BLAR11033 - Building Materials 1

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will develop your knowledge on the properties of building materials. You will also examine testing (both destructive and non-destructive) of timber, concrete, and metals in relation to: Timber - grading, strength tests, durability and protection of timber products; Concrete - tests on aggregates, fresh and hardened concrete properties, durability studies and test methods, and concrete protection; and Metal - ferrous and non-ferrous metal and its alloys, corrosion of metals and protection, and strength properties tests. This unit also develops your understanding of: Protection from corrosion and destruction; Identifying the suitable grade material for the site conditions; and Relevant Australian and international Standards. You will be provided with an introduction to: the development and application of materials from industry by-products and re-cycling of materials and life-cycle analysis of materials.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

There are no availabilities for this unit on or after Term 2 - 2024

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. Written Assessment 30%
2. Written Assessment 30%
3. Written Assessment 40%

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 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 78.57% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 23.33% 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: Unit Evaluation Survey
Feedback
Inclusion of learning materials introducing innovative and progressive building materials as well as resources that are focused on the Australian construction industry.
Recommendation
We review the unit resources and ensure that the content is up-to-date with the current innovation and trends in the Australian construction industry.
Action Taken
Continued content review will continue to ensure the unit remains current.
Source: Student
Feedback
Students appreciated that the lecturer included modern materials and 3D printing of buildings.
Recommendation
The unit is continually updated to reflect technological advances.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student
Feedback
The information provided by the lecturer was split randomly between the Moodle and MS Teams, this was confusing for some students.
Recommendation
All core learning material is provided through the Moodle site and mirrored in the MS Team which also provides a forum for student engagement.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Lecturer
Feedback
Attendance at and access to tutorial recordings was low.
Recommendation
Tutorial attendance is highly recommended for students to provide clarification on the unit's subjects and guidance on the assignments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Explain building materials, including the types, manufacturing process, properties, usage in construction and the life cycle analysis.
  2. Apply the Australian and international standards relevant to building materials.
  3. Conduct a literature review to answer specific questions related to building materials.
  4. Report on building materials through effective written communication.


Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Communication • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • • • •
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
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • •