This unit is designed to provide students with academic and generic skills required for successful completion of their science-related undergraduate studies and for professional practice. Activities allow students to learn, develop and utilise various academic and interpersonal skills within the wider context of applied scientific principles in society. Activities encourage development of self-confidence, creative thinking, problem solving, group process, communication and peer support. Academic skills include aspects of scientific reading and writing, assignment preparation, gathering scientific information, research and library skills, oral presentation, group work, taking tests and exams, effective personal and class-based learning strategies, peer assessment and online learning.

Students studying at Campbelltown campus should refer to 300543 - Cell Biology. The cell is the basic unit of life and some basic processes, such as membrane function and the reactions involving DNA, occur in cells of all living organisms. This unit introduces the important biological chemicals involved in those processes and the study of the processes themselves. The unit also examines phenomena such as cell replication, sex cell formation, inheritance, and cell metabolism that are shared by all eukaryotes (animals, protistans, fungi and plants). The biochemical capture of the sun's energy (photosynthesis) is also studied. The evolutionary links between these cellular processes form a framework for the unit, and students consider the origin of life and their own evolution. In addition, students are introduced to the immense potential of recombinant DNA technology.

The aims of this unit are to relate chemical principles to everyday life. Laboratory skills will be introduced in a systematic way that helps students apply the concepts they will be learning concurrently within the unit. The usefulness of chemistry will be emphasised by giving examples relevant to the students' areas of professional interest (eg food technology, environmental sciences, biology or horticulture), while ensuring that the following fundamental topics are covered: matter, energy, chemical bonds, states of matter, chemical reactions and rates, equilibrium, introduction to organic compounds and nuclear chemistry.

This unit uses the setting of surface freshwater aquatic environments to develop an understanding of a range of professional skills and values necessary for the theory and practice of environmental management. Working in small groups students investigate the philosophy and practice of science through the design and implementation of field studies that investigate the nature of pollution, evaluate the current condition of aquatic systems and recommend strategies that will improve ecosystem integrity and mitigate the risk of adverse human health outcomes.

This unit introduces students to various statistical techniques necessary in scientific endeavours. Presentation of the content will emphasize the correct principles and procedures for collecting and analysing scientific data, using a ‘hands-on’ approach. Topics include effective methods of gathering data, statistical principles of designing experiments, error analysis, describing different sets of data, probability distributions, statistical inference, non-parametric methods, and simple linear regression and correlation.

Students enrolled in Resource Sustainability will work in groups employing rapid appraisal techniques to score the environmental conditions across a range of landuse categories on the UWS Hawkesbury Campus. Students will be required to design and implement an investigation of the landscape utilizing methods currently in use by relevant legislative & administrative bodies (GPS, GIS, PDT, etc). The development of skills in the area of spatial data management is an essential element in this unit. Having completed an assessment of the environmental conditions on the Campus, students will illustrate their findings and present them in both audio/visual and written reports.

The health and well being of a society is affected by its environment. This unit teaches students to recognise and identify external physical, chemical, biological and social influences which impact upon the individual and the community. Related social and ethical issues will also be explored. The actual and/or perceived effects of such environmental influences will be investigated by analysing documented case studies.

This unit aims to introduce students to the influence of the built environment on human health outcomes. Key topic areas of investigation will include healthy housing design and construction; physical activity, obesity and the built environment; the built environment and access to fresh food; housing affordability; and crime prevention through urban design. Sustainable design and planning principles are examined and in particular the contribution that environmental planning makes towards the promotion of human health and well being.

This unit examines the complex interaction between power, politics, ethics and scientific paradigms in the management of natural agricultural and built environments. As such its foundations are in the field of environmental studies with a particular focus on the role of science graduates in the social interactions that govern societies use, transformation and impact on these environments. The rationale for the inclusion of a sociological perspective in a science degree is that scientists do not operate in a social vacuum, but are constantly subject to broader social, economic, political, ethical and cultural influences that bear upon the distribution and exercise of power and knowledge in organisations and in society as a whole.

This is a unit in general microbiology designed for students in Applied Science and Natural Science degrees. It builds on students’ existing knowledge of cell biology and biodiversity, and provides an overview of the nature of micro-organisms and their significance. The unit emphasises the role of micro-organisms in environments such as water, soil, animals and plants, as well as in foods, industry and waste treatment. The unit focuses on the applications of microbiological concepts in these applied areas.

