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Is it necessary -- and is it possible -- for the UK and other countries to make the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources? And what sort of changes would be involved, on a global, national and personal scale? Is there any one renewable energy source that can provide most or all of the UK's energy needs? Can we continue to expand air travel indefinitely by making planes much more fuel efficient?

Questions like these are becoming increasingly common and important, but clear answers can seem disappointingly rare. Against this background, the goal of this course is to develop a clear understanding of the physical principles that govern the key modes of energy generation and usage. This will then allow us to explore if and how our current energy needs can be supported by different types of energy sources (from fossil fuels to renewable to nuclear).

We will also look carefully at the motivations for moving away from fossil fuels, considering both climate change and the finite nature of non-renewable resources. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on developing insight, rather than on memorizing specific numbers or factoids. We will do this by learning how to develop simple, highly approximate, but nevertheless quantitative models of physical processes. These will allow us to find surprisingly clear-cut and definitive answers to seemingly difficult questions, including those posed above.

Please note that although there are no formal pre-requisites, the mathematical skills required for this module are:
- Manipulating and solving algebraic equations
- Simplifying expressions using approximations e.g. the binomial approximation
- Calculating basic geometrical properties: area, volume, surface area
- Applying simple trigonometric functions: sine, cosine, tangent
- Working with exponential and logarithmic functions
- Interpreting graphs of functions or data on linear and logarithmic scales
- Using and converting units for physical quantities such as length, time, energy, etc.

No calculus is used in the module.

Is it necessary -- and is it possible -- for the UK and other countries to make the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources? And what sort of changes would be involved, on a global, national and personal scale? Is there any one renewable energy source that can provide most or all of the UK's energy needs? Can we continue to expand air travel indefinitely by making planes much more fuel efficient?

Questions like these are becoming increasingly common and important, but clear answers can seem disappointingly rare. Against this background, the goal of this course is to develop a clear understanding of the physical principles that govern the key modes of energy generation and usage. This will then allow us to explore if and how our current energy needs can be supported by different types of energy sources (from fossil fuels to renewable to nuclear).

We will also look carefully at the motivations for moving away from fossil fuels, considering both climate change and the finite nature of non-renewable resources. Throughout the course, the emphasis will be on developing insight, rather than on memorizing specific numbers or factoids. We will do this by learning how to develop simple, highly approximate, but nevertheless quantitative models of physical processes. These will allow us to find surprisingly clear-cut and definitive answers to seemingly difficult questions, including those posed above.

Please note that although there are no formal pre-requisites, the mathematical skills required for this module are:
- Manipulating and solving algebraic equations
- Simplifying expressions using approximations e.g. the binomial approximation
- Calculating basic geometrical properties: area, volume, surface area
- Applying simple trigonometric functions: sine, cosine, tangent
- Working with exponential and logarithmic functions
- Interpreting graphs of functions or data on linear and logarithmic scales
- Using and converting units for physical quantities such as length, time, energy, etc.

No calculus is used in the module.

This module covers energy conversion fundamentals and technologies whilst relating these elements to sustainability. This module looks at energy from social, environmental and economic perspectives.

This module covers energy conversion fundamentals and technologies whilst relating these elements to sustainability. This module looks at energy from social, environmental and economic perspectives.

This course explores how the key materials and elements that are essential to life are cycled through the biosphere and the Earth system.

This course explores how the key materials and elements that are essential to life are cycled through the biosphere and the Earth system.

This course explores how the key materials and elements that are essential to life are cycled through the biosphere and the Earth system.

Pollution is a major global environmental challenge, shaped by the growth in human population, industrial activity, urbanisation, and intensive agriculture. As societies have expanded and become more resource intensive, the release of contaminants to water, land, and air has increased both in scale and complexity, creating widespread risks to ecosystem and human health. Understanding pollution therefore requires more than simply identifying contaminants. It involves examining their sources, the pathways through which they move, and the impacts they have on sensitive receptors. This knowledge is essential for developing effective strategies to help monitor, manage, and mitigate pollution in a wide range of contexts.

The module introduces students to the sources, behaviour, impacts, and management of environmental pollution, with emphasis on water pollution and contaminated land/soil, while also providing an introduction to air pollution to support a broader understanding of environmental contamination.

Taught content will be delivered via lectures, workshops, fieldwork, and laboratory sessions to develop both conceptual understanding and practical competence, whilst also developing valuable transferable skills including teamwork, problem solving and communication. This varied approach is designed to strengthen students’ analytical, problem-solving, and employability skills through engagement with real-world environmental issues. This will be further enhanced by drawing on both UK-based, and global case studies.

Students will consider how pollutants are identified, monitored, and assessed in different environmental settings, and will explore current approaches to investigation, regulation, and remediation. The module is intended to provide a strong foundation for further study in environmental science and related applied environmental careers.

An understanding of the physical, chemical and biological processes involved during contamination of air, water and soil is essential if society is going to effectively monitor and control the effects of pollution using modern technology and engineering practices. A huge range of pollutants may be released into the environment during everyday domestic, leisure, industrial and commercial activities and many of these contaminants are potentially harmful to human health and the environment. In this module, we will focus on the origins, pathways and consequences of anthropogenic pollutants in the environment as well as discussing the various approaches to pollution control and remediation. Students will use their knowledge and skills to complete assignments that will test the learning outcomes for the module.

This module does not have any pre-requisites, but some background in chemistry and biology is preferred. Students will be required to perform mathematical activities.

Biological science tells us what items in our world are potentially edible, but culture decides what constitutes food. Culture informs us as to whether a specific item is appropriate, appetising, valued, desirable, prohibited, restricted, staple or medicinal. These and other qualities are products of culture not simply the ‘food’ itself. ‘You are what you eat’ illustrates the social dynamics through which identities, relationships, and hierarchies are created, performed and reproduced.

This module examines cultural variation in what constitutes food, drink and medicine in contemporary societies and contexts. We will also look into changing patterns of food acquisition from prehistory into the present.

In particular we will examine how our cultural definitions, discourses, values and practices concerning food act to build, sustain and nourish us as biological bodies, as individually specific persons, and as participants in specific social, cultural, ethnic, national and transnational groups.