Undergraduate Course: Earth Modelling and Prediction (GESC08002)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Geosciences |
Other subject area | Environmental Courses |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | EMP uses topical issues in Geosciences to understand and develop the essential mathematical skills required by modern geoscientists. The emphasis will be on data analysis and interpretation, including an appreciation of the importance of observation errors and the use of quantitative data in the prediction of future changes in the Earth system.
The course content will be taught through accessible applied problems (e.g., growth rate of ice sheets, balancing the carbon cycle), which are carefully designed to introduce key scientific notation and concepts that are used repeatedly through this course and more widely through the GeoSciences degree programmes.
Weekly tutorials (in groups of 5-6) and guest lectures will reinforce the key concepts taught in the course. The course will be examined by continuous assessment only. EMP=s total contact teaching time is 35 hours (20 x 1 hour lectures; 10 x 1.5 hour tutorials). Students should also undertake self-directed study outside the contact teaching hours. The week 10 tutorial will be an open-book test that will cover the content of the whole course.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
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Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Class Delivery Information |
EMP is a core course for incoming geoSciences students who don't have sufficient maths qualifications, i.e. with a D grade at A-level Maths, or a C grade at Higher Maths. Students with sufficient qualifications can take the course but not for credit.
1 hour(s) 30 minutes per week for 10 week(s). 2 x 1 hour lectures each week, plus 1 x 1.5 hour tutorial. |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2013 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Formative Assessment Hours 3,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
193 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
65 %,
Practical Exam
35 %
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| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
The overarching outcomes will be an appreciation of quantitative methods that can be confidently applied to problems in geosciences. Through extensive worked problems the students will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of how to use a range of standard applications to process and obtain data as well as how to use and evaluate numerical and graphical data to achieve goals. Students will therefore have a sound understanding of:
- Scientific notation and nomenclature (e.g. significant figures)
- How to manipulate equations
- How to use calculators to evaluate equations (e.g. exponent versus exponential)
- Guesstimation and knowing when to use it
- Trigonometry
- Logarithms
- Scalars and vectors
- Basic calculus
- Basic probability and statistics, e.g. mean and variance
- Errors and uncertainty of measured or predicted values
- Areas and volumes
- How to approximate observed data using lines and curves
At the end of this course, students will be able to carry out routine lines of enquiry, into professional level problems and critically evaluate evidence based solutions. |
Assessment Information
Tutorial sheets will be distributed in weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8 and due in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 9 respectively. Tutorials due in weeks 2, 4, and 6 are each worth 15% of the course grade, and tutorials due in weeks 8 and 9 are each worth 10% of the course grade.
There is an open-book test in week 10, scheduled at the normal time of weekly tutorials, which is worth 35% of the total course mark.
The pass mark for this course is 40%. Students are required to submit all tutorial sheets, to score at least 40% for the tutorials (on average), and to score at least 40% for the exam. |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Recommended textbook
Foundation maths by Anthony Croft and Robert Davison, Pearson/Prentice Hall.
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Earth Modelling and Prediction |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Paul Palmer
Tel: (0131 6)50 7724
Email: Paul.Palmer@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Meredith Corey
Tel: (0131 6)50 5430
Email: meredith.corey@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2013 The University of Edinburgh - 13 January 2014 4:17 am
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