This unit is designed to help students understand and navigate their way through the scientific inquiry process, and to make inquiry a meaningful experience. It highlights the creative and strategic thinking skills needed to negotiate research, and covers the entire inquiry process from conceptualisation and design through to data collection, analysis, and report writing. The unit transcends traditional paradigmatic and disciplinary boundaries by approaching research from the ground up – a research question based perspective.

This unit introduces students to a range of concepts from the protection of aquatic environments in terms of the need to monitor and maintain water quality to the application of biological, chemical and physical methods of maintaining the suitability of water quality to meet its use criteria. The unit covers the healthy aquatic environment, pollutants and their sources, health and ecological impacts of water quality degradation, the use of legislation, regulation, policy, guidelines and standards. The concept of water in catchments and catchment management principles are introduced. The fundamental objective in the unit is to broadly address integrated urban water cycle management and explore several case studies through field visits. The unit seeks to develop graduate competencies in water monitoring, regulation, treatment and management. The unit is particularly applicable to those students who are interested in achieving the status of authorised officers with the regulatory authorities.

This unit requires students to initiate a major project with clients from industry, research organizations or public utilities associated with the professional practice domains of the natural sciences. The project work includes a number of activities (eg developing project proposal and methodology etc) negotiated with the client and will draw together all of the previous learning in the B. Nat Sci./BSc. The project will entail interdependent relationships with the client, staff supervisor and other resource people and will involve the full range of project management skills. Students will be required to demonstrate their capacity to implement the project by production of a literature review and detailed project proposal. This subject prepares students for 300660 Field Project 2 which focuses on students putting their knowledge into action in a professional setting.

This unit is designed to provide the practical and theoretical information to enable the assessment of environmental and occupational noise problems and the implementation of noise controls. To control noise, the noise (or noise potential) must first be determined to ascertain if a problem exists or is likely to arise. If there is a problem, the magnitude of the problem must be determined and a solution devised. These issues are discussed starting with first principles: the nature of sound, both physical and psychological. You will look at the legislation that controls noise, at noise meters and their operation and use, at the various ways of controlling noise at its source, along its pathway or at the receiver. You are introduced to the litigation process, as often the investigating officer will be required to give evidence in court. You will look at how to plan for noise control and the various issues — physical, social/cultural, political and legal — that influence the choices made. Transportation noise is covered and finally you will look at the important issue of hearing conservation. The overall objective of writing a noise impact report/statement and the accompanying legal briefing notes will draw together the threads of the whole unit.

Food safety is rapidly evolving with the emergence of new food-borne diseases, changing patterns of disease, evolving approaches to risk analysis (based upon a solid scientific foundation and international harmonisation) and an emerging requirement that food producers, processors, handlers and consumers take shared responsibility for the safety of food within their care. The overall purpose of this unit is to equip students with the necessary skills to identify, evaluate and control food-borne hazards, and to enable those completing the unit to better protect the safety and quality of the food supply. This can be achieved by employing knowledge of regulatory requirements; food contamination; food spoilage agents and hazards; principles of good hygienic practice and preservation in food production, preparation and distribution; and other key elements of food safety.

This unit will provide students with a practical exercise in developing a HACCP plan for a manufacturing process. Quality assurance, principles of food safety, the acceptability of risk, the risk/benefit principle, food law, and ISO9000 Quality Standards, will be covered.

This unit requires students to undertake a major project with clients from industry, research organizations or public utilities associated with the professional practice domains of the natural sciences. The project work includes a number of activities developed in 300659 Field Project 1. The project will entail interdependent relationships with the client, staff supervisor and other resource people and will involve the full range of project management skills. Students will be required to demonstrate their capacity to implement the project by production of a major report and seminar. The unit places a heavy emphasis on continued development of professional competency in preparation for students to enter the workforce.

This unit will explore the relationships between community, the natural environment and government within an urban context. Students will examine means of investigating communities and establishing their needs. They will look at ways that this information can be mapped and translated into a graphic representation, including the use of GIS. Urban Development Systems will explore the principles of sustainability and then look at ways that community needs are provided for within an urban environment while seeking to meet sustainability objectives. The unit will examine infrastructure and service needs to support human settlements as well as government assessment systems and legislation. Students will investigate community power, political systems and how this can influence government to deliver beneficial outcomes.