.5 (out of 10 points).

If the GLOBAL THEORY GRADE is below 5 (out of 10 points), there will be the possibility of taking a remedial exam covering the entire syllabus. To be eligible for the remedial exam, the student must have been previously evaluated in at least one midterm exam and have a global theory grade of at least 2. For those taking the remedial exam, the evidence grade will be considered in the same way as in the midterm evaluation. In this case, the following expression will be used:

GLOBAL THEORY GRADE = FINAL EXAM GRADE (out of 10) x 1 + EVIDENCE GRADE (out of 10) x 0.05

If the global practical grade is below 5 (out of 10 points) or the final practical exam grade is below 3.5 (out of 10 points), the student will not pass the course and must take the written practical remedial exam, which will be held on the same day as the theory remedial exam. In this case, the GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE will be calculated using the following expression (with no minimum grade restrictions on the practical remedial exam):

GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE = 0.5 x LABORATORY GRADE + 0.5 x PRACTICAL EXAM GRADE (remedial)

A grade of "NON-ASSESSABLE" (No Avaluable) will be given in the following cases:

• There is no laboratory practical grade (attendance at practical classes is mandatory).
• The student does not attend 1 of the 2 midterm exams and does not attend the remedial exam.
• In case of failing the course but passing the practicals, the GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE can only be carried over to the following academic year if it is 6 or higher (out of 10 points).

Other important considerations:

Any student involved in an incident that could have serious safety consequences may be expelled from the laboratory and fail the course.

Any irregularity in an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism, or misuse of AI, unless expressly authorized in the teaching guide) that could lead to a significant variation in the grade will result in a grade of 0 for that activity. If the teaching guide requires a minimum grade in that assessment to pass the course, or if several irregularities occur, the final grade for the course will be 0. Additionally, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against the student.

Single Assessment:

Students who have opted for the single assessment modality must take two final tests: one for theory and one for practicals. The theory test will consist of an exam covering the entire theoretical syllabus and problem sets. The final practical test will evaluate the concepts and procedures applied in the laboratory. These tests will take place on the same day that continuous assessment students take their second midterm exam. In this case, the final grade will be:

FINAL GRADE = 0.8 x FINAL TEST GRADE + 0.2 x GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE

To pass the course, students must obtain a FINAL EXAM GRADE of 5 or higher (out of 10 points) and a GLOBAL PRACTICAL GRADE of 5 or higher (out of 10 points). If either of these two conditions is not met, the FINAL GRADE published in the records will be a maximum of 4.5 (out of 10 points).

If the final theory exam grade is below 5 (out of 10 points), there will be another opportunity to pass through a remedial exam. If the global practical grade is below 5 (out of 10 points) or the practical final exam grade is below 3.5 (out of 10 points), the student may take a practical remedial exam. Both exams will take place on the same date as the remedial exam.