This class examines the relationship between the study of natural history, both domestic and exotic, by Europeans and Americans, and exploration and exploitation of the natural world, focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra of different elements are produced, and configure your own element's energy states to produce light of different colors.
This course explores the social relevance of neuroscience, considering how emerging areas of brain research at once reflect and reshape social attitudes and agendas. Topics include brain imaging and popular media; neuroscience of empathy, trust, and moral reasoning; new fields of neuroeconomics and neuromarketing; ethical implications of neurotechnologies such as cognitive enhancement pharmaceuticals; neuroscience in the courtroom; and neuroscientific recasting of social problems such as addiction and violence. Guest lectures by neuroscientists, class discussion, and weekly readings in neuroscience, popular media, and science studies.
This capstone course is a group design project involving integration of nuclear physics, particle transport, control, heat transfer, safety, instrumentation, materials, environmental impact, and economic optimization. It provides opportunities to synthesize knowledge acquired in nuclear and non-nuclear subjects and apply this knowledge to practical problems of current interest in nuclear applications design. Each year, the class takes on a different design project; this year, the project is a power plant design that ties together the creation of emission-free electricity with carbon sequestration and fossil fuel displacement. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments.This course is an elective subject in MIT's undergraduate Energy Studies Minor. This Institute-wide program complements the deep expertise obtained in any major with a broad understanding of the interlinked realms of science, technology, and social sciences as they relate to energy and associated environmental challenges.
The student-facing videos are intended to be shown to students as part of the unit while the teacher preparation videos provide information to teachers regarding the set up of laboratory investigations and other features of the instructional materials.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of Teacher Editions and student Science Logbooks for every module.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout the module, students study the anchor phenomenon, life at a pond, and build an answer to the Essential Question: How do pond plants and pond animals survive in their environment? As students learn about each new concept, they revisit and refine a model that represents how plants and animals survive in a pond environment. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of the ways plants and animals survive to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply these concepts to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students develop an enduring understanding that plants and animals have body parts that function in ways that help the plants and animals survive in their environment. Students also develop the understanding that plants and animals of the same kind are recognizable as similar but can vary in many ways and that many animal parents engage in behaviors that help young offspring survive.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout this module, students study the anchor phenomenon, wayang shadow puppetry, and build an answer to the Essential Question: How do puppeteers use light to tell stories during wayang shows? As students learn about each new concept, they revisit and refine a model that shows how light interacts with the parts of a wayang show. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of light interactions to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply these concepts to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students develop an enduring understanding that the way light interacts with objects affects what people see.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout the module, students study the anchor phenomenon, birds building nests, and develop an answer to the Essential Question: Why do different kinds of birds use certain materials to build their nests? As students learn about each new concept, they revisit and refine a model that represents how to describe different materials and how birds use those materials to build their nests. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of how matter can be described, classified, and used to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply these concepts to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students learn that understanding the properties of matter and the ways matter can change helps people use materials for specific purposes.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout the module, students study the anchor phenomenon, the transformation of Surtsey, and build an answer to the Essential Question: How can the island of Surtsey change shape over time? As students learn about each new concept, they revisit and refine a model that represents the formation and transformation of Surtsey. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of how land changes over time to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply these concepts to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students develop an enduring understanding that natural events transform Earth’s land as time passes.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout this module, students study the anchor phenomenon, the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, and build an answer to the Essential Question: How did the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde protect people from the weather? As students learn about each new concept, they develop and refine a model that represents a cliff dwelling and use that model to explore how cliff dwellings protected people from the weather. At the end of the module, students use their knowledge of weather to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply their learning to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. Through these experiences, students begin to establish an enduring understanding of weather and its effects. Specifically, students develop an understanding of the parts of weather, the effects weather has on people and their surroundings, and the ways people prepare for severe weather.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
PhD Science Grade Levels K–2 is available as downloadable PDFs. The OER consists of the Teacher Edition and student Science Logbook.
Throughout this module, students study the anchor phenomenon— tugboats moving cargo ships—and build an answer to the Essential Question: How do tugboats move cargo ships through a harbor? As students focus on two concepts, they build a model that represents the movement of tugboats and cargo ships through New York Harbor. Students develop an understanding of what makes objects start to move, how pushes and pulls can change the way objects move, and what happens when two objects bump into each other. By the end of the module, students use their knowledge of pushes and pulls to explain the anchor phenomenon, and they apply learned concepts to a new context in an End-of-Module Assessment. As a result of these experiences, students begin to develop an enduring understanding that pushes and pulls can start, stop, and redirect an object’s movement.
