Subject Code/Name: BMS1031 - Medical biophysics Workload: Per week: 2 x 1-hour lectorial, 1 x 2-hour practical
The lectures were listed as 'lectorials' in the timetable, but were really just standard lecture-format classes. There were 3 different streams, which I felt somewhat compromised the information given in each stream (for example, different lecturers may have taken different streams for the same topic).
The practical classes were held in the PACE studios, where you would be allocated to table groups of ~10 students. The practical activity varied by week, and I have described these in the assessment section.
PASS was also available for this unit (1 x 1-hour class per week), although I did not register for these.
Assessment: Note: Some of the assessment information below may not match the information given in the 2018 unit guide, as there were some last minute changes made.
4 x Moodle quizzes (2% each; 8% total) The quizzes involved 8 multiple-choice and short answer questions in 55 minutes (with immediate feedback). You don't really need the 55 minutes, but they can be useful to recheck your answers or look through your notes to help you find the answer. Each quiz allowed 2 attempts, with your best score taken as your mark for that quiz. The quizzes were based on the topics of: fluids & energy (2); electrcity/bioelectricity; waves & optics). Non-assessed practise quizzes (which were similar in format to the actual quizzes) were also available for revision.
Practical work (25%)There were various practical activities throughout semester. Physics lab work was worth 19% of the overall unit grade, while the physiology component was worth 6%.
There were two types of physics activities: experiments (13%), which involved experimental work, collecting data, and analysing the data; and tutorials (6%), which involved the completion of pre-lab exam style questions, which were then discussed and peer corrected in the first 10 minutes of class. Experimental work was assessed through the completion of a logbook, which contained all experimental data and analysis, which was handed in a week or so after the lab. Tutorials were assessed based on effort put into the questions and correction based on peer discussion. During the actual tutorials themselves, we were given the opportunity to complete a Moodle quiz of bonus questions, which were MCQs were either exam-level difficulty or above. Correct answering of these bonus questions contributed overall to a bonus 2% added to your overall grade.
There were three practical classes for physiology (1 cardiovascular, and 2 MEMPOT). The classes themselves generally involved working through a simulation of some sort and answering questions based on that. Assessment for these labs were in quiz format (either MCQ or short answer).
Question set (5%)This was a take home problem set of about 4 questions on the fluids & energy topic. The questions were of exam difficulty, and gave a taste of the type of questions to be expected in the exam.
Fact sheet (10%)This was a one-sided A4, scientific-style fact sheet on a topic related to one of the unit topics, where we were required to describe the physics and/or physiology principles related to that topic. I personally felt the rubric criteria was somewhat unforgiving, but maybe it was just me
BMS professional development module (2%)This was a last minute addition to the assessment for BMS1031 . This is the first module (of five) in the BMS PDP program, and was moved from BMS1011 (for which I assume to simplify the sequence of modules for both double and single degree students). The assessment essentially involves the selection and description of two career-related experiences which you can complete by semester 2.
End of semester exam (50%)The end of semester exam was 3 hours long, and examined all lecture material. The exam contained mostly short answer questions (minimal MCQs- 1 or 2), and was weighted approximately ~80% physics and ~20% physiology, which was consistent with the number of lectures given for each topic. A formula sheet containing several formulas from the physics topics was provided. Approved scientific calculators were permitted. Hurdle requirement of 50% (on the exam) to pass the unit.
Recorded Lectures: Yes, with screen capture.
Past exams available: For the physics component, past exams from 2006 - 2016 (with answers) were made available. I highly recommend attempting as many of these as possible, as you will notice that past questions are often reused.
As per BMS policy, no practise exams for the physiology component were provided, although some practise questions for each physiology topic (without answers) were made available via Moodle. In my opinion, these practise questions were not that similar to the actual exam questions, but still provided an opportunity to practise your application skills, which are important in physiology.
Textbook Recommendation: Relevant chapters and review questions for both textbooks were provided for each physics lecture.
- - Recommended: Physics for Biosciences (1e) by Lazendic-Galloway for Monash University. This is a custom textbook designed for this unit. The topics follow the lecture content closely, but often goes into extra detail which was not required. This textbook is essentially a compilation of the relevant chapters from various texts (including Giancoli below).
- - Physics, principles with applications (6e) by Giancoli. This is the 'alternate' text for the physics section.
Lecturer(s):There were 3 streams for each lecture. The topic lecturer for each stream was either the same or varied.
- Prof. Kristian Helmerson [unit co-ordinator - physics] - Fluids & Energy
- Michael Ferguson - Fluids & Energy; Waves & Optics
- A/Prof. Chris Wright - Cardiovascular Physics
- Prof. German Valencia - Electricity
- Dr Agnieszka Gorecka - Electricity; Radiation
- Prof. Helena Parkington [unit co-ordinator - physiology] - Bioelectricity; Bioimaging
Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2018.
This unit is only available in Semester 1.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5. This unit was structured quite well, with the practical classes aligning closely with lecture content, and assessments relatively well-paced throughout semester. However, I felt that there could have been more feedback for some assessments.
Your Mark/Grade: HD
Comments:This unit contains two parts: physics and physiology. The physics portion covers 1st year level physics, while the physiology portion essentially provides a grounding for later BMS units. I didn't do year 12 physics, but I heard that the physics content in this unit definitely goes above and beyond that of VCE physics. Given that, I think this unit provides a good introduction to physics, even for those who have had minimal previous physics exposure. The lectures were split into well-defined topics, with an effort made to apply biomedical principles to each topic:
- - Fluids & Energy. This was the largest topic, and covered key foundations in physics, including: motion, energy, and gases. This lecture series also contained two lectures on cardiovascular physics.
- - Electricity. 4 lectures on various topics on the foundations of electricity. There were also 3 lectures on bioelectricity (which was probably my favourite topic), covering how cells (especially neurons) communicate using electricity (setting membrane potential, action potentials, etc.). In my opinion, this part was probably the most difficult of the unit, so be sure to pay attention and seek clarification.
- - Waves & Optics. 3 lectures covering the basics of waves, sound, light rays, refraction/reflection, lenses, and human vision. This lecture series also included a lecture on bioimaging, which covered the different imaging methods used in biomedical science.
- - Radiation. A 3-lecture introduction to the different types of ionising radiation (X-rays, alpha, beta, gamma), how they are created and interact with matter, how their harmful effects can be minimised (dosimetry and protection), and how they are applied in medicine for treatments and imaging.
This unit provided a relatively detailed introduction to university physics. Probably one of the harder first year first semester BMS units, although personally I still found most of the lecture content to be somewhat interesting.