Introduction to Natural Science: Life, the Universe, and Everything

This year-long interdisciplinary program will be taught by a physicist, a chemist and a biologist. We will use unifying perspectives from physics and chemistry to provide a conceptual and experimental introduction to natural science. We will base our inquiry around the organizing theme of cycles and transformations of matter and energy in both living and nonliving systems. This thematic approach will focus on understanding life and the universe from a variety of scales. Students will engage this theme through experimental and active methods, developing critical and quantitative reasoning skills.

Each quarter, program activities will include lectures, small group problem-solving workshops, laboratories, field trips and seminars. Seminar reading and discussions will be concerned with history, philosophy, and contemporary applications of science. During spring quarter there will be an opportunity for small groups of students to conduct an independent scientific investigation designed in collaboration with the program faculty. Students will learn to describe their work through writing and public presentations.

This program is designed for students who want to take their first year of college science. It will be a rigorous program, requiring a serious commitment of time and effort on the part of the student. Students who simply want exposure to science will find this program quite demanding and should consult the faculty before the program begins. Overall, we expect students to end the program in the spring with a working knowledge of scientific and mathematical concepts, with the ability to reason critically and solve problems, and with hands-on experience in natural science.

Students who complete this program will be prepared for more advanced study in science programs such as Molecule to Organism or Atoms, Molecules and Reactions.