Unit information: Physics World 301 in 2021/22

Unit name	Physics World 301
Unit code	PHYS38010
Credit points	10
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Dr. Carine Nsangu
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	120 credit points at Level 5 in single honours or joint honours Physics programmes.
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Physics
Faculty	Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

To introduce students to current topics of interest to practising physicists. To practice and improve the skills of acquiring and disseminating new scientific information at a level appropriate to general public. To provide additional opportunities to improve verbal and written communication skills. Students will read and work to understand science articles, for example in the Institute of Physics magazine 'Physics World'. Each student will receive a personal copy of 'Physics World' every month together with some back numbers and will be expected to give two half-hour talks each on an article of his/her choice to a group of peers with a staff moderator.

Aims:

To give an overview of the latest developments in physics, presented in a lively and approachable way. To understand the relationships between different branches of physics and the coherence of the subject, particularly as an underpinning to science. To provide experience of interpreting material in various formats, of following up references to a variety of scientific literature, and in presenting a summary of complex material in a digestible and interesting way.

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

• Read and understand specialised articles in a professional journal and discuss the findings in a small group.

• Prepare a clear and concise talk summarising the physics content of such an article.

• Write a clear and concise summary of the physics content of such an article in such a way that it can be understood by a professional physicist not specialising in the field in question.

• Become familiar with information retrieval systems on the World Wide Web and in computer packages for presentation of talks.

Teaching Information

Group activities led by a member of academic staff.

Assessment Information

Assessment is based on both the talks and the essays. Marks are determined from both the quality of presentation and the level of comprehension displayed. The mark for the talks is determined by the member of staff who chairs the sessions and acts as an assessor. All marks are moderated by discussions among all staff involved in the course.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHYS38010).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.