ENAC12005 - Geology & Geomechanics

Showing: 2026 HE Term 1
General Information

Unit Synopsis

The course presents geological processes that produce landforms and geological structures, rocks and soils, and introduces the affect of geological factors on the location, design, construction and maintenance of civil engineering projects. Students conduct geotechnical tests, analyse test data, prepare geotechnical reports, discuss the engineering characteristics and properties of soil. They apply basic models of soil behaviour to analyse, solve typical problems and produce professional reports of their analysis. Students research and present information in a professional manner and communicate, work and learn, both individually and in teams. Distance education (FLEX) students are required to have access to a computer and to make frequent use of the Internet.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Prereq: [ENAG11005 or ENTA11009] and MATH11160 and Cond: Flex mode is not available to students in Co-op Program CF47

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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School Compulsory Residential School
View Unit Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026


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).

Assessment Overview

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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 0%
2. Practical and Written Assessment 20%
3. Written Assessment 40%
4. Written Assessment 40%

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

Past Exams

Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2014 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 18.18% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 55% response rate.

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.

Source: Course Evaluation and L&T review
Feedback:
 There is lack of clearity in Assessment items. No Assessment block

Recommendation:
 The requirement for the assessment will be made unambiguous and clear with all required data. The assessment block will be used to provide all details for the assignment. The turn time for feedback for assessment will be improved to be within the required two weeks.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Course Evaluation and L&T review
Feedback:
 The moodle quiz provided in the first few weeks was observed to one of the best aspect as an electronic workbook and instant feedback on the learning materials for the week.

Recommendation:
 This will be rolled out to all teaching periods.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Course Evaluation and L&T review
Feedback:
 Consolidation experiment was not supplied on time

Recommendation:
 Since the time required to completing the one-dimensional consolidation is longer than the 4 days of the residential school, the experiment will be scaffolded to allow hands-on exposure and completion of the experiment. At least one experiment will be commenced before the arrival of the students.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Course Evaluation and L&T review
Feedback:
 Two Students provided mixed messages based on individual expectations. One acknowledged the residential school as the best aspect of the course and the second as an embarrassment.

Recommendation:
 The scheduling will be improved by removing the situation where 4 groups are in one room conducting different experiments to a situation where groups in the room will all be conducting the same experiment. More appropriate equipment will be procured to enable this to occur.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Source: Course Evaluation and L&T review
Feedback:
 Response to discussion forum takes more than 48 hours

Recommendation:
 Student will be required to ask all but personal questions via discussion forum. The lecturer will communicate regularly to the students via the moodle forums.

Action Taken:
 In Progress
Unit Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. discuss the geological processes that produce landforms and geological structures, and processes that form rocks and soils [1 ,2, 3]
  2. identify and discuss the implications of geological factors affecting the location, design, construction and maintenance of civil engineering projects [1, 2, 3]
  3. discuss the engineering characteristics and properties of soil [1, 2, 3]
  4. conduct geotechnical tests, analyse test data and prepare geotechnical reports [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  5. describe and discuss simple models used to analyse the effects of seepage, effective stress, stress, displacement, lateral pressure and stability in soils [1, 2, 3]
  6. solve soil engineering problems by applying appropriate models [1, 3, 4]
  7. use appropriate civil engineering terminology and language to document the process of modelling and analysis and present the information in a professional manner [2, 9]
  8. research and evaluate information relating to geology, geomechanics, soils and soil testing [2, 4, 5, 10]
  9. communicate, work and learn, both individually and in teams in a professional manner [2, 6, 9, 10]
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • •
4 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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 • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10
1 - Written Assessment • • • • • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •
4 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •