Undergraduate Course: The Future of Energy (PHYS08059)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is intended to offer a physics perspective on the problem of energy in the context of the changing climate. We cover a wide range of modes of energy consumption, production and distribution. We aim to discuss fossil fuels, nuclear energy (fission and fusion) and renewables in order give a broad overview of the energy landscape. We require a basic level of numeracy so that simple, yet meaningful, calculations can be performed to evaluate contemporary questions in a scientifically robust way. |
| Course description |
This course will give students the skills and knowledge to understand contemporary issues around energy in society today, including consumption, alternative means of generation, distribution and environmental impact. The course will consist of core lectures exploring the key concepts and will be supported by tutorial sessions on relevant topics. This will include simple, but meaningful, calculations to give quantitative understand but all necessary mathematics will be covered within the course. This is an ever-evolving topic and the course will reflect that through assessment and discussion of developments as they occur, e.g. by studying media articles released while the course is running.
Syallabus/Lecture List:
- Introductory skills (numeracy, units, graphs) [3 lectures]
- Energy Introduction (examples, conversions between types) [3]
- Energy usage [6]
- Production (fossil, nuclear, renewable) [9]
- Transmission and Efficiency [3]
- Environmental impact, carbon footprint, critical assessment of media articles [9]
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 94 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 33,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Online Activities 2,
Summative Assessment Hours 11,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
128 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework 100%
The course will be assessed purely through coursework, which has been designed to reflect the variety of skills included in the learning outcomes. Specifically, it will consist of:
- Two online quizzes worth 10% each (20% total)
- A piece of work communicating an aspect of contemporary energy to the wider public in a format of their choice (e.g. social media series, blog post, poster) worth 30%
- 1-page report template worth 10%
- Final project (4-5 pages) worth 40% |
| Feedback |
Marked assessments during semester. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand different components of energy production and distribution and how they fit together
- Formulate energy-related problems in terms of simplified, meaningful estimates
- Quantitatively compare various means of energy production and distribution
- Critically assess public reports related to energy e.g. newspaper articles, blog posts etc
- Understand and critique plans for the future of energy, quantitatively, and to build simple models for the purposes of planning a sustainable energy future
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Reading List
David JC MacKay ¿Sustainable Energy ¿ Without the Hot Air¿
https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.withouthotair.com%2F&data=05%7C02%7C%7C03e0b795d17c4c84e59408dc4c44a6a6%7C2e9f06b016694589878910a06934dc61%7C0%7C0%7C638469105179046310%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=b5MbKlGjsif73JOevat6BCvDeviwTO%2Fu6ih5SxWIbqg%3D&reserved=0
Robert L. Jaffe & Washington Taylor ¿The Physics of Energy¿, CUP Richard A. Muller ¿Energy for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines¿, WW Norton & Co
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Energy,Power,Alternative energy,environmental impact |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Jennifer Smillie
Tel: (0131 6)50 5239
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Alexis Heeren
Tel:
Email: |
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