Unit Descriptions - ANU College

Unit Descriptions

Academic English and Advanced Academic English (Compulsory)

Academic English and Advanced Academic English are task-based study skills courses designed to prepare students for the written and oral tasks they will undertake at university. Students develop analytical skills by exploring topics such as the environment, critical theory, the media, current affairs, and science and technology. Current national and international issues are included to prepare students for university discussions and seminars.

Assessment: Oral presentations, written tests and researched essays (80%); and final examination (20%). This applies to both AE and AAE.

Accounting

This unit has been designed to prepare students for entry to the undergraduate course Business Reporting and Analysis (BUSN1001). Even students who have studied Accounting before are strongly advised to take this course, as terminology and procedures used at undergraduate level are often very different from those previously studied.

Assessment: In-class exercises and assignments (35%); mid-semester exam (30%) and final exam (35%).

Algebra

This unit is a detailed study and application of: Equations and Inequalities, Graphs of Functions including key properties and symmetry, linear functions, quadratic functions, Polynomial functions, Rational Functions including Partial Fraction Decompositions, Inverse functions and Composite Functions, Exponential and logarithmic Functions, basics of systems of equations and matrices, Sequences and Series including Arithmetic, Geometric and Infinite series, Mathematical Induction and a study of the Binomial Theorem. This unit prepares the student for Calculus, Trigonometry and Statistics and also provides the necessary algebraic skills expected for entry into a typical first year mathematics subject at university.

Assessment: Online (10%); tests (30%) and final exam (60%).

Art

This unit is designed for those students who have been accepted into a Visual Arts degree following presentation of a portfolio at interview but have not yet met the University’s academic and/or English entry requirements. Students can choose to enrol in either drawing or photomedia. The unit will equip students with practical skills that will prepare them to undertake their undergraduate degree in any of the School’s workshops.

Australian Studies

Australian society will be examined through studying significant historical, cultural, artistic and literary moments, beginning with concepts of the Australian landscape and continuing on through examinations of the changing place of aboriginals, women, workers, politicians, athletes and the military in Australian society. There will be a focus on what it means to be Australian, as well as on the ways successive waves of migrants have dealt with the challenges of life on this continent.

Assessment: Examinations (65%) and assignments (35%).

Calculus

Pre-requisite: Algebra
This unit follows immediately after Foundation Algebra with a close study of limits including a study of L’Hopital’s Rule, continuity, differential calculus including implicit differentiation, applications involving differential calculus. A study of Integral Calculus and applications involving integrals: including a close study of substitution method, Bay Parts and Integrals involving Partial Fraction Decompositions. An introduction and applications of Multivariable Calculus including the study of the graphs of planes and simple surfaces, partial derivatives, relative extremain 3 dimensional space, Lagrange Multipliers, Double integrals. Basic introduction to Numerical Analysis including Numerical Integration, Linear approximations, Euler’s Method, Taylor’s series and Taylor’s nth degree Polynomials. This unit prepares the student well for entry into a typical first year mathematics subject at university.

Assessment: Online (15%); tests (25%) and final exam (60%).

Chemistry

This course introduces students to the basic concepts of chemistry. The topics covered include matter and energy, atomic structure, chemical periodicity, structure and bonding in compounds, inorganic nomenclature, chemical calculations, properties of gases, chemical equilibrium, acids and bases, organic chemistry and the chemistry of the earth.

Assessment: In-class tests (30%); laboratory assignments (30%) and final exam (40%).

Critical Thinking and Reasoning

Critical thinking skills are of primary importance in tertiary-level education. Development of these skills marks the difference between secondary education with an emphasis on information-based learning and tertiary with its focus on critical analysis. This unit aims to develop the thinking skills necessary for success at university through instruction in patterns of reasoning, informal logic, argumentation and textual analysis.

Assessment: Written assignments (20%); in-class tests (30%) and final exam (50%).

Communication Studies

Communication Studies introduces students to some of the theories, forms and functions of communication. The unit focuses on such concepts as verbal and nonverbal communication, ideas of the self, intercultural communication, film and media and the impact of the IT revolution. Students will take part in oral presentations and do an exercise analysing a film.

Assessment: Examination (30%) and assignments (70%).

Computing Fundamentals (Compulsory)
The course provides knowledge and skills to use word-processing and spreadsheet applications tools in formal and structured written reports, essays, and assignments, acceptable at tertiary level. This complements the English units that deal with structure of written communication. Assessment: Practical exams (100%).

Foundation English (compulsory for students taking the FS Extended program)
This class is designed to provide opportunities for students to improve their grammar at the sentence and paragraph level. Students will also prepare summaries, essays and improving their research skills. The will also develop reading and note-taking skills through a variety of sources. Assessment: Oral presentations(10%); written homework; research essays; and final examination (90%)

Economics

The unit explains the main principles of economics and gives students an economic perspective on the world. Students learn how economic theory can be applied to current events and issues such as climate change and the global financial crisis, and how to present an argument making use of economic reasoning and statistical evidence. The course covers: economics in general (opportunity cost, incentives, etc); microeconomics (including supply and demand, elasticity, markets, firms, and competition); and macroeconomics (including economic growth, inflation, unemployment, and international trade and finance).

Assessment: Exams (55%); assignments (30%) and oral work (15%).

(Beginner) French
This course provides students with an introduction to the usage of French as a world language as well as its importance in world affairs and the arts. Students will learn to understand and speak conversational French while developing the ability to read and write standard French as well. Assessment: Essay (25%); in-class tests (50%); oral presentation (10%) and oral interview (15%).

