Calculate the maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC)

26 Jun Calculate the maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC)

Question
SDK125 Introducing Health Sciences: A Case Study
Approach

Assessment Booklet 2
Contents
SDK125 Assessment and learning outcomes

2

Completing the Practice Questions and iCMAs

2

The online Practice Questions for Case Studies 3 and 4

2

SDK125 iCMA 43
Completing iCMA 43
SDK125 iCMA 44
Completing iCMA 44
Instructions for submitting TMA 02

2
2
3
3
3

You can choose online or postal submission

3

Word-processing your TMA

4

Online submission

4

Submitting a ‘dummy’ eTMA 00
SDK125 TMA 02

4
5

Appendix I: course learning outcomes assessed by iCMAs 43 and 44 and
TMA 02
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Copyright © 2010 The Open University

WEB 01958 4
4.1

This booklet gives the instructions you will need to complete the assignments for
Case Study 3, Alcohol and Human Health, and Case Study 4, Screening for
Breast Cancer. The assessment strategy for SDK125 was given in Assessment
Booklet 1.

SDK125 Assessment and learning outcomes
All the assessment components in SDK125 assess the extent to which you have
demonstrated one or more of the course learning outcomes (course LOs), which
were listed in Section 3 of the Course and Induction Week Guide. The code
numbers of the course LOs associated with each assignment in this booklet are
given at the end of each assignment, and the full text of these LOs appears in
Appendix I.

Completing the Practice Questions and iCMAs
There is one iCMA (interactive computer-marked assignment) for each case
study in SDK125, and one block of online Practice Questions per case study to
help you prepare for the associated iCMA. As the starting date for each case
study arrives, the iCMA and the online Practice Questions for that case study will
appear in the Assessment area of the course website. The online Practice
Questions don’t carry any marks, but in all other respects they are similar in style
to the questions in the equivalent iCMA; you can try them as many times as you
like right up to the end of the course.
Assessment Booklet 1 gave full instructions for completing the online Practice
Questions and the iCMAs, and for submitting the iCMAs so that your marks will
be recorded. There is no substitution for any of the iCMAs (or the TMAs).

The online Practice Questions for Case Studies
3 and 4
Look at the study plans in the Companions to these case studies for suggestions
as to when might be good times to begin answering the online Practice Questions,
which can be accessed via the relevant study week in the online interactive study
planner or from the Assessment area of the course website.

SDK125 iCMA 43
Submission date: 12 noon, 14 January 2011

Completing iCMA 43
Log on to iCMA 43 in Study Week 14 of the online interactive study planner or
via the Assessment area of the course website. The study plan in the Companion
to Case Study 3 suggests that you complete the whole of iCMA 43 in the final
study week for Alcohol and Human Health, but you can, if you wish, complete
the questions in ‘batches’ as you progress through the case study.
Do not click on the Submit button on the summary screen at the end of iCMA 43
until you have completed all of the questions that you intend to answer, because
the assignment cannot be recalled once submitted. You will only receive marks
for the questions that you have completed at the point where you submit the
assignment.

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Make sure you click on the Submit button before midday (local UK time) on
the cut-off date even if you haven’t been able to answer all of the questions. If
you don’t do this, you risk your iCMA not being accepted by the University.
However, there is currently a 12-hour grace period so any submitted iCMAs
received up to midnight on the cut-off date should still be accepted. You will
receive an onscreen message acknowledging that the OU host computer has
successfully recorded your iCMA.

Learning outcomes
iCMA 43 assesses your achievement of course learning outcomes KU1, KU2,
CS1, CS3 and KS5 in the list in Appendix I of this assessment booklet.

SDK125 iCMA 44
Submission date: 12 noon, 11 February 2011

Completing iCMA 44
Log on to iCMA 44 in Study Week 18 of the online interactive study planner or
via the Assessment area of the course website. The study plan in the Companion
to Case Study 4 suggests that you complete iCMA 44 in the final study week for
Screening for Breast Cancer, but you can, if you wish, complete the questions in
‘batches’ as you proceed through the case study.
Do not click on the Submit button on the summary screen at the end of iCMA 44
until you have completed all of the questions that you intend to answer, because
the assignment cannot be recalled once submitted. See section on Completing
iCMA43 above for further details.

