Overview
In this unit, you will learn the role of geotechnical investigations in the design process, and soil mechanics including description of physical properties, soil classification, bearing capacity, permeability, compressibility, shear strength, slope stability, flow of water, and foundations and footings including investigations into basic principles of subsurface rock and soil materials and their ability to support structures.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
BLAR11049 Built Environment Communication and Skills Or COMM11003 Professional and Technical Communication (before 2012 term 1)
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2018
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Have Your Say Feedback
The unit topics for each subject were clear and could be read easily. The lecturers clearly knew the subject matter and delivery was of a high standard.
Retain the structural clarity of the unit schedule and the Moodle site.
Feedback from Have Your Say Feedback
Learning the background of the construction of footings and retaining walls.
Continue to offer and further develop teaching of practical applications of the subject matter.
- Apply soil and rock mechanics principles in building design and construction.
- Interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on geotechnical design.
- Explain the use and limitations of geotechnical design in built environment projects.
- Perform basic geotechnical calculations including soil phase relationships, strength, stability, stress, compressibility, permeability and bearing capacity.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | ||||
| 4 - Written Assessment - 35% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | ||||||||||
| 4 - Written Assessment - 35% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Principles of Geotechnical Engineering
Edition: 9th (2017)
Authors: Braja M. Das and Khaled Sobhan
Cengage
US US
ISBN: ISBN 9781305970939
Binding: eBook
Additional Textbook Information
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.flowers@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Topic 1: History of geotechnical studies, origin of soil, and weight-volume relationships
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 2: Plasticity and structure of soil, classification of soil, and soil compaction
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 3: Permeability
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 4: In situ stress
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 5: Stresses in a soil mass
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 6: Compressibility of soil
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 7: Shear strength of soil
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 8: Lateral earth pressure: At-rest, Rankine, and Coulomb
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 9: Lateral earth pressure: Curved failure surface
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 10: Slope stability
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 11: Soil bearing capacity for shallow foundations
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Topic 12: Subsoil exploration and rock mechanics
Chapter
Please refer to the study guide and Moodle site for specific text book readings and additional unit information
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Assessment task 1 covers Topic 1-3 in the study guide, and will require you to research and answer a number of questions that explore significant geotechnical concepts and calculations in relation to soil characteristics/properties, standard Proctor test, conductivity test, and soil compaction.
As with all assessments, formatting and presentation is really important, technical accuracy and referencing where required is paramount with an overarching requirement for demonstrating your answer / submission / design with clarity.
Your assignment should be produced in electronic format either as
- a single word-processed document, or
- a single pdf format document.
All submissions must be submitted through the assessment link in Moodle, by uploading your file following the on-screen instructions.
Further information regarding the assessment will be available on the unit Moodle site.
Week 5 Friday (10 Aug 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 7 Friday (31 Aug 2018)
The assignment will be assessed on the following basis:
Clarity of expression and comprehensive coverage of issues
Use of quality supporting documentation as appropriate
Use of original thought and content
Overall presentation and ability to communicate using correct spelling, grammar and punctuation and the use of appropriate diagrams and other visual communication.
Demonstration of core knowledge and demonstration of appropriate application of knowledge.
- Apply soil and rock mechanics principles in building design and construction.
- Interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on geotechnical design.
- Explain the use and limitations of geotechnical design in built environment projects.
- Perform basic geotechnical calculations including soil phase relationships, strength, stability, stress, compressibility, permeability and bearing capacity.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
2 Written Assessment
Assessment task 2 covers Topic 4-7 in the study guide, and will require you to research and answer a number of questions that explore significant geotechnical concepts and calculations in relation to stresses in a soil mass, compressibility of soil, and shear strength of soil.
As with all assessments, formatting and presentation is really important, technical accuracy and referencing where required is paramount with an overarching requirement for demonstrating your answer / submission / design with clarity.
Your assignment should be produced in electronic format either as
- a single word-processed document, or
- a single pdf format document.
All submissions must be submitted through the assessment link in Moodle, by uploading your file following the on-screen instructions.
Further information regarding the assessment will be available on the unit Moodle site.
Week 9 Friday (14 Sept 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 11 Friday (28 Sept 2018)
The assignment will be assessed on the following basis:
Clarity of expression and comprehensive coverage of issues
Use of quality supporting documentation as appropriate
Use of original thought and content
Overall presentation and ability to communicate using correct spelling, grammar and punctuation and the use of appropriate diagrams and other visual communication.
Demonstration of core knowledge and demonstration of appropriate application of knowledge.
- Apply soil and rock mechanics principles in building design and construction.
- Interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on geotechnical design.
- Explain the use and limitations of geotechnical design in built environment projects.
- Perform basic geotechnical calculations including soil phase relationships, strength, stability, stress, compressibility, permeability and bearing capacity.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
3 Online Quiz(zes)
Assessment task 3 is a quiz. This assessment covers all topics in the study guide, and will require you to answer 20 multiple choice questions based on all the units topics presented during the term.
Further information regarding the assessment will be available on the unit Moodle site.
1
Week 12 Friday (5 Oct 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 12 Friday (5 Oct 2018)
Results will be visible after the quiz closes (05.10.2018 11:45pm)
Successful completion of the online quiz from a single attempt, achieved by demonstrating a sound understanding of the relevant Learning Outcomes.
- Apply soil and rock mechanics principles in building design and construction.
- Interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on geotechnical design.
- Explain the use and limitations of geotechnical design in built environment projects.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
4 Written Assessment
Assessment task 4 covers Topic 8-12 in the study guide, and will require you to research and answer a number of questions that explore significant geotechnical studies concepts and calculations in relation to earth pressure, slope stability, soil bearing capacity, and subsoil exploration and rock mechanics.
As with all assessments, formatting and presentation is really important, technical accuracy and referencing where required is paramount with an overarching requirement for demonstrating your answer / submission / design with clarity.
Your assignment should be produced in electronic format either as
- a single word-processed document, or
- a single pdf format document
All submissions must be submitted through the assessment link in Moodle, by uploading your file following the on-screen instructions.
Further information regarding the assessment will be available on the unit Moodle site.
Review/Exam Week Monday (8 Oct 2018) 11:45 pm AEST
22 October 2018
The assignment will be assessed on the following basis:
Clarity of expression and comprehensive coverage of issues
Use of quality supporting documentation as appropriate
Use of original thought and content
Overall presentation and ability to communicate using correct spelling, grammar and punctuation and the use of appropriate diagrams and other visual communication.
Demonstration of core knowledge and demonstration of appropriate application of knowledge.
- Apply soil and rock mechanics principles in building design and construction.
- Interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on geotechnical design.
- Explain the use and limitations of geotechnical design in built environment projects.
- Perform basic geotechnical calculations including soil phase relationships, strength, stability, stress, compressibility, permeability and bearing capacity.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
