PQB360 Introduction to Climate Change

Unit Outline: Semester 1 2024, Gardens Point, Internal

Overview

This unit is designed to offer science, engineering and other students an opportunity to understand fundamentals of climate and climate change together with sustainable development efforts related to clean energy technologies. It  provides students with an overview of global climate and climate change drivers, meteorological parameters and global air circulation, as well as an overview of technological pathways towards low carbon society. Students will explore global energy balance and climate change through an investigation of (i) Energy related environmental problems on local and global scale; (ii) Earth's climate, meteorology and transport of pollutants in the atmosphere; (iii) Working principles in selected conventional and alternative energy technologies to reduce energy related environmental consequences.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Understand the scientific basis that build the foundations of our current knowledge of global climate change such as radiation, Earth's energy balance and the greenhouse effect
2. Understand the basis of how Earth's climate is changing, how it has been changing in the recent geological past and how it may change in the future.
3. Understand the significance, scope and limitations of energy resources used on a global scale such as fossil fuels, nuclear and renewable energy.
4. Understand the role of scientists and engineers in the society and short and long-term social and environmental implications of the decisions that they make.
5. Manage scientific experimental and reporting tasks carried out as a part of a team and as an individual and express yourself with technical and scientific rigour both verbally and in writing.
6. Understand, on a scientific basis, the relationships between energy consumption, generation of pollutants, and their impact on health and the environment, and. different mechanisms of transport of pollutants.

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will participate in an integrated lecture-tutorial-lab program designed to achieve the unit objectives by systematically addressing the contents, emphasising a problem-based approach. The unit is based on 39 contact hours for lectures and tutorials and 6 hours of computer laboratory-based exercises. Additionally, you are expected to undertake an unsupervised but partly directed study in your own time that will supplement the lecture-tutorial-lab program.

During the tutorial sessions and in most parts of the lectures you will be enjoying an interactive atmosphere as student-lecture teams working on selected problems and investigating options to solve those problems. You will be encouraged to contribute to the overall effort of problem solving through demonstrating your understanding of the issues and synthesis of the knowledge that you acquired by attending key lectures and through your own reading.

The folios of information and reports that you will develop during this unit will enable you to understand how to retrieve and organise relevant information obtained from a number of different media and resources and through your own experiments. You will learn how to use information to draw scientific conclusions.

Through a blend of class, online and video lab based activities, tutorials and tests you will get ample opportunities to express yourself both as a part of a team and as an individual.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback will be available on your progress.

Assessment

Overview

You will be expected to undertake a number of assessments related to the learning outcomes of this unit (see below).

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Tutorials and Presentation

(Formative and summative) -  15 minute small-group presentation.

Relates to learning outcomes
3,4,5 and 6.

Assessment: Computer Laboratory Sessions

(Formative and summative) - 2 x 3 hours computer lab sessions on climate models followed by a short report.

Relates to learning outcomes
1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.

Assessment: Written exam

Progressive and End Semester Theory Assessment 

(Formative and summative) - Short numerical and/or
multiple choice.

Relates to learning outcomes
1, 2, 3 and 6.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

Student activities in this unit are (a) attending of lectures and tutorials in QUT class rooms and (b) conducting experiments in laboratories in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences. Students will be advised about workplace health and safety issues relevant to the laboratory sessions they are likely to attend.