Learning outcomes
iCMA 44 assesses your achievement of course learning outcomes KU1, KU2,
CS1, CS3 and KS5 in the list in Appendix I of this assessment booklet.

Instructions for submitting TMA 02
You can choose online or postal submission
You can choose whether to send TMA 02 to your tutor by post, or online using
the University’s electronic (eTMA) system. We strongly advise using the eTMA
system, and there is a brief guide called ‘Submitting Assignments online (eTMAs)’
in the Assessment area of the course website. Further information about using the
eTMA system is available in the Guide to Assessment area of your StudentHome
page. Note that for each TMA you must either send the complete assignment by
post, or submit the complete assignment online – you cannot send part of a
TMA by post and part of it online.
We strongly encourage you to submit TMA 02 using electronic submission,
because this will be useful practice for subsequent OU courses, which are
increasingly likely to insist on electronic submission. However, we recognise that
this may not be possible for some students and others may prefer to submit TMAs
by post – even if you have word-processed the document. If you are unable to

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produce a word-processed document, then it is wise to make a photocopy of the
entire assignment before posting in case it is lost in transit. You should always
obtain proof of posting. Make sure the envelope is strong enough and has
adequate postage attached; your tutor will not be expected to collect it from
the sorting office if it does not, and please don’t use a recorded or registered
delivery service that requires the receiver’ s signature, or your tutor may not
receive your assignment on time.
Your TMA must arrive at your tutor’s address or in his or her eTMA ‘in-box’ by
the submission date in the Interactive Study Planner and in this assessment
booklet. The Open University’s regulations about late submission are given in the
Assessment Handbook Undergraduate Courses which you can access online from
StudentHome.

Word-processing your TMA
Regardless of whether you intend to submit a TMA by post or online, you are
strongly encouraged to produce your TMAs as word-processed documents. Your
tutor can comment more effectively on your script if you use 1.5 line spacing and
leave a wide margin on both sides and at the top and bottom of each page. Don’t
forget to number each page and use a ‘header’ which gives your name, personal
identifier, course code (SDK125) and the TMA number on every page.

Online submission
You can use the OU’s electronic TMA system to send and retrieve eTMAs
(electronic TMA files) to your tutor via the internet. TMAs submitted online have
to be word-processed documents. Submitting eTMAs has several advantages: you
can submit a TMA right up to the cut-off date (but you would be unwise to leave
it this late in case there are problems with the server!), and you get immediate
confirmation by email that it has been received. Your tutor will add his or her
comments and advice to the electronic file, complete an online marking form
(called an ePT3), and return the assignment to you via the internet. You can
check to see when it has arrived and download it to your computer.

Submitting a ‘dummy’ eTMA 00
We hope that many of you will be thinking about submitting TMA 02 via the
electronic system, following instructions in the booklet ‘Submitting Assignments
online (eTMAs)’ mentioned above. It suggests that you submit a ‘dummy’ eTMA
(called TMA 00) to test that you are able to access the eTMA system, that you
have the correct software on your computer, and to familiarise yourself with the
process of submitting a ‘real’ eTMA.
This is an excellent plan – but there’s a small complication!
Dummy eTMAs always have ‘yesterday’ as their cut-off date. The reason is that
you cannot collect a marked eTMA (i.e. a real one) until after the cut-off date has
passed (for obvious reasons), so the dummy eTMA also has to have a cut-off
date. Because students generally want to submit a dummy eTMA and then collect
it quite soon afterwards, the cut-off date is automatically set at ‘yesterday’ so you
can retrieve it within a day of sending it. The downside to this is that when you
submit a dummy eTMA ‘today’ you will get an automatic message saying that
the cut-off date has already passed. Just ignore this message and submit the
dummy eTMA, which will be accepted by the system. When your tutor has
added a few lines to confirm that she or he has been able to retrieve your eTMA
from the system and has sent it back to the system for collection, you will be able
to download it straight away because the cut-off date has always passed!

