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Unit Synopsis
This unit explains why geological processes that produce landforms, geological structures, rocks, and soils affect the location, design, construction, and maintenance of civil engineering projects. In the unit, you will conduct geotechnical tests, analyse test data, prepare geotechnical reports, and discuss the engineering characteristics and properties of soil. You will select appropriate approaches for analysing the behaviour of soils in civil engineering applications. You will need to use appropriate 'civil engineering language' in context and document the process of modelling and analysis of geotechnical problems. You will present information in a professional manner and communicate, work, and learn, both individually and in teams. You will be required to have access to a computer and to make frequent use of the internet, particularly if you are a distance (FLEX) student. Distance students will complete the practical work at a residential school.
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 |
Prerequisites: [ENEG11006 Engineering Statics OR PHYS11184 Engineering Physics A OR ENAG11005 Mechanics] AND [MATH11218 Applied Mathematics OR MATH11160 Technology Mathematics] 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 |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2020
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Term 2 - 2022 Profile
Term 2 - 2023 Profile
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Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 3. Practical Assessment | 20% |
| 4. Take Home Exam | 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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
No previous feedback available
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
The lectures were very engaging with demonstrated passion.
The engaging nature of the lectures with student participation should be maintained.
The engaging nature of the lectures was maintained, where student understanding of various concepts was prioritised with an inquiry-based learning approach.
Source: SUTE
The assessments were relevant and useful for learning.
The practical nature of the assessments and other learning resources should be maintained.
The practical aspects of how learned knowledge can be implemented or related to field case studies were upheld.
Source: SUTE
Need to make it clear that lectures are an indispensable resource.
Better communication of the unit requirements should be made in future offerings.
Students were regularly informed about the importance of attending the regular lectures and the relevance of the lectures in the unit context.
Source: SUTE
The lecturer makes serious attempts to make everyone understand the physical concepts.
The interactive lectures should be maintained with a focus on student understanding and comprehension of various topics.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
The unit support level was exceptional and greatly helped learning. The MATLAB scripts were phenomenal.
The outstanding support towards student queries should be maintained. The MATLAB script-based learning should be continued.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
There should be more discussion on the application side of things as opposed to theory.
Class discussion and lecture content should focus more on the application of various concepts within the geotechnical domain practice.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss the implications of geological factors affecting the location, design, construction, and maintenance of civil engineering projects
- Conduct geotechnical tests, analyse test data, and prepare geotechnical reports
- Calculate basic engineering properties of soils and explain the relationship to soil behaviour
- Analyse the behaviour of soil in response to engineering applications using appropriate theories and national standards
- Communicate, work and learn both individually and in teams, document the process of modelling, testing, and analysis and present the information in a professional manner.
The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers, Stage 1 Competency Standards for Engineering Technologists, and Stage 1 Competency Standards for Engineering Associates.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 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 | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||
| 3 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 4 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | • | |||||||