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BLAR12052 - Geotechnical Studies

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This course outlines the role of geotechnical investigations in the design process and provides students with an understanding of soils including: Description of physical properties; soil classification; bearing capacity; permeability; Compressibility; Shear strength and slope stability of soils; Flow of water in soils. The course also covers: Foundations and footings including investigations into basic principles of subsurface materials and their ability to support structures; An introduction to rock mechanics, properties of rock materials and of jointed rock masses including the classification of rock, the effects of faulting and sampling and testing of rock. Students will be required to develop the ability to interpret geological information and undertake a field investigation as a part of the course.

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 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2013

Term 2 - 2017 Profile
Distance
Term 2 - 2018 Profile
Distance
Term 2 - 2019 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2020 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2021 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Online

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 35%
2. Written Assessment 45%
3. Written Assessment 20%
4. Written Assessment 0%

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 2 - 2022 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 88.89% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 45.00% 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: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE)
Feedback
The learning material is reflected with everyday use in the professional environment.
Recommendation
The lecturer will adopt the same teaching strategy by including more practical examples in weekly lectures, tutorials and assessment tasks.
Action Taken
The lecturer adopted the same strategy using lectures in advance to cover the theory and the followed-up tutorials to work out practice examples from the theory. The lecturer included practical problems in the assessment tasks.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation (SUTE)
Feedback
The lecturer went above and beyond to provide additional tips and advice, which were very helpful in completing the assessment tasks. In addition to the scheduled zoom sessions, the lecturer made himself available for extra zoom sessions to provide help upon request.
Recommendation
The lecturer will adopt the same teaching strategy by providing additional help for students to undertake assessment tasks and understand the teaching content.
Action Taken
The lecturer guided the students in approaching the assessment questions upon the completion of each week's teaching content. The communication happened verbally and in written form. The lecturer first discussed the assessments in the online tutorial and later posted what was discussed in the Unit News Forum, Quick Mail and MS Team.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Clear, informative and well-delivered unit. Assessment questions are relevant to actual building and construction industry practice.
Recommendation
It is recommended to continue with the same teaching practice.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluation
Feedback
Assessment tips were extremely helpful in this unit.
Recommendation
It is recommended to continue with the same teaching strategy in which the lecturer regularly provides 'Tips for Assessment Questions' in News Forum/ Quickmail upon covering the required knowledge in lectures and tutorials to answer those questions.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Student Unit Teaching Evaluation and student email
Feedback
The unit covers a long list of materials related to every day practice. The lecturer made sure they were covered giving better understanding of the knowledge referring to practical examples. Students are now using this knowledge in their actual practice e.g. reading soil test reports, retaining wall design and construction.
Recommendation
It is recommended to continue with the same teaching practice.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. describe the applications of rock mechanics in building design and construction
  2. interpret the influences of geological processes and natural environments on rock and rock masses
  3. describe the use and limitations of soil mechanics in engineering
  4. perform basic calculations in the areas of: 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 • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Written Assessment • •
4 - 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 • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
6 - Information Technology 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 • • • • •
4 - Written Assessment • • • • •