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SDK125 TMA 02

Submission date: 18 February 2011
This TMA consists of four questions. The table below shows which parts of the
course they each relate to and the percentage of the total marks for this
assignment that each question carries. If you are sending your TMA by post, the
PT3 boxes are on the official form (the PT3 form) that you must attach to the
front of your assignment; the marks your tutor awards for your answer to each
question will be entered in the relevant box on the PT3 form when it is returned
to you. If you are using online submission, the marks for each question will be
clearly displayed when the assignment is returned via the eTMA system.
The marks allocated for each part of this assignment are given in the table below.
Question

Relates to:

Marks

PT3 box

1

Case Study 3

20

1

2

Case Study 3

10

2

3

Case Study 3

20

3

4

Case Study 4

50

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Question 1
This question carries 20% of the marks for this assignment. It relates to
Chapters 1, 4 and 5 of Alcohol and Human Health and activities in the
Companion associated with Chapter 1.
In order to complete part (b) of this question you will need internet access to your
tutor group forum (TGF).
In summer 2010, a newspaper reported a story concerning a drink-related incident
in France in which a man died. Read the following extract from the report, then
answer (a) and (b) below.
‘Until several months ago, the apéro was the bastion of civilised Gallic
routine: a small early evening drink cherished as much by families in la
France profonde (an expression meaning the provincial and rural way of
life) as by the chattering classes of Paris. That was before the noisy
arrival of the apéro géant – giant aperitif – a new phenomenon of mass
drinking party events that is sweeping France, raising fears that this
genteel pastime is being hijacked by binge-drinking revellers.
‘Today the debate, which has been growing in fervour since the first
mass events were held last autumn, became markedly more urgent when
it emerged that a young man had died after attending a gathering in the
western city of Nantes. The 21-year-old fell five metres off a bridge late
on Wednesday and succumbed to his injuries on Thursday, local police
said. Xavier Ronsin, the Nantes prosecutor, said today that the man’s
blood alcohol levels were high and that he was believed to have drunk
“10 to 15 glasses of strong alcohol”.
‘The incident, the first known fatality from an apéro géant, appeared to
confirm the authorities’ warnings that such events come with inherent
risks. Between 9 000 and 10 000 people met for the flashmob-style
gathering in Nantes, all of them informed in advance of the time and
location by anonymous organisers on Facebook.

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‘Uppermost in the concerns of the French authorities is the spread of
binge drinking among the younger generation. As more and more of its
adolescents report getting drunk regularly, the nation that used to pride
itself on its leisurely alcohol consumption has been forced to admit that it
too has a problem. As debate intensifies over whether apéros geants
should be banned by local authorities, the controversial gatherings look
set to continue into the summer. An event pencilled in for 23 May is
causing particular concern: due to be held under the Eiffel Tower, it
could be attended by the biggest number of partygoers yet. Organisers
hope for more than 50,000 people.’
(a) Using the information given in the extract, together with what you have
learned about standard ‘units’ of alcohol in Case Study 3, Alcohol and
Human Health, calculate the maximum blood alcohol concentration
(BAC) in mg alcohol/100 ml blood of the deceased man. Round your
final answer to a whole number.
Start off by calculating the volume of pure alcohol the man consumed
and work from there. When calculating your answer, assume that:
• the young man had consumed an amount of drink at the very top
of the range indicated by the Nantes prosecutor.
• each ‘glass of strong alcohol’ contained one French unit of
alcohol.
• one ml of alcohol has a mass of 0.79 gram
• the maximum concentration of alcohol in the blood is 12 per cent
of the total amount consumed.
• the average volume of blood in an adult male is 6 litres.
Remember to show all of the workings of your calculations – you will be
awarded some marks for each stage of your workings that is correct, even
if your final answer is incorrect. (11 marks)
(b) Comment on the short-term effects that would have been caused by this
level of alcohol intoxication, and which may have contributed to this
young man’s accidental death. Your answer should be between 50 and
100 words. This word limit is ‘advisory’, which means that you will not
be penalised for writing more, but you will not gain more marks by doing
so. (4 marks)
(c) At any point during Case Study 3, log onto your TGF and discuss your
views with other students in your group concerning the arguments for
introducing measures to reduce binge drinking. Do you think such
measures would be justified, and what approaches do you think might be
effective, for example bans on alcohol at public events, price increases or
age restrictions?
Copy and paste into your TMA one contribution that you made to this
discussion on your TGF, and one contribution from another student. Each
extract can be as short as a single sentence, but should be no longer than
a few lines. For each extract, give the date on which it appeared on the
TGF (you will lose a mark if you don’t). In no more than about 100
words, briefly explain why you chose these extracts. At the end of your
answer, write the number of words that you have used, not counting the
words in the extracts (you will lose a mark if you don’t give the word
count). (5 marks)

