CHEM100 Fundamentals of Chemistry

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 6 contact hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit is designed to introduce students to the study of chemistry and its influence on change in society and the environment. It provides a foundation for the further study of chemistry of relevance to environmental science. In addition, it is aimed at developing within students’ personal initiative, professional responsibility and an interest in, and enthusiasm for, the learning of chemistry.

 

CHEM102 Physical Chemistry

10 cp
Prerequisites CHEM100 Fundamentals of Chemistry
Teaching Organisation 6 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit will make students aware of some chemical principles underlying many technological processes which have an effect on society and the environment. It will allow students to apply chemical principles to the behaviour of laboratory systems and the wider environment.

 

CHEM201 Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry

10 cp
Prerequisites CHEM100 Fundamentals of Chemistry
Teaching Organisation 6 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit develops awareness of the importance of organic chemicals in the natural and built environment. Atomic structure and bonding are developed further and the structure, physical properties, uses and nomenclature of the major classes of organic compounds (including some pesticides, detergents and polymers) are studied. Stereoisomerism, reactivity, and the mechanisms of some significant chemical reactions are examined as well as the classification of hazardous chemicals and regulations for safe practice.

 

CHEM203 Environmental Chemistry

10 cp
Prerequisites CHEM100 Fundamentals of Chemistry
Teaching Organisation 6 contact hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit will consolidate students’ learning in preceding units. They will build upon acquired knowledge and apply this to developing their understanding of the environment and to interpreting environmental issues and concerns in terms of the associated chemistry.

 

CHEM504 Chemicals on Earth

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 10 weeks or equivalent.

This unit reviews the occurrence, characteristics, classification and uses of elements, particularly metals. The differences between the properties of a compound and its component elements are considered. The atomic structure of elements is related to the periodic table, with particular emphasis on periodic trends in properties. The structure and bonding of elements and compounds are related to their properties. Chemical reactions are reviewed, with reference to the extraction of economically useful substances from natural resources. The mole concept is developed.

 

CHEM505 Energy and Materials

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 10 weeks or equivalent.

This unit develops an understanding of the relationship between chemical reactions and the production of energy. The formation of fossil fuels, their extraction from natural resources and the properties of carbon compounds used as fuels are described. The production of energy through combustion reactions and the factors affecting these reactions are investigated. The role played by water in the storage of energy is examined. The use of fossil fuels in the production of raw materials is described. Methods of reducing society’s dependence on fossil fuels are investigated. The production of energy and raw materials by electrochemical methods is examined, as well as the production of some useful materials through nuclear chemistry.

 

CHEM506 Monitoring the Environment

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 10 weeks or equivalent.

This unit develops an understanding of the importance of chemical processes in the natural and built environments. The chemical concepts of acids and bases and equilibrium processes are developed in these contexts. The roles of chemists and the nature of various chemical processes used in some industrial production processes are examined. Chemical concepts are applied in relation to the management and quality control of industrial chemical production and to chemical analyses used for the monitoring of impacts of human activities on the environment.

 

CHEM507 Applications of Chemistry

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 10 weeks or equivalent.

This unit extends the principles and concepts developed in the previous units, applying them to a range of technological and environmental processes. A deeper understanding of equilibrium principles and electron transfer reactions is developed through the study of industrial processes such as the production of sulfuric acid, the electrolysis of brine to produce sodium hydroxide, the production of soap and the production of sodium carbonate by the Solvay process. The study of oxidation-reduction reactions is extended to corrosion and methods of minimising this process in natural environments, with a particular emphasis on marine environments.

 

COMM102 Introduction to Communication

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Lectures, tutorials and computer laboratory.

This introductory unit aims to develop students’ communication skills for formal study and for the workplace. It deals with listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills, presentation of ideas supported by appropriate software, visuals, and web-sourced information, and it introduces students to skills in interpersonal and cross-cultural communication and in negotiation.

 

COMM103 Written Communication

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 3 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of lectures, tutorials, writing workshops, on-line tasks.

This unit seeks to develop student’s writing and reading skills in a range of discourses relevant to their wider studies. Students will examine the practice of writing, from sentence level to whole documents, and the practice of reading for understanding in an academic context. They will also study practical written language skills. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the skills acquired.

