NWI-BB068B
Biophysics
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleNWI-BB068B
Credits (ECTS)3
Category-
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Science; BioWetenschappen;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. S.M. Cristescu
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. S.M. Cristescu
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. S.M. Cristescu
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. S.M. Cristescu
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. M.M. van Wanrooij
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2018
Period
KW1  (03/09/2018 to 04/11/2018)
Starting block
KW1
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
General: After the course, the student can relate and explain the basic physics principles necessary to understand biological phenomena that will be presented during the bachelor and master education in biology and medicine. Specific: The student learns to apply formulas and physics concepts from electrodynamics, thermodynamics optics and waves to describe and understand important processes in nature and human body such as diffusion, osmosis, action potential, hearing and vision. Due to the nature-related way of presenting this information within the course and with the knowledge received, the student should be able to recognize the physics principles behind a biological process in order to understand it and predict outcomes when the working conditions are changed. Using the physics tools from the course, the students learn to design an experiment that investigates a biological question.
 
Measurable: During the lectures the students understanding is tested via 2-3 multiple answers quiz questions. The students answering positively are asked to explain their choice. The teacher summarizes/prepares a short explanation of how to approach the question and formulate the answer. 
During the tutor hour, the student revises the formulas and concepts together with the tutor and during the werkcollege, with the help of the assistant, the student is applying them into practical problems. At the next werkcollege the problems encountered in understanding how to apply a physics concept are discussed within the group. The students are offered to design an ethylene experiment with a specific biological research question by brainstorming in groups. The outcome requires a deeper insight in plant physiology and it is evaluated together with the biology teachers. Feedback is provided to students that work out the comments and provide a final version of their assay. Finally one experiment is performed by the course coordinator and the results are presented during the last lecture.   
 
Acceptabel: The learning goals are communicated to the students from the first lecture and are available in studiegids and on BB. The lectures are made attractive to students and stimulate their learning conceptual understanding by switching between Power Point presentations with visual models and aids, black board, interactive lecture demos and direct interaction.
Solving the exercises at werkcollege adds a maximum one (1) point to the exam mark. Furthermore, designing an ethylene experiment with a specific biological research question in two phases (initial version and after receiving feedback from the supervisors) motivates the students to generate a scenario based on their own ideas that is awarded with extra 0.2 points.   
 
Realistic: The course content is in line with the thematic structure of two other 2nd year Bachelor Biology courses, namely Plant Physiology and Animal Physiology that run in parallel with this course in the first semester. The Biology teachers are constantly referring in their lectures to specific topics/subjects that overlap with Biophysics content and vice versa. The last lecture includes several applications connected to the Neurobiology course of the 3rd year Bachelor Biology.    
Timely: The course is running over one semester and consists of 2 h lecture, 1 h tutor hour and 2h werkcollege per week. It is finalized with en exam in order to test whether the students have met the learning objectives.
Content
The course is presenting various biological principles from the daily life and reveals the physics that given them substance
  • Osmosis and diffision
  • Bio-electricity
  • Nerve potential
  • Hydrostatics and hydrodynamics
  • Waves and sound
  • Hearing: anatomy of the ear
  • Light and optics
  • Vision: anatomy of the eye
  • Photonics and applications in the bio-fields
Test information
The course ends with a written exam of 3 hours. The bonus points from the werkcolleges and the essay will be added to the exam mark.

Prerequisites
Math B1 and Physics 1 of the VWO profile N&G.

Required materials
Reader
Syllabus

Recommended materials
Book
Jos Rogiers, Van fysica naar biofysica, Acco Leuven/Leusden
ISBN:9789033480881
Book
Christoph Schiller, Motion Mountain, The adventure of physics (2012). Available as free pdf at www.motionmountain.net

Instructional modes
Course occurrence

Lecture

Response course

Tutorial

Zelfstudie

Tests
Tentamen
Test weight1
OpportunitiesBlock KW1, Block KW2