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Mid Semester Information
Course SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
Semester Summer Semester, 2021
Type Online, non-invigilated assignment, under ‘take home exam’ conditions.
Technology File upload to Blackboard Assignment
Date and time 8am – 8pm, Wednesday 22 December 2021, Brisbane time
Duration
You have a 12-hour window in which you must complete the mid semester
assessment. You can access and submit your paper at any time within the 12
hours. Even though you have the entire 12 hours to complete and submit this
assessment, the expectation is that it will take students around 1 hour to complete.
Note that you must leave sufficient time to submit and upload your answers
to the mid semester. See the “Late or incomplete submissions” section below.
Permitted
materials
This assignment is closed book – only specified materials are permitted, listed
below under Recommended materials.
Recommended
materials
Ensure the following materials are available during the mid semester:
• The SCIE1000 lecture book, workshop activities & solutions, and your
personal notes from the course are permitted (paper or electronic).
• UQ approved calculator; bilingual dictionary; phone/camera/scanner
Instructions
You will need to download the question paper included within the Blackboard Test.
Once you have completed the assignment, upload a single pdf file with your
answers to the Blackboard assignment submission link. You may submit multiple
times, but only the last uploaded file will be graded. Ensure that all your answers
are contained in your last uploaded file.
You can print the question paper and write on that paper or write your answers on
blank paper (clearly label your solutions so that it is clear which problem it is a
solution to) or annotate an electronic file on a suitable device.
You should include your name and student number on the first page of the pdf file
that you submit.
For advice / options for producing a PDF file from handwritten work, see the
“Electronic Assignment Submission Guidelines” on Blackboard, under the Mid
Semester tab.
Who to contact
If you have any concerns or queries about a particular question or need to make
any assumptions to answer the question, state these at the start of your solution to
that question. You may also include queries you may have made with respect to a
particular question, should you have been able to ‘raise your hand’ in an
examination-type setting.
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If you experience any technical difficulties, contact Tim on [email protected].
Note that this is for technical difficulties only. Questions about content or requests
for clarifications will not be answered.
If you experience any interruptions, please collect evidence of the interruption (e.g.
photographs, screenshots or emails).
Late or
incomplete
submissions
In the event of a late submission, you will be required to submit evidence that you
completed the assessment in the time allowed. This will also apply if there is an
error in your submission (e.g. corrupt file, missing pages, poor quality scan).
Even if you submit on time, we strongly recommend you use a phone camera to
take time-stamped photos (or a video) of every page of your paper during the time
allowed.
If you submit your paper after the due time, then you should send details to SMP
Exams ([email protected]) as soon as possible after the end of the time
allowed. Include an explanation of why you submitted late (with any evidence of
technical issues) AND time-stamped images of every page of your paper (e.g.
screen shot from your phone showing both the image and the time at which it was
taken).
Further important
information
Academic integrity is a core value of the UQ community and as such the highest
standards of academic integrity apply to all assessment items, whether undertaken
in-person or online.
For the Mid Semester assessment, this means:
• You are permitted to refer to the allowed resources for this assessment
item, but you cannot cut-and-paste material other than your own work as
answers.
• You are not permitted to consult any other person – whether directly,
online, or through any other means – about any aspect of this assessment
during the period that it is available.
• If it is found that you have given or sought outside assistance with this
assessment, then that will be deemed to be cheating.
If you submit your answers after the end of the allowed time, the following penalties
will be applied to your final score due to the late submission:
• Less than 5 minutes – 5% penalty
• From 5 minutes to less than 15 minutes – 20% penalty
• More than 15 minutes – 100% penalty
These penalties will be applied unless there is sufficient evidence of problems
with the system and/or process that were beyond your control.
Undertaking this online assessment deems your commitment to UQ’s academic
integrity pledge as summarised in the following declaration:
“I certify that I have completed this assessment in an honest, fair and trustworthy
manner, that my submitted answers are entirely my own work, and that I have
neither given nor received any unauthorised assistance on this assessment item”.
Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
To answer each question you will need to use the information on Page 13. Your solutions
will be marked on the correctness and clarity of your explanation and communication.
Include units in your answer wherever relevant.
Each question is graded on a 1-7 scale with the last part of the question being at an
advanced level which must be attempted for students aiming for a grade of 6 or 7.
1. This question relates to the Huapapa or Tasman Glacier (see the information sheet).
(a) Make an estimate of the mass of the ice in the glacier. Quote your answer in tonnes,
ensuring that you clearly demonstrate how all unit conversions were performed. Explain
any assumptions that you make. (3 marks)
(question continued over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
(b) Write a short paragraph (several sentences) communicating the amount of ice in this glacier
(mass or volume) to an audience of high school students (approximately 13–17 years of age).
(2 marks)
(c) (Advanced) The mass of a glacier changes in response to a range of natural influences.
Create a simple mathematical model of how the mass of a glacier could change due to such
processes. As we did in class, you should consider the relevant parameters (based only
on the information sheet), and how they might impact on the mass of the glacier. Your
simple mathematical equation (ignoring units) should contain three independent variables.
Provide a clear explanation of the parameters that you use. (2 marks)
(next question over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
2. The Ka Roimata o Hine Hukatere or Franz Josef Glacier is a glacier on the western side of the
Southern Alps in New Zealand. In a paper about the mass balance of the glacier, historical
measurements of the length of the glacier are reported [4]. The figure below (adapted from [4])
shows a set of measurements of the length of the glacier over time. There are periods in which
the glacier has retreated and (shorter) periods in which it has advanced.
(a) Between the years 1935 and 1984, the length of the glacier is seen to be approximately a
linear function of time in years. Find the equation for such a linear function over this period
of time. You should draw an approximate line of best fit, determine the slope and intercept
of your fit, and then quote the final equation for your line. (3 marks)
(question continued over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
(b) Suppose that the glacier had continued to retreat at the rate described by your equation in
the previous part. Demonstrate how your equation could be used to find the time when the
glacier would completely disappear. Determine the year that this would have occurred. If
you weren’t able to develop an equation in the previous part, then just describe the steps
that should be followed to answer the question. (2 marks)
(c) (Advanced) A researcher proposes that the same linear mathematical equation developed
in the first part of this question could also be used for the year 2000 onwards. Discuss such
a proposal from both a mathematical and a physical point of view. (2 marks)
(next question over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
3. An automated analysis of measurements from the airborne laser scanning technique can be used
to detect regions on glaciers where crevasses are present.
(a) Calculate values for the sensitivity and the specificity of the automated crevasse detection
technique described in the information sheet. Make sure that you clearly explain the steps
involved. (3 marks)
(b) “Manual intervention” is considered to be the gold standard in identifying regions with
crevasses. Assuming that this manual intervention is 100% accurate, what is the likelihood
that a randomly selected location on the Tyndall Glacier is a region where crevasses would
be found? Explain your answer. (2 marks)
(question continued over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
(c) (Advanced) A mountaineering team is planning to undertake an expedition to traverse
a large glacier similar to the Tyndall Glacier. Team members are able to do some local
limited crevasse detection as they traverse a glacier (such as manually checking for crevasses
and/or ground penetrating radar). The team director would also like to identify the regions
on the glacier where crevasses are likely to be present using a remote test before starting
the expedition. Should the director look for a test that optimises sensitivity or a test that
optimises specificity? Justify your answer by discussing one advantage and one disadvantage
of the choice that you make. (2 marks)
(next question over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
4. In a study of the Brewster Glacier in New Zealand, a sophisticated model of the amount of
ice in the glacier was developed [5]. The amount of ice is calculated as a ‘mass balance’ with
units of ‘m w.e.’ or metres, water equivalent. This can be thought of as the volume of water
that is added/removed from the entire surface of the glacier, measured as the depth of water
added/removed. Positive values of the mass balance indicate the glacier has a larger mass than
at the start of the measurements, while negative values indicate that the mass is smaller.
