Units
Physical Science Applications
Unit code: SCB123
Contact hours: 4.5 per week
Credit points: 12
Information about fees and unit costs
Physics principles underpin all of the sciences and 'new technologies'. This unit adopts an investigative team-based approach to provide students with an appreciation of fundamental concepts in physical science, together with experience in the application of these concepts to a range of 'real world' problems. The unit should be taken in the first year of study as the fundamental principles introduced here will be built upon in later units in the context of each science student's major discipline area. Employers in cutting-edge industries expect science graduates to have effective strategies for problem solving, skills for collaborative work and scientific communication and research skills. This unit aims to develop these skills by applying the fundamental concepts of physical science to problems in a team environment.
Availability
| Semester | Available |
|---|---|
| 2012 Semester 2 | Yes |
Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2012
Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.
Rationale
Physics principles underpin all of the sciences and 'new technologies'. This unit adopts an investigative team-based approach to provide students with an appreciation of fundamental concepts in physical science, together with experience in the application of these concepts to a range of 'real world' problems. The unit should be taken in the first year of study as the fundamental principles introduced here will be built upon in later units in the context of each science student's major discipline area. Employers in cutting-edge industries expect science graduates to have effective strategies for problem solving, skills for collaborative work and scientific communication and research skills. This unit aims to develop these skills by applying the fundamental concepts of physical science to problems in a team environment.
Aims
This unit aims to:
Objectives
Upon successful completion of this unit you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a basic level of understanding and competency in the topic areas covered, by solving a range of well-defined problems.
2. Identify behaviours for effective problem-solving and teamwork.
3. Develop and apply various problem-solving strategies to analyse problems that are more complex.
4. Use scientific conventions for recording, communicating and reporting laboratory and project work.
5. Use library and internet resources to gather research material for project work.
Strategy:
The content will be presented to you in a series of modules. Each module will be introduced with a loosely structured problem scenario that has social relevance, followed by core lectures on topic areas in physics related to the problem.
Your basic competency in the core lecture content in each module will be assessed formatively via practice problems and quizzes, and summatively by an examination at the end of the semester. These formative quizzes will provide you with feedback on your level of understanding and progress.
Student teams will produce a project report based on each problem scenario. You will be required to define and assume a number of roles within your teams such as team leader, communicator, reporter, researcher and problem-solver. Library staff will present various resources and techniques that you will use to locate relevant research material. You will discuss strategies for successful teamwork, and develop criteria by which you and your team members will be assessed. Opportunities to revise these criteria will arise with each new module. You will be able to interact with other group members in groupwork sessions and via web-based discussion forums. Self- and peer-assessment results will form part of the final assessment for each student. Feedback from teaching staff and your peers will be presented for each project report with suggestions as to how subsequent assignments may be improved. Other unit information, teaching materials, and contact with teaching staff will be available via the Blackboard website for this unit.
Content
Module 1 (~12 Hours) 'Car Crash Investigation'
- Motion: displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration.
- Newton's laws, forces: weight, friction, pressure.
- Momentum.
- Energy: work, kinetic and potential energy, conservation of energy.
- Problem-solving and teamwork. (~4 hrs).
- Quiz and short examination.
- Charge and Coulomb's Law.
- Electric field.
- Permanent magnets and Magnetic fields.
- Potential difference.
- Current.
- DC circuits with resistance.
- Capacitance
- Alternating Current
- Problem-solving and teamwork. (~4 hrs).
- Quiz and short examination.
- Thermometry, thermal expansion.
- Heat, specific heat capacity and latent heat.
- Heat transfer mechanisms: conduction, convection and radiation.
- Electromagnetic waves, atomic absorption and emission.
- Problem-solving and teamwork. (~4 hrs).
- Quiz and short examination.
Module 2 (~12 Hours) 'People Power'
Module 3 (~12 Hours) 'Sea-Level Rise'
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Problem based learning modules; investigative laboratory experiments; group projects; core lectures, web-based teaching materials, discussion forums and formative assessment items; self- and peer-assessment.
Assessment
You will be expected to undertake a number of assessments related to the learning outcomes of this unit (see below).Students will receive feedback online, in writing and/or in class. Additional feedback will be provided in consultation on request.
Assessment name:
Quiz/Test
Description:
3 x on-line problem sets (one per module)
Relates to objectives:
1 and 3.
Weight:
15%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
Wks 5,9,12
Assessment name:
Project (applied)
Description:
3 x 10% Problem-based team projects. Each team will submit a report detailing the evidence and strategies used for each project. Self- and peer-assessment marks will contribute towards overall assessment for these items.
Relates to objectives:
2, 3, 4, and 5.
Weight:
30%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Group
Due date:
wks 6, 10, 13
Assessment name:
Report
Description:
3 x 2hr structured investigative laboratory activities will be performed, one related to each module. Each activity will be assessed by the submission of a proforma-style laboratory report.
Relates to objectives:
1, 3, and 4.
Weight:
10%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
End each lab session
Assessment name:
Examination (Theory)
Description:
All three modules will be examined together in an examination to be conducted during a centrally timetabled final examination. The examination will include a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions.
Relates to objectives:
1 and 3.
Weight:
45%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
See Blackboard Site
Academic Honesty
QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.
A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.
Resource materials
You are not required to purchase a specific text for this unit. However, resource materials will be made accessible to you either through the library or on the Blackboard website for this unit.
Other references:
1. Hobson A (2007). Physics Principles and Connections,.4th edition. Pearson/Prentice-Hall
2. First Year Physics Laboratory Resource Manual, 4th edition (2005) QUT (Physicslab BB Site)
3. Young HD and Freedman RA. (2008). University Physics. 12th edition. Pearson / Addison Wesley.
Risk assessment statement
This unit involves lectures, laboratories, tutorials and group work in conventional teaching spaces. Special safety requirements of laboratory will be outlined in laboratory resource material and at the first laboratory session, and will be assessed with a short quiz. There are no other out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with this unit.
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.
Last modified: 25-May-2012
