Course Title: Life on Earth

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Life on Earth

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
ENVI1142	City Campus	Undergraduate	135H Applied Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2015, Sem 2 2015, Sem 1 2016, Sem 2 2016
ENVI1142	City Campus	Undergraduate	171H School of Science	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2017, Sem 1 2018, Sem 2 2018, Sem 1 2019, Sem 2 2019, Sem 1 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022
ENVI1142	City Campus	Undergraduate	171H School of Science	Internet	Sem 1 2021

Course Coordinator: Dr Ravi Shukla

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2970

Course Coordinator Email: ravi.shukla@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 003.02.020 (city campus)

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment, by email

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

 

Assumed Knowledge

This is an introductory biology course requiring no formal prerequisites, but you will find that knowledge of chemistry at VCE level will be an advantage.

Course Description

The course intended as an introduction to biological structures and function for students from a diverse range of study programs. It is designed to provide you with an overview of how cells are structured and interact to allow organisms to carry out their basic functions followed by an overview of animal and plant structure and diversity. The aim of the course is to develop basic knowledge that will support further study in engineering and environmental sciences. The topics covered include the following: macromolecules and molecular diversity; what defines life; cell and organelle structures and functions; key metabolic process of respiration and photosynthesis, the taxonomic diversity of plants and animals.

The three components of the course are:

• the cellular unity of life, including cell structure, function, and metabolism. 
• animal diversity introducing the diversity and adaptation of animals in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. 
• plant diversity, aiming to familiarise students with the taxonomy and identification of plants. 

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

1. Understanding Science

1.1 You will be able to articulate the methods of science and explain why current scientific knowledge is contestable and testable through further inquiry

2. Scientific knowledge:

2.1. You will demonstrate a broad and coherent knowledge and understanding of Earth’s life support system processes.

2.2. You will understand that environmental science has interdisciplinary connections with other sciences

3. Inquiry and problem solving:

3.1. You will be able to critically analyse and solve problems in biological sciences by gathering, synthesizing and critically evaluating information from a range of sources.

4. Communication:

4.1. You will be an effective communicator of Earth’s support systems communicating scientific results, information, or arguments using a range of modes (oral, written, visual) to different audiences.

5. Personal and professional responsibility

5.1 You will be an independent and self-directed learner

5.2 You will work responsibly, safely, legally and ethically in an individual and team context. ill be able to collect, accurately record, interpret, and draw conclusions from scientific data.

 

 

 

 

Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Identify and compare prokaryotic, animal and plant cells.
2. Identify major classes of macromolecules and explain their role in cell structure and function.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of how solar energy and chemical energies within macromolecules drive metabolism and form the basis of life on the planet earth.
4. Explain the key features of major plant and animal taxonomic groups and relate animal and plant structures for adaptation to their natural habitat.
5. Undertake laboratory simulations and observe living animals and plants in the environment and relate observations to theory from the course.
6. Develop an understanding on the concept structure dictates function and cells as the fundamental building blocks of life. 

Overview of Learning Activities

 

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectorials, tutorials, practicals, laboratories, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both. 

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course. 

Overview of Learning Resources

 

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment tasks:

Assessment task 1: Discipline based practical competency exercises and assessment  
Weighting: 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 2, 3, 4, and 5

Assessment task 2: Discipline based authentic theory assessment task      
Weighting: 40%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 3, and 4 

Assessment task 3: Seminar/ poster presentation 
Weighting: 20%
This assessment task supports CLO 6 

Assessment task 4: Reflective report and discussion
Weighting: 10% 
This assessment task supports CLOs 2, 3 and 4 

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.