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Note: There is no right or wrong answer to part (c) – the aim is to express
your own views on this topic. The 100-word limit is ‘advisory’, which
means that you will not be penalised for writing more, but you will not
gain marks by exceeding this amount.

Learning outcomes
Question 1 of TMA 02 assesses your achievement of parts of course learning
outcomes KU1, KU5, CS1, KS1 and KS5 in Appendix I of this assessment
booklet.

Question 2
This question carries 10% of the marks for this assignment. It relates to
Chapter 3 of Alcohol and Human Health and DVD Activity 1.3 ‘Students’
attitudes to alcohol’ in Chapter 1.
In order to complete this question you will need to watch DVD Activity 1.3,
Students’ attitudes to Alcohol from Case study 3, Alcohol and Human
Health. Make notes that will assist you, pausing the video on the DVD or re­
playing it as necessary. You can access the transcript of what the speakers
say during this video by clicking on the Transcript link below the screen
when the video is playing in your computer.
(a) In the video, some of the students from different countries or cultures were
asked how they felt that drinking in the UK differs from their experience in
other parts of the world. Describe one difference of the drinking culture in
the UK that one of these students found surprising, and one difference that
one of the students observed between different generations (i.e. younger and
older drinkers) in their own country. (4 marks)
(b) Briefly explain the biological reason why an individual gets drunk more
quickly if they drink alcohol on an empty stomach, rather than with a meal. (6
marks)

Your answers to (a) and (b) should be between 50 and 200 words each. This word
limit is ‘advisory’, which means that you will not be penalised for writing more,
but you will not gain more marks by doing so.

Learning outcomes
Question 2 of TMA 02 assesses your achievement of parts of course learning
outcomes KU2, KU5, CS1, CS3 and KS2 in Appendix I of this assessment
booklet.

Question 3
This energy-calculation exercise carries 20% of the marks for this assignment. It
relates to Chapter 2 of Alcohol and Human Health.
Methanol is a minor component of many alcoholic drinks and is linked to
hangovers from excessive drinking. Methanol is a poison and has caused
blindness and death when deliberately contaminated illicit drink has been sold on
the black market. Methanol (CH3OH) has the structural formula shown below:
H
H

C

O

H

C

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The combustion (burning) of methanol in oxygen can be represented by the
chemical equation:
2CH3OH(g) + 3O2(g) = 2CO2(g) + 4H2O(g)
(Note that here we are looking at the reaction in which the physical state of all the
reactant and product molecules is gas. To have methanol and water in their
normal physical states as liquids would require additional factors to be included
in an energy calculation.)
Use the chemical equation shown above to estimate the quantity of energy
released in the combustion of methanol. As part of your answer construct a table
similar to Table 2.3 in Chapter 2. p. 47, in which you display and sum the
energies required to break all the bonds of the reactants and the energies released
in making new bonds in the products.
Calculate the overall energy change represented by the above equation, and then
calculate a value for the energy release when 1 g of methanol is burned in
oxygen. (One mole of methanol has a mass of 32 g)
Remember to show all of the workings of your calculations. Your tutor will
award up to 15 marks for the accuracy of your calculations and up to 5 marks for
their presentation in a clearly labelled table.

Learning outcomes
Question 3 of TMA 02 assesses your achievement of parts of course learning
outcomes KU1, CS2, CS3 and KS3 in Appendix I of this assessment booklet.

