This subject requires on campus attendance. Refer to Additional Requirements for more information.
Life Processes
UndergraduateMAQ-BIOX22102024
Course information for 2024 intake View information for 2025 course intake
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- Online & on-campus
- Assessments
- Subject may require attendance
- Entry requirements
- Part of a degree
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Life Processes
About this subject
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Describe the co-ordination of physiological processes in organisms, including transport systems and responses to stimuli
- Apply detailed knowledge to explain the processes by which organisms gain energy, grow, and develop
- Compare and contrast physiological processes, and their evolution, in microbes, plants, and animals
- Demonstrate critical thinking and writing skills to appraise scientific literature on a major physiological theme
- Analyse collected experimental data and relate results to established physiological phenomena
- Apply broad and coherent knowledge of physiology to understand how organisms adapt to environmental challenges.
- A week-by-week guide to the topics you will explore in this subject will be provided in your study materials.
This unit will compare and contrast a range of physiological processes in microbes, plants and animals. It will highlight common features and their evolutionary origins, with particular reference to prokaryotic genes which have been conserved in multicellular organisms. Topics to be explored include metabolism (e.g. respiration, photosynthesis and transport), environmental responses (e.g. abiotic stress response, immune reactions, behaviour), and phenology (e.g. sexual maturation, fertilisation, life cycles). The unit will draw the common threads of evolution together in complex multicellular organisms, as well as contrasting those processes unique to each Kingdom, such as photosynthesis and locomotion.
- Written Assignment (20%)
- Final Examination (40%)
- Weekly quizzes (20%)
- Practical Quizzes (20%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 44,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 10
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 10
Entry requirements
Part of a degree
To enrol in this subject you must be accepted into one of the following degrees:
Elective
- MAQ-BSC-DEG-2024 - Bachelor of Science
Prior study
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
one of
Others
NCCW (pre-2020 units): BIOL229, BIOL208, BIOL210, BIOL606
Pre-requisite (40cp at 1000 level or above) including (BIOX1310 or BIOL114) or (BIOX1110 or BIOL115)
Additional requirements
- Attendance requirements - Practical class Available in block mode
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
Related degrees
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateMAQ-BSC-DEG