Course Catalogue

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This level 1 course is intended for science students. It is cross-curricular in nature, using topics within Astronomy, Chemistry, Geography & Earth Sciences, and Physics to develop student's scientific problem solving skills and graduate attributes.

Students undertaking this course will receive 33 hours of contact teaching - 10 two-hour workshop sessions + 10 hours of lectures + 3 hours of tutorials.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

None

Recommended Entry Requirements

None

None

None

Assessment

Course work (50 %); Final examination (50 %)

Reassessment

In accordance with the University's Code of Assessment reassessments are normally set for all courses which do not contribute to the honours classifications. For non honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students, and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions are listed below in this box.

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below.  Continuing assessment is in the form of a group project which cannot be retaken at a later date.

The aims of this course are:

(1) To develop problem-solving skills appropriate to science-based courses.

(2)To develop and use team-working skills.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Carry out order of magnitude estimation and approximation calculations.

2. Determine the errors on calculations.

3. Demonstrate an ability to manipulate algebraic expressions.

4. Perform dimensional analysis to identify unknown variables.

5. Identify key components within a problem to enable its solution.

6. Be able to correctly interpret three-dimensional models.

7. Demonstrate how to collect and process scientific data.

8. Demonstrate how to extract and evaluate information from wider sources, e.g. literature and the internet.

9. Solve problems collaboratively.

10. Identify appropriate roles for team members and allocate tasks according to strengths and interests

11. To develop, and promote recognition of, Graduate Attributes.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.