Students are expected to attend all lectures, tutorials and practicals. Lectures are online. Tutorials will start from week 2 and will be online for the first couple of weeks. We will move to face to face mode (for tutorials) if possible later on. Practicals sessions will be face to face when possible. It includes some laboratory work and some field trips. More information will be provided about the practicals via iLearn through the semester. Recordings of lectures, tutorials and some practicals will be made available via iLearn. Practicals are conducted in the soil mechanics lab at 13 Research Park Drive. Please contact your convenor [Golnaz.alipour@mq.edu.au] as soon as possible if you have difficulty attending and participating in any classes. If there are circumstances that mean you miss a practical, you can apply for a disruption to studies request through ask.mq.edu.au and if approved this practical will be removed from your record of absences.

The dates for submission of assessment tasks are listed on the ilearn schedule. Extensions for submission of assessment tasks will be given only for illness or misadventure, which must be supported by documentation through the online request portal (ask.mq.edu.au). Assessment tasks submitted late without approval will be penalized 10% of the potential total mark per day late. Students must keep a copy of their assignments.

Grading and passing requirement for unit

In order to pass this unit a student must obtain a mark of 50 or more for the unit (i.e. obtain a passing grade P/ CR/ D/ HD).

For further details about grading, please refer below in the policies and procedures section.

 

On-line quizzes (optional)

There may be problem sets at the end of some of the online lectures and students can answer to them if they want. These online short quizzes will have bonus marks (maximum 5% in total) and the bonus mark can help to increase their total mark at the end of the semester. The quiz will be hold at the end of each online lecture session and will be about the topic that covered in that session. Students are required to listen to the lecture to be able to answer the questions. The link for the online quiz will be shared at the end of each lecture.

Practicals and lab reports

There are some assessed practical activities; the schedule and details of which will be distributed via iLearn. You must submit a written lab report which addresses the given problems/questions and describes the work you have done during the practical session. Some practicals involve group work but reports are individually assessed, i.e. you must submit your own work written in your own words. Cutting and pasting information from web pages is NOT acceptable. Information you obtain from other sources (brief quotes, images, ideas) must be fully referenced in the text (author, year), with references listed at the end of the report (year, author, title, journal or link). Additionally, all work must be shown for calculation problems, including correct use of units and significant figures.

Written assignments are to be submitted using Turnitin. Macquarie University promotes student awareness of information management and information ethics. As well as training and the provision of general information, the University tackles the issue of plagiarism through use of an online plagiarism detection tool (Turnitin). This software is used in conjunction with a set of procedures to ensure its use is equitable. Turnitin automatically compares your work to the work of your classmates, previous students from Macquarie University and other universities, and with material available on the Internet, both freely available and in subscription-based electronic journals and books. The results will be sent only to your unit convenor and tutors, who will analyze these in reference to the University's standard Policy on Plagiarism.

Exams

This unit has two exams, a final and a mid-term. These examinations Are based on lectures, reading material, practicals and tutorial exercises. This is information you should have absorbed through completing assignments and any other material presented during classes. A printed English dictionary (not electronic) may be brought in for the exam if English is not your first language. The educational rationale for the exam is to check the acquired knowledge by the students at the end of the unit.

The mid-term exam will be conducted during the scheduled lecture slot in week 6 and it is going to be online. The final will occur during the normal exam period following week 13 and will be scheduled by the university. The exam timetable will be available in draft form about eight weeks before the commencement of examinations and finalized approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations.

Field visit

Assessment Type ¹: Field work task Indicative Time on Task ²: 7 hours Due: week 1-4 Weighting: 10%

 

The field work task may include some individual or group work based on the information and instructions given by the lecturer.

 

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Identify rock samples
• Identify rock failure and calculate GSI
• Conduct surveying and collect some data for slope stability analysis

 

Mid-session quiz

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 19 hours Due: week 6 Weighting: 30%

 

The Mid-term Exam may include any topic covered until the end of Week 5.

 

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in rock identification and classification
• Solve problems about rock failure and stress in rocks

Lab book

Assessment Type ¹: Report Indicative Time on Task ²: 13 hours Due: ongoing Weighting: 20%

 

Students are required to work on a basic laboratory or design project. Each student is required to write an individual report on the project and submit it online.

 

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in the presentation of laboratory work or design procedure

Final Exam

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 26 hours Due: Final Examination Period Weighting: 40%

 

The Final Examination may include any topic covered in this unit.

 

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in identifying rocks, rock classification, site investigation and surveying.
• Perform geotechnical structures analysis
• Demonstrate proficiency in checking the factor of safety and stability status of different geotechnical structures
• Have a good knowledge about stabilisation techniques

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

• the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance.
• the Learning Skills Unit for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled by the faculty during a supplementary exam period, typically about 3 to 4 weeks after the normal exam period. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during the supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

The best resource is the lecture contents and the material given in the practicals and tutorials, however, if the students are interested in obtaining more information about the topics, they can refer to:

 Handy, Richard Lincoln. Geotechnical engineering: soil and foundation principles and practice. McGraw-Hill Education, 2007.

Refer to iLearn and lecture notes for the unit schedule.

Not applicable