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.

This unit overviews farming systems, primary production industries and enterprises. It introduces ethical issues relating to primary production and their associated industries and investigates many principles and techniques of agricultural and horticultural production. A major feature of this unit is the opportunity to develop practical production management skills through the production of selected crops in the field.

A holistic, systemic understanding of the nature of landscape is fundamental to the land and water management professions. Drawing upon examples from the Sydney Basin, this unit will introduce students to the complex interrelationships between biophysical, social and cultural factors which determine the ever changing character of the landscapes we experience around us. Through a series of urban and rural field studies, students will be encouraged to develop an understanding of the formative factors of landscape and their interaction, a sensitivity toward diverse and often conflicting landscape values, and a capacity for landscape description emphasising spatial interpretation.

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 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.

This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the scientific basis of crop production and the physiological controls on crop yield. It develops the students’ practical and technical skills while providing an understanding of scientific basis for environmental modification to improve the quality of crop products. Students will become familiar with the current sources of information available to producers and develop production and management skills through the production of fruits, vegetables, flowers and nursery crops. Students will also gain knowledge on food processing techniques after harvesting.

This unit provides students with a basic understanding of soil formation and erosion processes, soil physical, chemical and biological properties, and the diversity and classification of soils in the Australian landscape. These basic principles are explored in relation to the sustainable management of soils for horticultural and agricultural production and for environmental management under other land uses. The practical sessions are designed to reinforce the lecture material and include field description and analysis of soil profiles and properties, soil sampling principles and practice, laboratory measurement of soil physical and chemical properties essential/important for plant growth, and an introduction to soil biology.

Students studying at Campbelltown campus should refer to 300539 - Biodiversity. This unit examines the diversity of living organisms, how these organisms are classified, and how evolutionary processes resulted in such diversity. The unit also addresses the role of cells, tissues and organs in the structure and function of living whole organisms, how these organisms acquire and assimilate the resources necessary for growth, and how they excrete waste, maintain function and coordinate growth and reproduction. The role of ecosystems in maintaining life is also studied. Students conduct basic investigations using techniques such as microscopy, sectioning, staining and dissection.

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 unit introduces students to the study of botany so that they will develop a knowledge and understanding of plants. The unit covers the topics of plant anatomy, evolution, morphology and taxonomy, economically important plants and an introduction to Australian plants.

This unit will discuss the factors that affect the retention of quality of fresh fruit, vegetables and cut flowers from grower to consumer. Topics include: the essential role of fresh produce for the health and happiness of people; the growth and maturation and respiration of fresh produce; the importance of managing temperature and relative humidity of the storage environment; the physiological responses of fresh produce to changes in temperature and water loss; the role of ethylene in fruit ripening and senescence; the practical issues of assessing harvest maturity; packaging; distribution and the control of postharvest disease and the concepts of HACCP.

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 will be first offered in 2007. This unit provides knowledge relating to the identification, incidence, culture use or control of a diverse range of plant material encountered in horticultural and agricultural production and associated plant usage and support industries. The diversity of the plant kingdom is explored whether they be crop plants, weeds or Australian native plants.

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.

The unit will explore the positive and negative aspects of interactions between plants and micro-organisms in the environment. This includes plant pathological viruses, bacteria and fungi, their mode of action, life cycle and symptomatology. Beneficial associations include rood nodules, mycorrhizae, rhizosphere effects and soil nutrient cycles. The response by plants and their natural defence mechanisms to infection and their positive interactions with micro-organisms will also be investigated.

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.

In this unit students will gain and demonstrate a clear understanding of the integrated nature of the agricultural supply/value chain. This unit will further develop students’ understanding of the integrated nature and processes to enable effective analysis of the various components of the value/supply chain. In doing so students will develop skills in the use of various tools including analytical tools and skills including high level communication skills required to work within the value/supply chain.

This unit is designed to enable students to recognise both the significance of pests in agricultural and horticultural production and postharvest, and methods of reducing their damage to plants and plant products. Major areas of study include: pest losses in horticultural production and postharvest: types and level; major groups of organisms causing plant losses, viz. arthropods, pathogens and weeds; strategies for reducing pest damage (including legislative, physical, biological and chemical) - benefits and limitations; and field recognition of pests and damage assessment.