 

COMM213 Interpersonal Communication

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation Lectures, tutorials, workshops and seminars.

This unit aims to develop students’ awareness of interpersonal communication as it applies to their relationships with peers, families, and colleagues, and awareness of themselves as communicators. It uses a range of theoretical models and considers their application to students’ life issues.

 

COMM218 Communication in the Workplace

10 cp
Prerequisites COMM102 Introduction to Communication or COMM103 Written Communication.

This unit examines effective communication in the workplace against the background of factors that affect it, such as language, gender, and culture, and the forms it takes, such as negotiation, mediation, conflict management, interpersonal communication and assertiveness. The unit aims to develop students’ awareness of ethical and professional standards of behaviour in the workplace.

 

COMP104 Computing Systems

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of computer laboratory classes, lectures, tutorials and small-group practice.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to examine the function of digital computing systems as collections of hardware, software, data, applications and people and how these are configured to meet the various needs of end-users. Students acquire advanced skills with computer applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases and presentation software. The skills acquired are used to solve everyday problems in an ethical manner and to communicate and present their solutions.

 

COMP106 Communication Systems

10 cp
Prerequisites Nil
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of computer laboratory classes, lectures, tutorials and small-group practice.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to examine the concepts of scope, impact and interrelatedness of digital communication systems within an ethical framework. Students will gain insight into the ways in which computers are linked in networks to facilitate effective transfer and retrieval of information. Students acquire knowledge and skills to facilitate basic networks and to configure and use Internet tools such as email, web browsers, discussion boards, on-line chats, and file transfer protocol (FTP) to conduct effective communication.

 

COMP202 Structured Problem-Solving

10 cp
Prerequisites TECO203 Design Processes
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit is designed to enable students to gain knowledge, skills and understanding which will assist in the development of their general problem-solving skills through the activity of computer programming. In the first instance, Object Logo and Visual BASIC will be used to develop students’ understanding and appreciation of the nature of the computer languages used. Students will use them in a disciplined manner to enhance the development of a cognitive processing perspective of the activities of programming and problem analysis. Students will develop skills in defining, expressing and documenting problem solutions and coding in at least two programming environments.

 

COMP203 Multimedia Systems

10 cp
Prerequisites Computing Sequence: COMP104 Computing Systems; Communication Sequence: COMM102 Introduction to Communication
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to examine the concept, scope and impact of digital multimedia systems on communication. Students will consider and apply elements of multimedia systems including instructional design, hyperlinks and interactivity, production of text, graphics, sound and video. Students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to design, develop and publish effective multimedia solutions to everyday problems.

 

COMP204 Information Processing and Technology

10 cp
Prerequisites COMP106 Communication Systems
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of computer laboratory classes, lectures, tutorials and small-group practice.

This unit builds on the unit COMP106 Communication Systems. Students will be introduced to computer applications as tools for information processes. The unit examines various information systems with an emphasis on databases and spreadsheets. Students explore social and ethical issues relating to information systems. Tools for information processing and the system development cycle are investigated. Students will apply project management techniques to the planning, design, implementation, testing, evaluation and documentation of the solution to an information processing problem.

 

COMP306 Software Design and Development

10 cp
Prerequisites COMP202 Structure Problem Solving
Teaching Organisation 5 hours per week for 12 weeks or equivalent of computer laboratory classes, lectures and small-group practice.

This unit extends the skills and understanding students developed in the unit COMP202 Structured Problem Solving. The unit introduces students to historical, hardware, social and ethical issues as they relate to software development. Students will also be introduced to a variety of programming paradigms. Students will develop knowledge and skills in the development and publishing of software solutions using the software development cycle. In the first instance the programming language used will be Visual Basic.

 

COMP307 ICT Project

10 cp
Prerequisites 4 advanced level units from the computing major
Teaching Organisation 4 hours per week (one consultation and three independent workshop hours) for 12 weeks or equivalent.

This unit provides students with the opportunity to carry out an individual project related to the application of information and communication technology to a specific problem. Each student will be required to conduct a thorough investigation of their chosen topic then to design, develop and manage their project. A significant component of the unit will be their ability to report on their findings using a variety of presentation media.