PHYS40110 - Introductory Physics

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit will prepare you for university study in engineering or the physical sciences (which may include allied health). You will gain an introductory understanding of the basic concepts in physics and learn to apply the principles of physics to solve problems of a physical nature in everyday life. Topics covered in this unit include measurement, motion, forces and mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, properties of matter, heat and thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism, waves, and optics. This unit assumes an intermediate level of mathematical knowledge.

Details

Level Non-award
Unit Level Not Applicable
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 1 - 2025

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 3 - 2025 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 Non-award 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. Examination 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 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 11.11% 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: Students
Feedback
Some students commented that they did not know what to expect in the quizzes.
Recommendation
Implement practice quizzes to provide examples of quiz solutions.
Action Taken
Practice quizzes were implemented and many students took the opportunity to do them.
Source: Unit evaluations
Feedback
Live tutorials were useful for asking questions.
Recommendation
Continue live tutorials based on tutorial question sheets.
Action Taken
The tutorials were continued and recorded. They were still poorly attended in some terms.
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students found downloading from Echo360 difficult.
Recommendation
Include instructions for downloading Echo videos in the Moodle site.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students would like more sample assessments.
Recommendation
Include more sample written assessments, including references to textbook content for solutions.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback
Feedback
Students found practice quizzes helpful.
Recommendation
Continue to offer practice quizzes.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Recall fundamental physics concepts and techniques
  2. Solve quantitative and qualitative problems using appropriate physics and mathematical techniques
  3. Analyse information using physics techniques
  4. Communicate physics in a competent, logical and professional manner
  5. Improve physics comprehension through effective reflective practice.

This course has no external accreditation.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Online Quiz(zes) • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Examination • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Self Management • • • •
2 - Communication • • •
5 - Problem Solving • •
6 - Critical Thinking • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9