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30 June 2025, 9:57 PM

This semester has been quite challenging for me, as it consists of courses that I found difficult to excel in, but mass balance was not one of my priorities before the start of the semester. But after taking the courses and completing all the topics, I could say that this course poses the biggest obstacle after all. During this course, I learned important topics starting with the fundamentals of material balances, where we learned units and dimensions, conversions, and process variables such as mass, volume, flow rates, and compositions. These are the basics that we must master first before going into more complex topics. After that, we got into topics such as fundamentals of material balances, chemical reactions, and then material balances for multiple unit processes that involve recycle, bypass, and purging. In addition, we covered single-phase systems, equations of state, and compatibility factors. Finally, we studied multi-phase systems. I was able to develop technical understanding and soft skills because of this course. Thus, this portfolio reflects on my learning experiences and breakthroughs throughout my journey on this course. Despite being grueling, I was able to develop technical understanding and soft skills because of this course. Thus, this portfolio reflects on my learning experiences and breakthroughs throughout my journey on this course. 

 
Throughout the semester, I engaged in various activities such as individual and team assignments, quizzes, two tests, and a mini project involving a chemical plant calculation. The assignments are to evaluate my understanding of the topics and encourage independent learning on my side and to deepen my knowledge by looking at the question from a different angle. The quizzes are to make sure that I don’t get left behind before going into another chapter while at the same time, testing my understanding of the material and seeing if I focus or not during the classes. In addition, the tests analyze my time management and problem-solving under pressure, and finally, the team assignments and a mini project integrated teamwork and time management. Even if I don’t excel in the tests, quizzes, and assignments, it pushes me to perfect my craft through hard work and constant practice.  
 
This course taught me technical skills such as performing mass balances on single and also multiple unit processes. It also teaches me how to solve problems related to chemical reactions, recycling, bypass, and purging. Furthermore, I learned to handle systems involving ideal and real gases, which are crucial for real-life industrial work in the future. But this course not only teaches things related to mass balance, but it also taught me valuable skills that will be useful for my future career. One thing mass balance teaches me is analytical thinking skills, where it requires me to solve real-life problems one step at a time by first setting up a basis. Then, making a diagram for the problem, set the boundaries and degree of analysis for the problems. It requires me to understand the problem and break it into small pieces, then solve it accordingly. As the saying goes, understanding the problem is half the solution. This course proves important for chemical engineers like me to partake in, as it contributes greatly not only to my academic growth but also to preparing me for professional work in the future, such as being able to work under pressure, being able to communicate effectively with my team, and also solving complex problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. Unknowingly, I became more confident in taking on more challenging tasks and completing them. 
 

Reflecting on my actions throughout the course, initially, I underestimated the difficulty of the course, leading to a lack of preparation for quizzes and also being too confident for the first test, which I struggled heavily with, mainly because of the time-consuming problems. This led to a low 1st test mark, which I’m still disappointed about to this day. Thus, for the next quizzes and test, I prepared thoroughly for them. I studied harder before quizzes, asked my friends who understand mass balance more than I do questions that I understand less, and also spent more time in the library alone. Even after all the preparations, I still flunked my quizzes and test because of the difficulty and also because of my carelessness. Although my carry mark is low, I'm still positive I could still score for this course if I did well on my final, which I'm still preparing for. As for the mini project that I did with my teammates, it went well throughout the whole process, which shows that proper time management and determination really are the solution to most problems in this world. In the future, I promised not to underestimate the problems I face and put my full effort into everything I do with a well-managed schedule. 
 
Feedback played a crucial role in my development for this course that’s been provided by my lecturer, Dr. Azizul Azri Bin Mustafa, and also my team members. Feedback from the first assignment is the major one for me, as it shows me what my lecturer wants and demands based on my work with its respective reasoning behind them. The feedback for the assignments after that also plays a crucial part for me, as it shows me my errors and wrongdoings. At the same time, fix my misunderstanding based on the topic. The feedback from my groupmates highlighted my strengths and the need to communicate more clearly. 
 
To conclude, the mass balance course has been transformative for me in various parts, such as strengthened technical knowledge, improved problem-solving capabilities, and soft skills through continuous practice. I am confident that the skills I gained from this course will help me in the future as a student and also as a professional chemical engineer, where I have to tackle more complex challenges ahead.