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640-151 Physics for Biomedical Science A | |
Note | Students may only gain credit for one of 640-005, 640-121, 640-141, 640-151 and 640-161. |
Credit Points | 12.5 |
HECS Band | 2 |
Coordinator | Dr A Roberts |
Prerequisites | Some knowledge of physics, VCE Mathematical Methods 3/4 (or an equivalent subject). For BSc students, entry to this subject will be by invitation of the head of the School of Physics, usually requiring a very high level of achievement in the final year of secondary school. |
Semester | 1 (view timetable) |
Contact | 36 lectures (three per week), 12 1-hour tutorials (one per week), laboratory work and reading assignment(s) involving 36 hours work during the semester |
Subject Description | An understanding of physics is essential to the description of many biological processes and the development of modern medical science and technology. This is the first subject of a two-semester sequence which will develop students' appreciation of the importance of physical principles to biomedical science as well as their understanding of the principles underpinning human structure and function, medical diagnostics and therapeutics. The subject provides an introduction to several areas: acoustics: hearing, speech, ultrasound imaging, therapeutic applications of sound (properties of waves, the nature of sound, superposition of waves, Doppler effect, interaction of sound with matter); optics: optical imaging and sensing and human and animal vision (reflection, refraction and dispersion of light, mirrors and images, optical fibres, lenses, optical imaging and optical instruments); atomic physics and lasers: fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy, laser surgery (structure of the atom, photons, spectroscopy, interaction of light with matter); and mechanics: human and animal movement, sport, injuries (Newton's laws of motion, energy transfer and transformation, mechanical properties of materials, elasticity, compression and extension). |
Assessment | A 3-hour end-of-semester examination (65%); laboratory work together with a group project (25%); tests totalling 1 hour during the semester (10%). Students must complete satisfactorily both laboratory and project work to obtain a pass. |
Prescribed Texts |
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Search : Index : Faculty of Science : Physics
Prev 640-142 Physics B
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Status: Official 2001 Last Modified: Wednesday May 23 22:26 SGML to HTML Conversion: Information Technology Services Authorised by: Academic Registrar Email Enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au