Biology is designed for multi-semester biology courses for science majors. It is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand. To meet the needs of today’s instructors and students, some content has been strategically condensed while maintaining the overall scope and coverage of traditional texts for this course. Instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand—and apply—key concepts.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Discuss the concept of entropyExplain the first and second laws of thermodynamics

Students act as engineers to learn about the strengths of various epoxy-amine mixtures and observe the unique characteristics of different mixtures of epoxies and hardeners. Student groups make and optimize thermosets by combining two chemicals in exacting ratios to fabricate the strongest and/or most flexible thermoset possible.

Polymers are a vital part of our everyday lives and nearly all consumer products have a plastic component of some variation. Students explore the basic characteristics of polymers through the introduction of two polymer categories: thermoplastics and thermosets. During teacher demos, students observe the unique behaviors of thermoplastics. The fundamentals of thermoset polymers are discussed, preparing them to conduct the associated activity in which they create their own thermoset materials and mechanically test them. At the conclusion of this lesson-activity pair, students understand the basics of thermoplastics and thermosets, which may entice their interest in polymer engineering.

This course will cover fundamentals of digital communications and networking. We will study the basics of information theory, sampling and quantization, coding, modulation, signal detection and system performance in the presence of noise. The study of data networking will include multiple access, reliable packet transmission, routing and protocols of the internet. The concepts taught in class will be discussed in the context of aerospace communication systems: aircraft communications, satellite communications, and deep space communications.

Students use a watt meter to measure energy input into a hot plate or hot pot used to heat water. The theoretical amount of energy required to raise the water by the measure temperature change is calculated and compared to the electrical energy input to calculate efficiency.

This Lesson provides two different activities that require students to measure energy outputs and inputs to determine the efficiency of conversions and simple systems. One of the activities includes Lego motors and accomplishing work. The other investigates energy for heating water. They learn about by products of energy conversions and how to improve upon efficiency. The teacher can choose to use either of these or both of these. The calculations in the water heating experiment are more complicated than in the Lego motor activity. Thus, the heating activity is suitable for older students, only the Lego motor activity suitable for younger students.

This simulation lets learners explore how heating and cooling adds or removes energy. Use a slider to heat blocks of iron or brick to see the energy flow. Next, build your own system to convert mechanical, light, or chemical energy into electrical or thermal energy. (Learners can choose sunlight, steam, flowing water, or mechanical energy to power their systems.) The simulation allows students to visualize energy transformation and describe how energy flows in various systems. Through examples from everyday life, it also bolsters understanding of conservation of energy. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET).

Unified treatment of phenomenological and atomistic kinetic processes in materials. Provides the foundation for the advanced understanding of processing, microstructural evolution, and behavior for a broad spectrum of materials. Emphasis on analysis and development of rigorous comprehension of fundamentals. Topics include: irreversible thermodynamics; diffusion; nucleation; phase transformations; fluid and heat transport; morphological instabilities; gas-solid, liquid-solid, and solid-solid reactions.

The course serves as an introduction to the theory and practice behind many of today's communications systems. 6.450 forms the first of a two-course sequence on digital communication. The second class, 6.451 Principles of Digital Communication II, is offered in the spring. Topics covered include: digital communications at the block diagram level, data compression, Lempel-Ziv algorithm, scalar and vector quantization, sampling and aliasing, the Nyquist criterion, PAM and QAM modulation, signal constellations, finite-energy waveform spaces, detection, and modeling and system design for wireless communication.

Statistical Mechanics is a probabilistic approach to equilibrium properties of large numbers of degrees of freedom. In this two-semester course, basic principles are examined. Topics include: thermodynamics, probability theory, kinetic theory, classical statistical mechanics, interacting systems, quantum statistical mechanics, and identical particles.

This course is taught in four main parts. The first is a review of fundamental thermodynamic concepts (e.g. energy exchange in propulsion and power processes), and is followed by the second law (e.g. reversibility and irreversibility, lost work). Next are applications of thermodynamics to engineering systems (e.g. propulsion and power cycles, thermo chemistry), and the course concludes with fundamentals of heat transfer (e.g. heat exchange in aerospace devices)

This subject deals primarily with equilibrium properties of macroscopic systems, basic thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium of reactions in gas and solution phase, and rates of chemical reactions.

This subject deals primarily with equilibrium properties of macroscopic and microscopic systems, basic thermodynamics, chemical equilibrium of reactions in gas and solution phase, and macromolecular interactions.

Treatment of the laws of thermodynamics and their applications to equilibrium and the properties of materials. Provides a foundation to treat general phenomena in materials science and engineering, including chemical reactions, magnetism, polarizability, and elasticity. Develops relations pertaining to multiphase equilibria as determined by a treatment of solution thermodynamics. Develops graphical constructions that are essential for the interpretation of phase diagrams. Treatment includes electrochemical equilibria and surface thermodynamics. Introduces aspects of statistical thermodynamics as they relate to macroscopic equilibrium phenomena.