The figure below (adapted from [5]) shows the modelled mass balance of the glacier over a period
of around 50 months, starting from January 2004.
The Python code below has been developed in relation to the results from the sophisticated
model shown in the graph above.
# Simple model of the mass balance of the Brewster Glacier
from pylab import *
# Constants
# Your comments here
A = 1.3
P = 12
S = 7
E = 1.1
# Input
y = float(input("Year: "))
m = float(input("Month: "))
t = (y - 2004) * 12 + m
# Model and output
if t < 0:
print("Outside range - too early")
elif t < 51:
b = A * sin(2 * pi / P * (t - S)) + E
print("At", round(t), "the value is", round(b,1))
else:
print("Outside range - too late")
(question continued over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
(a) The Python code is run twice using the inputs listed below. In each case, write the further
output from the code in the boxes below. Show all your working either next to the code on
the previous page or in the boxes below next to the output. (3 marks)
Year: 2008 space for rough working
Month: 8
Year: 2005 space for rough working
Month: 9
(b) For any two of the constants used in the code, write comments that could be inserted into
the code (at the location shown) to describe each constant. (2 marks)
(question continued over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
(c) (Advanced) The mass balance at the end of the time period seen in the plot shows a decrease
in the mass of the glacier. The average length of glaciers in New Zealand has been observed
to slowly decrease in the following years. Suppose that we attempt to implement the simple
model used in the Python code above for future years. Which of the four constants are
likely to change (increase or decrease), and which can be expected to remain unchanged?
Justify your answers by relating the model to the physical situation. (2 marks)
END OF QUESTIONS
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
References
[1] National Geographic Society, Encyclopedia entry – Glacier.
Accessed from – https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/glacier/
Date of access – 11/12/2021.
[2] Dykes, R.C., Brook, M.S., Winkler, S. (2010) The contemporary retreat of Tasman Glacier, Southern Alps, New
Zealand, and the evolution of the Tasman Proglacial Lake since AD 2000. Erkunde 64 (2), 141–154.
[3] Huang, R., Jiang, L. Wang, H. Yang, B. (2019) A Bidirectional Analysis Method for Extracting Glacier Crevasses
from Airborne LiDAR Point Clouds. Remote Sens. 11, 2373.
[4] Purdie, H., Anderson, B., Chinn, T., Owens, I., Mackintosh, A., Lawson, W. (2014) Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers,
New Zealand: Historic length records. Global and Planetary Change 121, 41—52.
[5] Anderson, B., Mackintosh, A., Stumm, D., George, L., Kerr, T., Winter-Billington, A., Fitzsimons, S. (2010) Climate
sensitivity of a high-precipitation glacier in New Zealand. Journal of Glaciology 56 (195), 114–128.
Space for further working (if needed) . . .
(information sheet over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
Information on Glaciers
Glaciers:
Glaciers are large bodies of ice, often slowly moving, that can form in mountain valleys or spread
across large, flat areas [1]. Alpine glaciers move slowly downwards under the force of their own weight
carrying with them earth and boulders gouged out of the landscape.
There are no glaciers to be found in Australia, but New Zealand has many hundreds of glaciers. The
Huapapa or Tasman Glacier is the longest glacier of these, with a total length of about 23 km [2]. The
surface area of the glacier is about 98 km2 and it has a thickness of up to 615 m. The speed of the
surface has been observed to be as high as 96 metres per year.