History Makers
The lives of twelve extraordinary figures in History are examined in this unit. There are great queens who sacrificed everything for love, kings who fought to save civillization, and powerful thinkers who created significant breakthroughs in the way we see the world. Assessment: Exam (55%); essays (35%) and oral presentation (10%).

History Of Maths
The basic aim of this course is to explore where the maths we know today came from, starting with the foundation of geometry extedning back to ancient days, how it evolved into algebra that we enjoyed today. Assessment: Tests (40%) and final exam (60%).

Key Moments in Western Civilisation

Western Civilisation will be examined through studying significant historical, philosophical and scientific moments, beginning with Classical Greece and ending in the present day. Ideas relating to Economics, Religion, Government, Philosophy, Technology, The Arts, Entertainment and Architecture will be examined. By the end of this course, students will have a broad understanding of the origins and nature of some salient aspects of Western Civilisation, including the contributions of important individuals.

Assessment: Examinations (65%) and assignments (35%).

Linguistics

This unit aims at developing an understanding of the scientific study of language as a human faculty and as a means of communication. It covers topics necessary to such an understanding including: what elements are necessary for a language and how languages differ; how languages are structured in terms of words, sentences and sounds and how these are represented in speech and writing; how meanings are expressed in words and in contexts; how languages reflect the culture of their users and change with time, and how language is acquired.

Assessment: In-class tests; oral presentations and written assignments (75%). Final examination (25%).

Music

This unit is designed for those students who have been accepted into an ANU Music degree following an audition but have not yet met the University’s academic and/or English entry requirements. Students will be provided with 1 hour per week instrumental tuition, plus classes in theory, history and/or musicology, and the opportunity to participate in specialised ensembles and performance workshops.

Physics

This course is intended to provide students who have little or no previous knowledge of physics with an introduction to simple physical concepts and the laws that underlie them to help us understand nature and the many technologies we have invented to improve and extend our life. Topics of study include forms of energy, mass, velocity, acceleration, fluids, heat, entropy, electrical circuits, electronic devices and instruments, waves, sounds, light and x-rays. This course uses frequent examples of problem-based learning and comprises a mix of lectures, tutorials and laboratory sessions.

Assessment: Examination (40%); laboratory (50%) and tutorials (10%).

Politics

This unit provides a general introduction to politics as something which affects us all. We begin by defining politics and discussing: academic approaches to the subject; political ideas and ideologies; and political systems, structures and processes. We apply this framework to homelands and other countries. We also apply it to Australian politics, examining how that works, what is happening and why; and to world politics, where we consider theories, structures, forces (particularly globalisation and competition for resources), and consider trends, such as increasing conflict, through looking at current events and issues.

Assessment: Tests (60%); essays (25%) and oral work (15%).

Psychology
This unit introduces students to some of the main sub-disciplines of psychology and covers topics such as: perspectives in psychology, research methods, development, learning, motivation, personality, psychological disorders and positive psychology. Assessment: Written assignments (40%), and in-class tests and final exam (60%).

Sociology

This unit focuses on the analysis of societies. During the course, students will explore how society shapes us and in turn how we shape society. This reflexive relationship with our social environment will be investigated through theories on class, gender, health, ethnicity, deviance, the environment and modern life. Students will become critically engaged in understanding themselves and society, while sharpening essential university skills such as

Statistics

Pre-requisite: Algebra
This unit introduces the student to the main statistical tools frequently used in many academic disciplines. Topics covered include Graphing distributions of qualitative and quantitative variables, describing distributions numerically and a close study of Density curves and Normal Distributions, looking at data relationships appropriate for bi-variate data including linear regression, a study of sampling techniques, Design of Experiments. An introduction to probability including randomness, basic probability models such as probability tables and histograms, Venn diagram and probability tree, basic probability rules including conditional probabilities. Introduction to Sampling distributions with particular focus towards the Binomial distribution, Normal approximation for the Binomial distribution, Central Limit theorem and the Law of Large numbers. Introduction to Inference of one and two sample confidence intervals and tests of significance for: mean of a population, comparing two means and single sample proportions. Inference towards the slope of Simple Linear Regression is introduced including confidence intervals. The student is also introduced to the study of Inference for One-Way Analysis of Variance. This unit provides the student with a sound foundation into any first year statistics topic that may be taken at university.

Assessment: Tests (40%) and final exam (60%).

Foundation Trigonometry

Prerequisite: Algebra
Co-requisite: Calculus
This unit is typically taken and thus designed for those students desiring to undertake an Engineering undergraduate degree. This unit includes a close study of Trigonometry functions, solving Trigonometric Equations, simple harmonic motion and sinusoidal data analysis, Analytical Trigonometry, Applications of Trigonometric functions, introduction to polar coordinates, De Moivre’s Theorem and Vectors, Analytical geometry involving conics and their applications, Limits and derivates of Trigonometric functions, Integration involving Trigonometric functions including the method of substitution and By Parts. This unit provides the student with the necessary trigonometric skills expected for entry into an engineering study program.

Assessment: Online (15%), tests (25%) and final exam (60%).

Twentieth Century History

This unit examines major global events such as the causes and effects of the two World Wars, the decline of empires and associated end of colonialism, the Great Depression, the Cold War and the rise of terrorism. It will also examine technological and medical breakthroughs. Significant characters in the twentieth century in the fields of war, politics and science will also be studied.

Assessment: Examination (65%) and assignments (35%).

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