Required texts

Required text:

Paul G. Hewitt, (2023) Conceptual Physics, 13th Edition (Global edition), Pearson

This text is linked to the online support system Mastering Physics, which will be available (free of charge) to all students in this unit through Canvas. Access to an electronic copy of the book is available through Mastering Physics. Limited copies of the textbook are available from the UC library.

An e-book version of the text is available for purchase direct from the publisher. This can be purchased .

Suggested text:

L. Kirkup (1994), Experimental methods. An introduction to the analysis and presentation of data, John Wiley and Sons, Australia. The textbook is available from the UC library. This text will be useful for handling and interpreting data in laboratory exercises and the independent investigation, but it is not a required text.

Submission of assessment items

Special assessment requirements

The final mark for this subject will be calculated by an accumulation of marks from each assessment item. To achieve a passing grade or higher in this subject, students must:

• Attend at least 80% of workshop classes; and
• Attempt all assessment items; and
• Achieve a final aggregate mark of 50% or higher.

The Unit Convener reserves the right to question students orally on any of their submitted work for moderation and academic integrity purposes, which may result in an adjustment to the marks awarded for a specific task.

Deferred In-class Test

In the event a student misses any in-class test due to illness or other exceptional circumstances, the student must request a deferred test by completing the In-class Test Deferred Application accessible from the unit's Canvas site. 

The application must be submitted within 3 days of the scheduled test. Students must provide a medical certificate or other relevant documents as requested by the unit convener before sitting the deferred test.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and 五月天视频 (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

The contact hours for each student in this unit consist of 12 hours of lectures (1 hrs x 12 weeks), 33 hours of workshops (3 hrs x 11 weeks) and 3 hours of in-class tests (1 hr x 3 weeks). There are an additional up to 12 hours of online lecturettes. The remaining 90 hours of workload should be distributed across self-directed study and the various assessment tasks.

Participation requirements

Participation in all lectures is highly recommended and will enhance your understanding of the unit content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Similarly, engagement with lecturettes and other materials provided online is considered essential. The content across all delivery modes is designed to complement without repetition. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items.

Students failing to engage with lecture and lecturette material prior to weekly workshops will find the practical material difficult and will struggle with conducting and analysing the experiments. The workshops will be delivered with the expectation that students are familiar with the lecture and lecturette content.

Participation in workshops is a compulsory condition of this unit. A student must participate in at least 80% of the workshops in order to pass the unit. In the event that you cannot attend your assigned workshop due to illness or unavoidable commitments, contact the Unit Convener as soon as possible to negotiate an alternative workshop class (if available). You will need to provide a medical or counsellor's certificate to attend an alternative session.

Required IT skills

An ability to use basic word processing and spreadsheet software.

In-unit costs

Students are required to have a 200 page lab journal (see requirements in Assessment: Lab Journal Assessment) and access to a scientific calculator.

Students will also need access to the recommended textbook and a computer with internet connection. If needed these resources can be accessed via the library and on-campus PC labs.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Laboratory Safety
Workshops for this unit are run in a laboratory environment. It is essential that students are familiar with lab safety requirements and students are required to complete a lab safety quiz (through Canvas) prior to their first workshop. Safety practices include wearing closed-toed shoes while in the laboratory. Without appropriate footwear, lab access will be denied.

Provision of information to the group
Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (Canvas forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only). Students should ensure they check their student email regularly. The Canvas discussion forums will be checked by staff regularly.

• Semester 1, 2024, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (217151)
• Semester 1, 2023, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (213322)
• Semester 1, 2022, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (209099)