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Unit Synopsis
Why is Australia the driest inhabited continent? How did its distinctive landscapes, soils and ecosystems develop? And why does the Australian environment look so different from place to place? GEOG11023 Physical Geography of Australia explores the natural processes that have shaped Australia's remarkable and diverse environments. You will learn the fundamentals of five interconnected areas of physical geography: geology, climate, landforms, soils and biogeography. You will investigate how these processes shape Australia's landscapes and environments, from its ancient geological formations and diverse climates to its distinctive landforms, soils, vegetation and ecosystems across different regions. The unit develops your geographical skills and perspective, enabling you to understand, interpret and explain the patterns, processes and interrelationships that shape Australia's physical environments and provide a foundation for understanding contemporary environmental change.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
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 | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2027
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
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.
Assessment Tasks
To see assessment details from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.
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%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web 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.
Source: UC self-assessment.
Continuously revise and update learning materials to ensure alignment with advancements in AI applications.
Continued revising and updating the learning materials, focusing on refining online quiz questions to reduce the likelihood of them being answered by AI tools while maintaining close alignment with unit content.
Learning materials were reviewed and updated, with online quiz questions refined to reduce reliance on AI-generated responses while maintaining alignment with unit content and learning outcomes.
Source: Informal Student feedback
Students would prefer shorter lectures and more opportunities for peer to peer engagement
Review the length of weekly lectures and increase opportunities for student discussion and interaction to support active learning.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator self-assessment
Students appear to be enjoying the current unit structure and learning content
Maintain the current unit structure and core content while continuing to refine learning materials to support student learning.
In Progress
Source: Unit Coordinator self-assessment / University policy
Students require additional guidance relating to the use of GenAI tools
In accordance with the new policy, establish clear and appropriate Generative AI guidance for each assessment component, including information retrieval, evidence analysis and academic writing.
In Progress
To see Learning Outcomes from an earlier availability, please search via a previous term.