Glacier accumulation and removal:
Glaciers form as snow builds up on the surface and is compressed to become glacial ice. Surface accu-
mulation occurs due to further snow and ice falls, with an increase in the mass of the glacier typically
occurring at higher altitudes. As the glacial ice flows downwards, it reaches regions of warmer tem-
peratures. Here, several processes occur that remove ice, including surface melting and calving (ice
breaking off the glacier). Precipitation in the form of rain can also lead to the removal of ice from the
glacier. Higher temperatures can increase the melting process, but may also increase precipitation,
potentially impacting the accumulation and/or the removal of ice from the glacier.
Crevasses:
The motion of a glacier can lead to cracks forming on the surface of the ice due to the build-up of
tension. These cracks or crevasses are found in the top layers of a glacier and can extend down well into
the glacier. Crevasses can be snow covered and pose a significant danger for mountaineers traversing
a glacier. They are also important in understanding the dynamics of a glacier, flow of water through
a glacier, and in the break-up of a glacier near the ice front.
Researchers have developed a variety of techniques for detecting regions on glaciers where crevasses
are present. In a recent study, the ability of an automated analysis of airborne laser scanning data to
detect such regions was investigated [3]. One set of measurements was made on the Tyndall Glacier
in Alaska, and the table below shows the results of the automated analysis compared with a manual
intervention (considered to be 100% accurate).
Total area (m2) TP (m2) FP (m2) FN (m2)
533,000 87,550 5,190 4,770
In the table, TP is the total area of regions that were correctly identified as having crevasses by the
automated analysis (when compared with the manual intervention), FP is the total area of regions
where the automated analysis indicated crevasses existed when there were none, and FN is the area
of regions where crevasses existed but the automated analysis failed to identify them.
Other useful information:
Mass and volume are related through the density according to mass = density × volume.
The density of ice is 930 kg/m3.
1 tonne = 1000 kg.
A 50 m olympic-sized swimming pool contains 2,500 m3 of water.
A fully laden truck has a mass of about 35 tonnes.
(formula sheet over)
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Summer Semester Mid-Semester, 2021 SCIE1000 Theory and Practice in Science
SCIE1000 / SCIE1100 Formula Sheet
Base quantity SI unit name Symbol
length metre m
mass kilogram kg
time second s
electric current ampere A
thermodynamic temperature kelvin K
amount of substance mole mol
luminous intensity candela cd
Multiple Prefix Symbol Multiple Prefix Symbol
101 deca da 10−1 deci d
102 hecto h 10−2 centi c
103 kilo k 10−3 milli m
106 mega M 10−6 micro µ
109 giga G 10−9 nano n
1012 tera T 10−12 pico p
1015 peta P 10−15 femto f
1018 exa E 10−18 atto a
1021 zetta Z 10−21 zepto z
1024 yotta Y 10−24 yocto y
Quantity Name Symbol SI units SI base units
frequency hertz Hz - s−1
force newton N - m · kg · s−2
pressure, stress pascal Pa N ·m−2 m−1 · kg · s−2
energy, work, quantity of heat joule J N ·m m2 · kg · s−2
power, radiant flux watt W J · s−1 m2 · kg · s−3
electric potential difference,
electromotive force volt V W ·A−1 m2 · kg · s−3 ·A−1
Celsius temperature degree Celsius ◦C - K
function type general form
linear y = mx + c
quadratic y = ax2 + bx + c
power y = axp
periodic y = A sin(2pi
P
(t− S)) + E
exponential y = Cekt
surge y = atpe−bt
Newton’s method xi+1 = xi − f(xi)f ′(xi)
Trapezoid rule Atrap = (x2 − x1)(y1+y22 )
Euler’s method ti+1 = ti + h yi+1 = yi + hy
′
i
True Status
Yes No
Test Positive A B
Test Negative C D
N = A + B + C + D
accuracy =
A + D
N
sensitivity =
A
A + C
specificity =
D
B + D
Lotka-Volterra model
Q′ = aQ− bPQ
P ′ = −cP + dPQ
SIR model
S ′ = −a S
N
I
I ′ = a
S
N
I − bI
R′ = bI
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