REQUIREMENTS TO PASS THE UNIT 

To pass the unit you have to acheave the total sum at least 50 out 100 marks across all the assesments. There are no hurdle requirements.

Attendance and participation

As per  Assessment Policy attendance is not assessed or mandated. Nonetheless, attendance and participation in all classes is very important for student success and is strongly  encouraged. You will not be able to participate in the labs until you complete the safety training (scheduled at week 1). Analysis of the student performance from the past offerings indicate that you are very likely to fail unless participating in at least 9 out of 13 SGTAs.

Late Assessment Submission and Penalties

Only one activity --- the Problem Set --- wil lhave the submission due date. It is to be determined in consultation iwth students by week 3. It falls under Late Assesment Policy: Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 23:55. A grace period of one hour period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. Problem Set: If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit by the deadline, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au. Labs: to catch up 1-3 missed labs no formal request is neded. Just fill the catch-up form on iLearn. 

ASSESMENT TASKS

1. LABORATORY WORK (30%, estimated time on task = 10 hours outside of scheduled classes)

Laboratory work entails hands-on practical activities that are undertaken during scheduled laboratory classes. The first laboratory [during week 1] session will introduce you to the to the lab program and the skills you will develop. Attendance is mandatory – you cannot do subsequent lab sessions if you do not attend the introductory one. 

The next eight lab sessions involve experimental work and will be assessed. Preparation is required for each of these lab sessions and you will find the Prelab activities in the Laboratory Resources section of iLearn.

All laboratory work will be documented in the lab book provided to you. The final lab mark will be informed by  individual lab contributions and the overall assesment of the lab book.  Each individual report  will be marked in your lab book after each class so that you can track your progress. You can earn up to 20 points for your work each lab session. To achieve full marks you would need to attend all lab sessions and achieve 20 points in all nine practical lab sessions. Your laboratory work accounts for 30% of your final mark for the unit.

A limited number of catch-up labs will be offered for students who miss a lab session. These will be held during the mid-session break, and towards the end of semester. A student can request no more than three catch up labs, via an online form on iLearn. Further details will be made available in the Lab Resources section of iLearn and during the first Lab session.

2. PROBLEM SET (20%, estimated time on task = 3 hours outside of scheduled classes)

A problem set will be issues druing week 9. It will consist of the problems similar to the ones discussed at SGTA sessions and quizzes during weeks 1-9. The deadline will be determined in consultion with students, approximately around week 10.

2. FINAL EXAMINATION (20%, estimated time on task = 20 hours outside of scheduled classes)

A two-hour written examination will be held during the university exam period, covering all content from the unit.

CONTACTS

For all unit-related inquiries email phys1210@mq.edu.au. Do NOT use personal emails of the staff unless it is a major emergency.

WEEK 1

All activities start at week 1

STRUCTURE

Lectures 2h/week | SGTA 2h/week | Labs 2.5h/week All activities are in-person. The lectures will be recorded and available via iLearn. Additional video materials may be posted from time to time.

Required Text Introduction to Biological Physics for the Health and Life Sciences, 2nd Edition, 2019, ISBN: 978-1-118-93450-0 OR E-text, ISBN: 978-1-118-93448-7

Teaching Strategy

PHYS1210 consists of lectures, tutorials, laboratory sessions and assessment including tutorial quizzes, laboratory reports and formal exams. You should spend an average of 9-10 hours per week studying for this unit (indicative only). This time is inclusive of all scheduled learning.

1. LABORATORY WORK

Laboratory work entails hands-on practical activities that are undertaken during scheduled laboratory classes. The first laboratory session will introduce you to the to the lab program and the skills you will develop. It also includes important work health and safety information. Students may also be assigned to lab groups, lab books will be handed out, and computer access will be checked. Session 1 needs to be attended by all students. It will be shorter than the other sessions, but attendance is mandatory – you cannot do subsequent lab sessions if you do not attend the introductory one. 

The next eight lab sessions involve experimental work and will be assessed. Preparation is required for each of these lab sessions and you will find the Prelab activities in the Laboratory Resources section of iLearn. All laboratory work will be documented in the lab book provided to you. The teaching staff will assist you throughout each lab session, providing feedback, allocating “points” for pre-lab work, for demonstrating particular skills during class, and for the documentation in your lab book. The points will be recorded in your lab book after each class so that you can track your progress.

2. SGTA

2h sessions happen weekly, including week 1 [yes, they are scheduled before the lectures].

Week 1 session will review the math that is neccessary for this unit. Sessions for weeks 2-13 will practice the theoretical material from the pervious weeks.

Quizzes are taken at the end of each SGTA. They will be marked [approximately half by hte teaching staff, and half by other students at the end of the SGTA]. Their marks will be recorded. These are indicative only, but the past expirience makes them the best predictor of the final grade. All problems in the Problem Set a majority of the tasks of the Final Examination will be based on the SGTA problems and quizzes.

