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Accessibility statement
Explore how fundamental chemistry relates to food, water and medicines – all key to modern life. You’ll learn by developing your problem-solving skills in chemistry and through experimental investigations. Learn about the role chemists play in developing a more sustainable future and how they solve problems related to human health. By the end, you’ll understand the structures and roles of food components, how drinking water is purified, and how drug molecules are designed and function.
This online module has three blocks. They’ll develop your understanding of key chemical concepts, whilst you discover the role of chemistry in human health and sustainability. At key points, experts from industry discuss the context of the chemistry under discussion.
Block 1: Food
This block introduces you to the relationship between nutrition, food production processes, and chemistry. You’ll see how an understanding of molecular properties can be used to explain why we need food, what the body does with it, and how raw materials can be processed to make products for the food industry. You’ll study the chemical properties of the food groups (fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals), allowing you to understand the interplay between molecular structure and chemical behaviour. You’ll then study food digestion, how the body extracts energy from food, and how food energy content is measured. The block finishes with a home experiment, in which you will synthesise and analyse the degradation of a sustainable food packaging material.
Block 2: Water
This block focuses on water as it is ubiquitous in our daily lives. You’ll study the unique properties of water in a fundamental sense. You’ll begin by studying pH, buffers and buffering, antacids and why some substances are strong or weak acids. Alongside this, you’ll remotely access apparatus at the OU campus to measure the acidity of a compound. In the next section, you’ll focus on other substances commonly dissolved in water (soaps, detergents, antibacterials and metal ions), further studying the close relationship between chemical properties and function. You’ll also address an environmental sustainability issue by studying drinking water and wastewater treatment.
Block 3: Health
The block starts with a home experiment investigation relating to sustainable approaches to water purification. The focus of this block then shifts to medicines. You’ll learn about the drug discovery process and how drug molecules are designed. In doing this, you’ll see the key structural features and chemical properties of different classes of drug molecules. You’ll study the interactions between drug molecules and their receptors, combining much of the chemical thinking you developed in the module. You’ll also study drug absorption, allowing you to gain an understanding of how particular drugs must be administered. Your learning will be supported throughout the block by extensive use of the Protein Data Bank. This will enable you to visualise in three dimensions how drugs interact with their targets (receptors or enzymes) and interrogate the nature of the molecular interactions.
There are no formal entry requirements for this module.
At The Open University, we believe education should be open to all, so we provide high-quality university education to anyone who wishes to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.
Even though there are no entry requirements, you’ll need an appropriate knowledge of biology or chemistry obtained through:
Are you ready for S248?
We recommend that you’ve completed:
You’ll be able to access the module website 2–3 weeks before the module starts, so you can learn to navigate the website and organise your study plan. A module primer contains the basic concepts you should understand. You can use this primer to refresh your knowledge before starting your studies or as a resource throughout.
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Course work includes:
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
Additionally, the website includes:
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying S248 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Chemistry in life: food, water and medicines (S248) starts once a year – in October.
It will next start in October 2026.
We expect it to start for the last time in October 2027.
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