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 3 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 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 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 57.14% (`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: SUTE
Feedback
Incorporating R-studio and other data science related learning into science degrees is beneficial for science students and their future.
Recommendation
We intend to keep the R-studio practical.
Action Taken
This practical was not run in 2024 due to staff unavailability but will be run again in future.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Make it more clear that digitally drawn images (created by students but using drawing software) are allowed.
Recommendation
We will make it more clear in the End of Term Online Quiz instructions that digital images created by the student are allowable.
Action Taken
It was made clear to students that digital images that they created were allowable.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Students reported that the lecturers' passion for the topics was evident in every lecture and that this made the content more fun to engage with. Students also appreciated the creativity and flexibility allowed in the mythical creature assessment. Students also found residential school interesting and educational.
Recommendation
The unit coordinators will continue to be enthusiastic and kind. The mythical creature assessment will be continued.
Action Taken
The mythical creatures assessment was continued. Despite some changes and staffing uncertainty in 2024, passion for the content was evident in staff.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Unit Coordinators changed partway through term and this impacted student experience.
Recommendation
Avoid staffing changes where possible; where not possible in future find ways to mitigate the impact to student experience.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
The residential school was a positive experience and students learned a lot from the hands on experience.
Recommendation
Continue to provide a hands on residential school with enthusiastic teaching staff.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Some lecture recordings are from several years ago and should be updated.
Recommendation
Update lecture recordings where relevant.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Feedback on assessment was not timely.
Recommendation
In future, timelines for feedback as outlined in the Unit Profile will be maintained.
Action Taken
In Progress
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 • •