Clare 102 lecture syllabus for Spring 2003
The course is organized in 13 one-week topics; each topic is covered in three class meetings. Day one is a large lecture attended by all sections of the course. (There may be five to eight sections and each section contains 30 to 35 students). Day two and day three are meetings of the individual sections with their instructors. Day two is usually devoted to active learning exercises and group work on the week's topic. Day three is devoted to discussion of a paper dealing with some historical aspect of the topic; again this may involve group work.
Student guides for the week's work are distributed on day one of each topic. See below.
|
topic 1 |
How do we find out about the world? |
| topic 2 | Where are we in the universe? |
| topic 3 | Why do things fall and planets revolve? |
| topic 4 | What is energy? |
| topics 1,2,3,4 | Exam 1 (sample exam) |
| topic 5 | What is matter? |
| topic 6 | What are atoms? |
| topic 7 | What is light and what are electrons? |
| topics 5,6,7 | Exam 2 |
| topic 8 | What is life? |
| topic 9 | How do living things evolve? |
| topic 10 | Why do we resemble our parents? |
| topic 11 | How does life use energy? |
| topics 8,9,10,11 | Exam 3 |
| topic 12 | Sex and Mate Selection |
| topic 13 | How do we view the universe now? |
| topics 1 -13 | Final Exam |
The exams break the semester into four parts. The first covers the scientific method and Physics; the second covers Chemistry; the third covers Biology; and the fourth covers a current, multidisciplinary topic (above it is Sex & Mate Selection, often it has been Global Warming) and modern Cosmology.
Examples of Chemistry lectures (topics 5,6,7) can be viewed on Dr. Wier's web site.
Textbook: The Sciences: An Integrated Approach by James Trefil and Robert Hazen, 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons: New York, 2001 is used as a reference for science content. (This text is now in its 4th edition.) Historical pieces are handed out as photocopies. A $20 fee is collected in lab to recover photocopy costs for lecture and lab.