| Semester 2, 2022 Toowoomba On-campus | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences |
| School or Department : | School of Agriculture and Environmental Science |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
| Course fee schedule : | /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: BIO1101
Overview
The aims of this course are to relate the structure of whole plants and their tissues to their known functions and to explore a selection of the major physiological processes which occur during plant growth and development and their interaction with the external environment.
The course is designed to inform a broad spectrum of students in plant science, wine science, biotechnology, ecology and education. The course examines essential processes in the life of plants: water uptake and transpiration; the nutrient requirements of plants; the effects of nutrient deficiencies; the transport of salts, sugars and other biomolecules within the plant; cell growth and development; the roles of plant hormones and the strategies adopted by plants to withstand environmental stresses.
This course contains a highly recommended residential school for both external and on-campus students (non-attendance will mean the student misses both an element for assessment preparation and an element of assessment).
Course learning outcomes
On completion of this course students will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of how the different tissues and organs enable the plant to function as an integrated system, responsive to the interaction of internal and environmental processes;
- demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles governing plant cell growth and the role of individual cell growth and development within the organism;
- demonstrate an understanding of the effects of major environmental stresses on normal plant functioning and the anatomical and physiological adaptations plants have evolved to tolerate these external factors;
- show skills in experimentation with plants in the laboratory and glasshouse;
- show improved skills in the written communication of scientific knowledge.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Plant water relationships: water potential and its components, the path of water through the plant, transpiration and water potential. | 20.00 |
| 2. | Plant Nutrition: essential minerals and their function in the plant, mineral deficiencies and availability, solute transport across cell membranes, membrane transport proteins, sugar transport, carbohydrate sources and sinks, the movement of phloem. | 30.00 |
| 3. | Plant Growth and Development: plant cell growth and differentiation, growth and development of vegetative tissues, plant hormones and their action. | 30.00 |
| 4. | Stress and Plant Ecophysiology: leaf surfaces and the role of stomates, adaptations to water stress and water logging, salinity and extremes of temperature. | 20.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
Student workload expectations
To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.
Assessment details
| Description | Group Assessment |
Weighting (%) | Course learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz | No | 10 | 1 |
| Literature review | No | 15 | 1,2,3,5 |
| Report | No | 25 | 1,2,3,4,5 |
| Time limited online examinatn | No | 50 | 1,2,3 |