Question 4
This question carries 50% of the marks for this assignment. It relates to Chapters
2,3, 5 and 7 of Screening for Breast Cancer and its DVD activities.
At the end of Chapter 4 of Screening for Breast Cancer, we set a self-assessment
question in which a fictional ‘aunt’ wrote to you complaining about the
discomfort of having her breasts compressed for a mammogram. Your task was
to write back to her explaining why this was necessary.
Now she has written to you again. She has seen an online news item on the BBC
website about the risks of over-diagnosis in breast screening. She is worried
about this news and wonders whether to go for her next mammogram when it is
due. Your aunt has not studied any science since she left school at 17 and tends to
be rather a worrier.
First read the BBC news item. To access the item online you can type the link to
the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8594940.stm into the URL
box at the top of an internet search engine web page, or the link is available in the
Assessment area of the course website. Write another letter to your aunt (using
the letter on page 102 of Screening for Breast Cancer as your ‘style guide’),
outlining the points that she should take into consideration when deciding
whether to go for her mammogram. Your letter should not be more than about
800 words in length and should include a brief discussion of the following points:
• What the mammography test actually detects. (2 marks)
• The possible outcomes of your aunt’s mammography test. Your account
should include a brief explanation of true and false positives, and true and
false negatives, in terms that your aunt will understand, and the likelihood
that she might have a true or false positive test results. (10 marks)
• The benefits to your aunt of an early diagnosis if she does turn out to have
breast cancer. (9 marks)

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• The BBC news item discusses ‘over-diagnosis’. Briefly explain what this is
and why it can occur. (9 marks)
• A brief discussion of two other risks of having a mammography test. (6
marks)
Your aunt must make her own decision about whether to attend for her
mammogram, but you should finally write a brief summary, referring to the
numerical data provided in the BBC news item or in the Case Study, to help her
to weigh up the relative importance of these benefits and risks when she makes
her decision as to whether to have the mammography test. (6 marks)
In addition, your tutor will award up to 8 marks for the overall clarity of your
letter in language that is accessible to a non-scientist and reads like a genuine
letter, and your use of sentences and paragraphs to aid comprehension of the
points you have made.
Your letter should not exceed 800 words. This is an advisory word limit; this
means you will not be penalised for writing more than 800 words but you will not
gain more marks by exceeding this amount. At the end of your answer, write the
number of words that you have used.
Learning outcomes
Question 4 of TMA 02 assesses your achievement of parts of course learning
outcomes KU3, KU4, CS1, CS2, KS1, KS2 and KS5 in Appendix I of this
assessment booklet.

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Appendix I: course learning outcomes
assessed by iCMAs 43 and 44 and
TMA 02
Refer to each question for the specific learning outcomes that it assesses. The
complete list of course learning outcomes can be found in the Course and
Induction Week Guide.
Knowledge and understanding

KU1 Show that you know and understand the key terminology, nomenclature,
classification systems, conventions and units associated with a broad
introduction to the Health Sciences.
KU2 Describe the structure and function of some of the major systems and
organs in the human body, their interactions with certain common
chemicals or pollutants, and their relevance to defined topics in the Health
Sciences.
KU3 Discuss the theoretical basis of diagnosis, screening and intervention in
defined health conditions, based on relevant knowledge and understanding
of key aspects of epidemiology, human biology, psychology, chemistry and
physics.
KU4 Develop the ability to recognise different lines of evidence and appreciate
the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of current knowledge in defined topics
within the Health Sciences.
KU5 Know about and discuss some of the key social, psychological,
environmental and ethical issues associated with defined Health Sciences
topics.
Cognitive skills

CS1 Demonstrate the ability to use and apply your knowledge and understanding
of essential facts, concepts, principles and theories relating to the Health
Sciences in defined contexts.
CS2 Begin to apply relevant knowledge and understanding to address familiar
and unfamiliar examples presented to you.
CS3 Analyse, interpret, synthesise and summarise simple scientific or
epidemiological data or information from personal accounts and case
histories, articles and websites, in defined contexts.
Key skills

KS1 Locate, receive and respond to a variety of information sources (e.g. textual,
numerical, graphical and computer-based) in defined contexts.
KS2 Communicate relevant information accurately and effectively using written,
visual and numerical forms in a style that suits purpose and audience.
KS3 Prepare, process, present and interpret data in defined ways using
appropriate qualitative and/or quantitative techniques.
KS5 Use your ICT skills as appropriate to locate online information sources,
enhance your own learning, carry out simple data analysis and
communicate and discuss relevant information with others.

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