SCI-165 Inner Workings of the Physical Universe
About 15 billion years ago, (data indicate) the big bang occurred and the universe was born. With it came physical laws and a spectacular array of consequences that lead to the universe as we know it. This non-lab, 4 credit course explores the inner workings of the physical universe in terms of the scientific inquiry which lead to Newton's laws, an understanding of energy, waves, light, electricity, atomic structure, chemical reactions, nuclear physics, particle physics, relativity, and the big bang theory. During the course, students will learn to make use of modern resources to access scientific and technical literature to research a scientific topic. They will learn to distinguish between science and technology (e.g. quantum mechanics and nanotechnology, the discovery of the Higgs boson and the large hadron collider that made it possible, etc.) and to understand how the science, technology, and engineering disciplines play a crucial role in recognizing and solving problems of society and the world that we share.