In Progress
Please note that this Unit Profile is still in progress. The content below is subject to change.Overview
Soils are the physical and chemical foundation of terrestrial ecosystems and Australian soils are among the oldest and most fragile in the world. In this unit you will learn the origin of soils and how they are affected by geology, geography, climate, living organisms and time. You will develop soil classification and testing skills in the laboratory and in the field, and study the conservation, management and remediation of Australian soils.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: CHEM11043 Atoms, Molecules and Matter or CHEM11041 Chemistry for the Life Sciences and BIOL11099 Living Systemsor BIOL11102 Life Science Laboratory
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).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2025
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).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate 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.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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.
Feedback from SUTE
The lectures are dated and no longer current, and they need to be refreshed to align with the latest information and teaching practices.
Lectures and associated content should be reviewed, and new lecture recordings made.
Feedback from SUTE
Changes in staff during the term caused disruptions.
This was unavoidable in 2024. In future, ensure that staffing is consistent across Moodle, classes and residential school.
Feedback from SUTE, staff reflections
Lectures and tutorials should be conducted live where possible rather than just being a Q&A session or a recording from a previous year.
Consider increasing live sessions in the next offering.
Feedback from SUTE, staff reflections
Additional explanation on chemical calculations is needed during the residential school sessions. Furthermore, additional content and resources beyond the residential school are also required.
Ensure that staff are fully aware of all requirements and are adequately equipped to teach the chemical calculations. Additionally, provide supplementary content and resources to support learning outside of the residential school sessions.
Feedback from SUTE
Difficulty in locating and accessing assessment feedback was reported.
Provide clearer instructions on where to find and how to interpret assessment feedback.
- Describe the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil
- Describe and classify a range of soils
- Plan and conduct soil tests in the laboratory and field
- Discuss the major challenges for the sustainable management and remediation of Australian soils.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
| 2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 40% | ||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Presentation and Written Assessment - 40% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 30% | ||||||||||