Syllabus for NUC-412
RADIATION BIOPHYSICS
Radiation Biophysics is designed to give students an overview of radiation interactions with living systems. It progresses from an explanation of physical interactions to the biological effects of these interactions. Finally, it deals with the late effects of ionization radiation.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO 1 Describe radiation and its interactions with matter.
CO 2 Explain the fundamentals of radiation chemistry.
CO 3 Exhibit insight into risk estimates.
CO 4 Explain the effects of radiation in living tissues, gene mutations, and survival curves.
You will need the following textbooks to do the work of the course. These required textbooks are available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN: 978-0120530854
ISBN: 978-0323025553
Radiation Biophysics is a three-credit, online course consisting of ten modules. Modules include learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to submit written assignments and a final paper. You are also required to take two proctored online examinations: a midterm and a final. See below for more details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
One or more of your course activities may utilize a tool designed to promote original work and evaluate your submissions for plagiarism. More information about this tool is available in About SafeAssign.
You are required to complete ten written assignments. Each written assignment tests you on the reading material assigned and consists of definitions and a series of questions and problems.
You are required to submit a final paper at the end of this course. Radiation biophysics as presented in this course covers the effects of radiation from its origin to the damage that occurs in cells, tissues, organs, and organisms. This final research paper is intended to give you a deep understanding of the current information available on a topic somewhere in this range of subjects.
You will complete the final paper in two parts:
Refer to the Final Paper section of the course website for details regarding submission requirements.
You are required to take two proctored online examinations: a midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams require that you use the University's Online Proctor Service (OPS). Please refer to the Examinations and Proctors section of the Online Student Handbook (see General Information area of the course website) for further information about scheduling and taking online exams and for all exam policies and procedures. You are strongly advised to schedule your exams within the first week of the semester.
Online exams are administered through the course website. Consult the Course Calendar for the official dates of exam weeks.
The midterm examination covers the material presented in Modules 1 through 6 and consists of multiple-choice questions, identification questions, and/or short answer questions similar to the ones featured in your written assignments.
The examination is two hours in duration and is closed-book. You are permitted to use blank scratch paper.
Note: You are permitted to use a calculator (scientific, graphing, or financial) but may not use a calculator on a phone, PDA, or any similar device.
The final examination covers all the material presented in the course and consists of multiple-choice questions, identification questions, and/or short answer questions similar to the ones featured in your written assignments.
The examination is two hours in duration and is closed-book. You are permitted to use blank scratch paper.
Note: You are permitted to use a calculator (scientific, graphing, or financial) but may not use a calculator on a phone, PDA, or any similar device.
You are on your honor not to cheat during an exam. Cheating means:
If there is evidence that you have cheated or plagiarized in an exam, the exam will be declared invalid, and you will fail the course.
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | C+ | = | 78–79 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–77 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | C– | = | 70–72 | |
B | = | 83–87 | D | = | 60–69 | |
B– | = | 80–82 | F | = | Below 60 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or better (for an area of study course) or D or better (for a course not in your area of study), based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., exams, assignments, discussion postings).
Lateness Policy
The University's late assignment policy states that written assignments should be submitted no later than
the due date unless prior arrangements are made with the mentor and a new due date is established. If
you submit an assignment after the due date without having made arrangements with the mentor, a
minimum of 5 points (based on an assignment grading scale of 100 points) or 5 percent of the total points
will be deducted for each week, or part thereof, that the assignment is late. To receive credit for
discussion forum assignments, you must actively participate during the assigned discussion period. Also,
unless you have registered for an extension, assignments submitted after the semester ends (or after the
extension date expires) will be returned to you ungraded.
Active duty military students in receipt of Temporary Additional Duty orders (TDY) may be exempted from
point deductions if their orders prescribe a return-to-class date that allows for sufficient time to complete
the remaining course requirements, which is generally defined as allowing the student to miss no more
than 1/3 of the total semester.
Military students with TDY orders shall follow the procedures, found on the OMVE website to establish
new due dates without penalty for written assignments and discussion boards.
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at Thomas Edison State University.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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