| THOUGHT AND NATURAL SCIENCE FALL 2011 |
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| COURSE SCHEDULE |
Thought and Natural Science is organized into 4 units that are designed to illustrate or explore particular aspects of the nature of science. Each unit will include lectures, discussions, laboratory experiences and readings to support the central theme or themes of the particular unit. Although the course is divided into sections, it is not meant to be a series of 4 fragmented units. Rather, each unit provides support for understanding the themes of succeeding units. This schedule provides only the topical outline with project deadlines. Details for each week can be found by clicking on the "week of" boxes or by going to the Weekly Assignments page.
UNIT 1: EXPLANATION AND LAW IN SCIENCE WITH EXAMPLES FROM CLASSICAL PHYSICS
UNIT 2: THEORY AND OBSERVATION IN SCIENCE WITH EXAMPLES FROM CHEMISTRY AND QUANTUM PHYSICS
| UNIT 1: EXPLANATION AND LAW IN SCIENCE WITH EXAMPLES FROM CLASSICAL PHYSICS | ||
| AUGUST 29 | MONDAY | INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE |
| THE INITIAL QUESTIONS | ||
| AUGUST 31 | WEDNESDAY | DIALOGUE 1: SCIENCE, A WAY OF KNOWING AND THE ORDERED UNIVERSE |
| LABORATORY 1: A QUESTION AND A METHOD | ||
| SEPTEMBER 2 | FRIDAY | DISCUSSION 1: SCIENCE AND PSEUDOSCIENCE |
| LABORATORY 2: THE LAW OF THE PENDULUM | ||
| SEPTEMBER 5 | MONDAY | GAME 1 |
| DIALOGUE 2: ENERGY AND HEAT AND THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS | ||
| LABORATORY 3: KINETIC ENERGY AND IMPACTS | ||
| SEPTEMBER 7 | WEDNESDAY | DISCUSSION 2: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY |
| LABORATORY 4A: BEGIN TO DESIGN A ROCKET | ||
| SEPTEMBER 9 | FRIDAY | LABORATORY 4B: BUILD THE ROCKET |
| SEPTEMBER 12 | MONDAY | GAME 2 |
| DIALOGUE 3: ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM | ||
| LABORATORY 5: EXERCISES IN ELECTROMAGNETISM | ||
| SEPTEMBER 14 | WEDNESDAY | LABORATORY 4C: LAUNCH THE ROCKETS |
| SEPTEMBER 16 | FRIDAY | DIALOGUE 4: WAVES AND ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION |
| LABORATORY 6: LIGHT, FREQUENCIES, AND INTENSITIES | ||
| UNIT 2: THEORY AND OBSERVATION IN SCIENCE WITH EXAMPLES FROM CHEMISTRY AND QUANTUM PHYSICS | ||
| SEPTEMBER 19 | MONDAY | GAME 3 |
| DIALOGUE 5: THE ATOM | ||
| LABORATORY 7A: PLANTS AND CHLOROPHYLL I | ||
| SEPTEMBER 21 | WEDNESDAY | DISCUSSION 4: EXPLANATIONS IN SCIENCE |
| LABORATORY 7B: PLANTS AND CHLOROPHYLL II | ||
| SEPTEMBER 23 | FRIDAY | DISCUSSION 5: DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN OBSERVATIONAL AND THEORETICAL REALITIES |
| LABORATORY 8A: FROM NAIL TO SALT I | ||
| SEPTEMBER 26 | MONDAY | NO CLASS |
| SEPTEMBER 27 | TUESDAY | CLARITAS SCIENCE SPEAKER: KERRY RESSLER, M.D., Ph.D. LECTURE: "FEAR AND ITS INHIBITION: FROM MICE TO MEN" AT 8 P.M. IN THE DEGENSTEIN CENTER THEATER. |
| SEPTEMBER 28 | WEDNESDAY | GAME 4 |
| DIALOGUE 6: QUANTUM MECHANICS AND THE ATOMIC BOND | ||
| LABORATORY 9: ORGANIC STRUCTURES | ||
| SEPTEMBER 30 | FRIDAY | DISCUSSION 6: THEORY VS. EXPERIMENT |
| LABORATORY 10: RESEARCH AND WRITING IN SCIENCE | ||
| OCTOBER 3 | MONDAY | DIALOGUE 7: THE NUCLEUS OF THE ATOM AND ATOMIC POWER |
| LABORATORY 11: SUPERCONDUCTORS, METALS, INSULATORS, AND SEMICONDUCTORS | ||
| LABORATORY 12: RADIATION AND RADIOACTIVITY | ||
| OCTOBER 5 | WEDNESDAY | GAME 5 |
| DIALOGUE 8: RELATIVITY AND THE ULTIMATE STRUCTURE OF MATTER | ||
| LABORATORY 8B: FROM NAIL TO SALT II | ||
| LABORATORY 13: GRAVITY AND THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIVALENCE | ||
| LABORATORY 14: THE DOPPLER EFFECT AND THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY | ||
| OCTOBER 7 | FRIDAY | DISCUSSION 7: METHODS IN SCIENCE |
| LABORATORY 15: USING PARALLAX | ||
| LABORATORY 16: A TELESCOPE AND ITS PARTS | ||
| LABORATORY 17: OBSERVING THE SUN | ||
| OCTOBER 10 | MONDAY | DIALOGUE 9: STARS AND COSMOLOGY |
| LABORATORY 18: NAVIGATING THE NIGHT SKY | ||
| UNIT 3: CONFIRMATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THEORY IN SCIENCE WITH EXAMPLES FROM ASTRONOMY, GEOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE. | ||
| OCTOBER 12 | WEDNESDAY | GAME 6 |
| DIALOGUE 10: THE EARTH AND OTHER PLANETS | ||
| LABORATORY 19: A MODEL SOLAR SYSTEM | ||
| OCTOBER 14 | FRIDAY | DISCUSSION 8: THEORY CHOICE IN SCIENCE |
| DIALOGUE 11: THEORY CHOICE IN GEOLOGY -PLATE TECTONICS | ||
| LABORATORY 20A: MAKE A BIOSPHERE | ||
| LABORATORY 21: THE MOON: PHASES AND ECLIPSES | ||
| FALL BREAK | ||
| OCTOBER 19 | WEDNESDAY | DISCUSSION 9: VALUES IN SCIENCE |
| LABORATORY 22: MAKE A TIME LINE FROM THE FORMATION OF THE EARTH-MOON SYSTEM TO THE PRESENT | ||
| OCTOBER 21 | FRIDAY | GAME 7 |
| DIALOGUE 12: CYCLES OF THE EARTH | ||
| LABORATORY 20B: CHECK BIOSPHERE (WEEK 1) | ||
| LABORATORY 23: AN EXERCISE IN MAPPING | ||
| LABORATORY 24: DETERMINATION OF SOLAR NOON | ||
| OCTOBER 24 | MONDAY | DISCUSSION 10: SCIENTIFIC RATIONALITY AND GEOLOGY |
| LABORATORY 25A: MAKE A LANDFILL IN A BOTTLE | ||
| OCTOBER 26 | WEDNESDAY | LABORATORY 26: FIELD TRIP BACK TO THE DEVONIAN |
| OCTOBER 28 | FRIDAY | GAME 8 |
| DIALOGUE 13: ECOLOGY, ECOSYSTEMS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT | ||
| LABORATORY 20C: CHECK BIOSPHERE (WEEK 2) | ||
| LABORATORY 25B: CHECK LANDFILL (WEEK 1) | ||
| OCTOBER 31 | MONDAY | DISCUSSION 11: RIVALS IN SCIENCE |
| LABORATORY 27: THE COMPARATIVE METHOD TO RECONSTRUCT A SHARK AND A DINOSAUR | ||
| LABORATORY 28: THE COMPARATIVE METHOD TO ESTIMATE BODY HEIGHT FROM ULNA LENGTH | ||
| NOVEMBER 2 | WEDNESDAY | LABORATORY 29A: FIELD TRIP TO A LOCAL STREAM |
| NOVEMBER 4 | FRIDAY | GAME 9 |
| DIALOGUE 14: STRATEGIES OF LIFE AND THE LIVING CELL | ||
| LABORATORY 20D: CHECK BIOSPHERE (WEEK 3) | ||
| LABORATORY 25C: CHECK LANDFILL (WEEK 2) | ||
| LABORATORY 29B: LOOK AT SAMPLES FROM THE CREEK | ||
| UNIT 4: SCIENCE AND VALUES WITH EXAMPLES FROM BIOLOGY. | ||
| NOVEMBER 7 | MONDAY | DISCUSSION 12: ENVIRONMENT: ECOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTALISM |
| LABORATORY 30: PLANT GERMINATION EXPERIMENT | ||
| NOVEMBER 9 | WEDNESDAY | DISCUSSION 13: VALUE JUDGMENTS AND SCIENCE ON THE EDGE |
| LABORATORY 31: YEAST PHYSIOLOGY | ||
| LABORATORY 32: TIMING MITOSIS | ||
| NOVEMBER 11 | FRIDAY | GAME 10 |
| DIALOGUE 15: GENETICS AND THE NEW SCIENCE OF LIFE | ||
| LABORATORY 33: THE SECRET OF PHOTO 51 | ||
| NOVEMBER 14 | MONDAY | LABORATORY 34: ISOLATE DNA FROM AN ONION |
| NOVEMBER 16 | WEDNESDAY | DIALOGUE 16: EVOLUTION AND DOMAINS OF LIFE |
| LABORATORY 35: EXERCISES IN SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY | ||
| NOVEMBER 18 | FRIDAY | DIALOGUE 17: ANIMALS WITH BACKBONES |
| LAB 36: VERTEBRATES | ||
| NOVEMBER 21 | MONDAY | GAME 11 |
| DIALOGUE 18: OTHER ANIMALS | ||
| LABORATORY 37: THE GENETICS OF TASTE | ||
| THANKSGIVING BREAK | ||
| NOVEMBER 28 | MONDAY | DISCUSSION 14: EXTINCTION AND THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE |
| LABORATORY 38: INVERTEBRATES | ||
| NOVEMBER 30 | WEDNESDAY | DIALOGUE 19: THE PROKARYOTES |
| LABORATORY 39: BACTERIA | ||
| DECEMBER 2 | FRIDAY | DIALOGUE 20: EUKARYOTIC SUPERGROUPS |
| LABORATORY 40: PROTISTS AND FUNGI | ||
| DECEMBER 5 | MONDAY | DIALOGUE 21: PLANTS |
| LABORATORY 41: PLANT DIVERSITY | ||
| DECEMBER 7 | WEDNESDAY | DISCUSSION 15: PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH PROJECT |
| DECEMBER 9 | FRIDAY | THE LAST APE STANDING |
| THE NATURE OF HUMANITY, A PERSONAL VIEW | ||
| DECEMBER 13 |
TUESDAY 11:30-1:30 |
FINAL EXAM
PERIOD
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By Jack R. Holt. Last revised: 11/14/2011 |