BIOL12112 - Animal and Plant Physiology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In Animal and Plant Physiology you will study the basic functioning of plants and animals. You will explore a number of major themes in biology including the integral relationship between structure and function, the maintenance of homeostasis and the principles of evolution and adaptation. You will examine major functions of living organisms such as locomotion, nutrition, respiration, circulation and reproduction. In the practical component you will gain hands-on experience of relevant laboratory and field procedures.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisites

BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory

and

ENVR11014 Environmental Monitoring

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2023

Term 1 - 2023 Profile
Mixed Mode
Rockhampton

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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Online Quiz(zes) 20%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Practical Assessment 0%
4. Online Quiz(zes) 50%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 71.43% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 29.17% response rate.

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.

Source: Have your Say
Feedback
Assessment return time for the essay.
Recommendation
Return student essays and feedback in the two-week timeframe.
Action Taken
This was done.
Source: Have your Say
Feedback
Students enjoyed being team taught by Drs Irving and English, each of us bringing a passion for animal and plant physiology, respectively.
Recommendation
Continue to team teach and look for ways to improve or increase topical teaching in this and other units to highlight each lecturer's passion for their research topic.
Action Taken
This continued in 2022.
Source: Have your Say
Feedback
Students asked for the return of the mythical creature assessment as an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge, creativity and critical thinking skills.
Recommendation
Consider returning the Mythical Creature assessment in place of the report.
Action Taken
We have not returned to the mythical creature assessment. It is important for Year 2 students to demonstrate their ability to author a research essay supported by evidence.
Source: Student
Feedback
Organisation of res schools and feedback of assessments
Recommendation
One of the Unit Coordinators was double booked and this impacted on the organisation of the residential school. In the future, more attention needs to be paid to timetabling Unit Coordinators so that they can attend the residential schools for units they coordinate.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student
Feedback
You guys are doing a great job, you inspire me more and more with each lecture. You are also great with students and you disserve an award for your efforts.
Recommendation
We plan to continue team teaching the unit as the students consistently find the "Nerdy Biology" feel of the unit engaging.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the function of the major organ systems in plants and animals
  2. Discuss the relationship between the structure and function of living organisms
  3. Apply the concepts of homeostasis to various organ systems in plants and animals
  4. Discuss the evolution and adaptation of plant and animal function in relation to the environment
  5. Perform a range of practical procedures in the laboratory and the field relating to the physiology of plants and animals.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Practical Assessment •
4 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • •
3 - Critical Thinking •
4 - Information Literacy •
5 - Team Work •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2 - Written Assessment • •
4 - Online Quiz(zes) • • •
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • •
3 - Practical Assessment • •