With PhD Science®, students explore science concepts through authentic phenomena and events—not fabricated versions—so students build concrete knowledge and solve real-world problems. Students drive the learning by asking questions, gathering evidence, developing models, and constructing explanations to demonstrate the new knowledge they’ve acquired. The coherent design of the curriculum across lessons, modules, and grade levels helps students use the concepts they’ve learned to build a deep understanding of science and set a firm foundation they’ll build on for years to come.
Cross-curricular connections are a core component within PhD Science. As an example, every module incorporates authentic texts and fine art to build knowledge and create additional accessible entry points to the topic of study.
Three-dimensional teaching and learning are at the heart of the curriculum. As students uncover Disciplinary Core Ideas by engaging in Science and Engineering Practices and applying the lens of Cross-Cutting Concepts, they move from reading about science to doing science.
This course provides an introduction to important philosophical questions about the mind, specifically those that are intimately connected with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Are our concepts innate, or are they acquired by experience? (And what does it even mean to call a concept 'innate'?) Are 'mental images' pictures in the head? Is color in the mind or in the world? Is the mind nothing more than the brain? Can there be a science of consciousness? The course includes guest lectures by Philosophers and Cognitive Scientists.
See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.
Forecasting is the ultimate form of model validation. But even if a perfect model is in hand, imperfect forecasts are likely. This course will cover the factors that limit our ability to produce good forecasts, will show how the quality of forecasts can be gauged a priori (predicting our ability to predict!), and will cover the state of the art in operational atmosphere and ocean forecasting systems.
This course provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological, inorganic, and organic molecules.ĺĘTheĺĘemphasis isĺĘon basic principles of atomic and molecular electronic structure, thermodynamics, acid-base and redox equilibria, chemical kinetics, and catalysis. In an effort to illuminate connections between chemistry and biology, a list of the biology-, medicine-, and MIT research-related examples used in 5.111 is provided in Biology-Related Examples. Acknowledgements Development and implementation of the biology-related materials in this course were funded through an HHMI Professors grant to Prof. Catherine L. Drennan.
This class introduces students to the interdisciplinary nature of 21st-century engineering projects with three threads of learning: a technical toolkit, a social science toolkit, and a methodology for problem-based learning. Students encounter the social, political, economic, and technological challenges of engineering practice by participating in real engineering projects with faculty and industry; this semester's major project focuses on the engineering and economics of solar cells. Student teams will create prototypes and mixed media reports with exercises in project planning, analysis, design, optimization, demonstration, reporting and team building.
Explores the interaction of radiation with matter at the microscopic level from both the theoretical and experimental viewpoints. Emphasis on radiation effects in biological systems. Topics include energy deposition by various types of radiation, including the creation and behavior of secondary radiations; the effects of radiation on cells and on DNA; and experimental techniques used to measure these radiation effects. Cavity theory, microdosimetry and methods used to simulate radiation track structure are reviewed. Examples of current literature used to relate theory, modeling, and experimental methods. Requires a term paper and presentation. The central theme of this course is the interaction of radiation with biological material. The course is intended to provide a broad understanding of how different types of radiation deposit energy, including the creation and behavior of secondary radiations; of how radiation affects cells and why the different types of radiation have very different biological effects. Topics will include: the effects of radiation on biological systems including DNA damage; in vitro cell survival models; and in vivo mammalian systems. The course covers radiation therapy, radiation syndromes in humans and carcinogenesis. Environmental radiation sources on earth and in space, and aspects of radiation protection are also discussed. Examples from the current literature will be used to supplement lecture material.
The aim of this course is to introduce the principles of the Global Positioning System and to demonstrate its application to various aspects of Earth Sciences. The specific content of the course depends each year on the interests of the students in the class. In some cases, the class interests are towards the geophysical applications of GPS and we concentrate on high precision (millimeter level) positioning on regional and global scales. In other cases, the interests have been more toward engineering applications of kinematic positioning with GPS in which case the concentration is on positioning with slightly less accuracy but being able to do so for a moving object. In all cases, we concentrate on the fundamental issues so that students should gain an understanding of the basic limitations of the system and how to extend its application to areas not yet fully explored.
Blast a Buick out of a cannon! Learn about projectile motion by firing various objects. Set the angle, initial speed, and mass. Add air resistance. Make a game out of this simulation by trying to hit a target.