3 Topics covered in lectures (+ weeks+texbook chapters).  

[Some changes in assigned/recommended sections may occur]

WEEK 1 Kinematics (Chapter 1) 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Distance and Displacement 1.3 Speed and Velocity 1.4 Acceleration 1.5 Average Velocity or Speed 1.6 Change in Displacement Under Constant Acceleration 1.7 The Acceleration Due to Gravity

WEEK 2 Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion (Chapter 2) 2.2 The Concept of Force 2.2 Newton’s Laws of Motion 2.3 Kinds of Force 2.4 Newtonian Gravity 2.5 Fictitious Forces Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion (Chapter 2) 3.2 Description of Circular Motion 3.3 Circular Velocity and Acceleration 3.4 Centripetal Force 33 3.5 Sources of Centripetal Force

WEEK 3 Rotation (Chapter 3) 3.2 Description of circular motion 3.3 Angular velocity, acceleration 3.5 Centripetal force Rotational Statics (Chapter 4) 4.2 Equilibrium 4.3 Torque 4.4 The Principle of Moments

WEEK 4 Energy (Chapter 5) 5.2 What is Energy? 5.3 Work 5.4 Kinetic Energy 5.5 Potential Energy 5.6 Conservative Forces 5.7 Conservation of Total Energy 5.8 Power Momentum (Chapter 6) 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Linear Momentum 6.3 Newton’s Laws and Momentum 6.4 Collisions 6.5 Elastic Collisions

WEEK 5 Fluids (Chapters 11, 12, 14) 11.2 Pressure 11.3 Density 11.4 Pascal's Principle 11.5 Measurement of Pressure 11.6 Pressure and the Human Body 12.2 The Buoyant Force 14.1-14.2 Fluid Dynamics of Non-viscous Fluids 14.3 The Equation of Continuity 14.4 Bernoulli's Equation

WEEK 6 Heat (Chapters 17, 19, 21) 17.2 Thermal Equilibrium 17.3 Measuring Temperature 19.2 Phase Changes 19.3 Temperature Changes 19.4 Energy Conservation 21.2 Heat Transfer: Conduction 21.3 Convection  

WEEK 7/1 Thermodynamics (Chapters 22, 24) 22.2 The First Law 22.3 Energy and the Body 24.2 The Second Law of Thermodynamics 24.3 Entropy 24.4 Heat Engines

WEEK 7/2 -WEEK 8 Electricity (Chapters 26, 27, 28) 26.2 Charge 26.3 Conductors and Insulators 26.4 Charging of Objects 27.2 Coulomb’s Law 27.3 Superposition of Electric Forces 27.5 The Electric Field 28.3 Electrical Potential 28.4 Electrical Potential and Work 28.7 The Heart and ECG

WEEK 9 Currents and Circuits (Chapter 30) 30.2 Electric Current 30.4 Direct Versus Alternating Current 30.5 Circuits and Circuit Diagrams 30.6 Power Sources 30.7 Resistance and Ohm’s Law 30.8 Resistors and Resistivity 30.11 Resistors in Series and Parallel 30.12 Power Dissipation 30.14 Electric Shock Hazards 30.15 Electricity in Cells Magnetism (enreachment)

WEEK 10 Waves and Sound (Chapters 8, 9) 8.1-8.2 Nature of waves 10 8.3 Frequency, Wavelength, and Speed 8.4 The Form of the Wave 8.5 Types of Wave 8.6 Superposition and Interference 8.7 Beats 8.8 Reflection 8.9 Standing Waves 8.10 Waves and Energy 9.2 Sound Waves in Media 9.3 Pitch and Loudness 9.5 The Ear 9.6 The Doppler Effect

WEEK 11 Light (Chapter 32, 33, 34) 32.2 Electromagnetic Waves 32.3 Reflection 32.4 Refraction 32.5 Dispersion 33.1 Geometric Optics 33.2 Ray Diagrams 33.3-33.4 Mirrors 33.6 Lenses 34.1-34.9 The eye and vision Wave optics (Chapter 35) 35.2 Superposition and Interference 21.4 Radiation

WEEK 12 Atoms and Atomic Physics (Chapter 38) 38.2 Parts of the Atom 38.4 The Böhr Model of the Atom 38.6 Quantum Mechanics Nuclear Physics (Chapters 39, 40, 41, 42, 43) 39.2 Nuclei and Isotopes 39.5 Nuclear Decay and Stability 40.2 Nuclear Decay Processes 40.3 Activity and Half-Life 42.3 Dose and Dose Equivalent*

WEEK 13 REVISION

Links with topics in chiro and biomed sciences are added to the lectures. GAMSAT-style problems are introduced to quizzes/SGTA.