Introduction to Life, Earth and Universe

Subject 600-161 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 1 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable

Lectures and workshop laboratory classes.

Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: 36 one-hour lectures (three per week); 30 hours of workshop/laboratory classes (one 3-hour session per week for ten weeks).
Total Time Commitment: 120 hours total time commitment.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements: It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study and reasonable steps will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the University’s programs.
This subject requires all students to actively and safely participate in laboratory activities. Students who feel their disability may impact upon their participation are encouraged to discuss this with the subject coordinator and the Disability Liaison Unit.

Coordinator

Assoc Prof Malcolm William Wallace, Prof Geoffrey Mcfadden, Prof Rachel Lindsey Webster
Subject Overview: A multi-disciplinary approach is required to understand the most profound questions about life on Earth, and the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe.

This subject will explore the key ideas from the major scientific disciplines to understand the nature of life, the formation of the Earth and the structure of the universe. The development of life on the planet Earth is dependent on evolution of the surface of the planet, and in turn has affected the surface of the planet. Armed with an understanding of how life might have evolved on Earth, the subject will then explore the possibilities for life elsewhere in the solar system and beyond.

Topics covered will include: cosmology, extrasolar planets, the search for extraterrestrial life, the formation of the Earth, the early Earth and the evolution of the atmosphere, climatic evolution, definition and origin of life, early cellular evolution, evolution of metazoan life and mass extinctions, prebiotic chemistry, the rise of RNA and DNA, metabolic processes and ecosystems and the evolution of photosynthesis.
Objectives:

The subject will teach both the fundamental concepts in each of the core scientific disciplines: astrophysics, biology, geology and earth sciences, as well as developing the ability to use the scientific method to critically approach the key questions about the existence and evolution of life on the planet.

Assessment: Ongoing assessment of workshop/laboratory classes (2.5% per session, totalling 25%); two 20-minute tests during the semester (totalling 10%); an oral presentation during the semester (5%); a 3-hour written examination in the examination period (60%).
Prescribed Texts: Bennett & Shostak, Life in the Universe 2nd Edn, Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2007.
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills: On completion of this subject, students should have developed the following generic skills:
  • quantitative skills, including working with powers of ten, ratios and computer models;
  • experimental skills developed in biology, astronomy and earth sciences laboratories; and
  • the ability to use the scientific method to think through problems critically.
Notes:

Students enrolled in the BSc (both pre-2008 and new degrees), BASc or a combined BSc course will receive science credit for the completion of this subject.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: First year multidisciplinary science

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