Students analyze the relationship between wheel radius, linear velocity and angular velocity by using LEGO(TM) MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots. Given various robots with different wheel sizes and fixed motor speeds, they predict which has the fastest linear velocity. Then student teams collect and graph data to analyze the relationships between wheel size and linear velocity and find the angular velocity of the robot given its motor speed. Students explore other ways to increase linear velocity by changing motor speeds, and discuss and evaluate the optimal wheel size and desired linear velocities on vehicles.

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:Identify the shared characteristics of the natural sciencesSummarize the steps of the scientific methodCompare inductive reasoning with deductive reasoningDescribe the goals of basic science and applied science

What are the roles of analysis, description and performance in developing musical perception and understanding? How are units of perception different from units of description? Bamberger's text "Developing Musical Intuitions" and the accompanying software "Impromptu" are used as environments for composing melodies and percussion pieces. These, in turn, serve as the basis for students to interrogate their musical intuitions so as to expand and develop them. Term projects involve learning to perform a new composition or an experiment in musical perception, or designing multiple representations for appropriate analysis of a significant work. The goal of this class is practical: to interrogate, make explicit, and thus to develop the powerful musical intuitions that are at work as you make sense of the music all around you. Reflecting, we will ask how this knowledge develops in ordinary and extraordinary ways.

Students experiment with various ways to naturally dye materials using sources found in nature—roots, leaves, seeds, spices, etc.—as well as the method of extracting dyes. Then they analyze various materials using statistical methods and tackle an engineering design challenge—to find dyes that best suit the needs of a startup sustainable clothing company.

Gain practical insight and improved understanding of engineering experimentation through design and execution of "project" experiments. Building upon work in 16.621, students construct and test equipment, make systematic experimental measurements of phenomena, analyze data, and compare theoretical predictions with results. Written final report on entire project and formal oral presentation. Includes instructions on oral presentations. Provides valuable link between theory and practice.

Introduces laboratory experimental techniques. Principles of experimental design and reliable measurement. Laboratory safety. Instruction in effective report writing and oral presentation, including revision of written work. Selection and detailed planning of an individual research project, including design of components or equipment. Preparation of a detailed proposal for the selected project carried through to completion under 16.622.

Students work as engineers and learn to conduct controlled experiments by changing one experimental variable at a time to study its effect on the experiment outcome. Specifically, they conduct experiments to determine the angular velocity for a gear train with varying gear ratios and lengths. Student groups assemble LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots with variously sized gears in a gear train and then design programs using the NXT software to cause the motor to rotate all the gears in the gear train. They use the LEGO data logging program and light sensors to set up experiments. They run the program with the motor and the light sensor at the same time and analyze the resulting plot in order to determine the angular velocity using the provided physics-based equations. Finally, students manipulate the gear train with different gears and different lengths in order to analyze all these factors and figure out which manipulation has a higher angular velocity. They use the equations for circumference of a circle and angular velocity; and convert units between radians and degrees.

Students learn about geometric relationships by solving real mini putt examples on paper and then using putters and golf balls to experiment with the teacher’s pre-made mini put hole(s) framed by 2 x 4s, comparing their calculated (theoretical) results to real-world results. To “solve the holes,” they find the reflections of angles and then solve for those angles. They do this for 1-, 2- and 3-banked hole-in-one shots. Next, students apply their newly learned skills to design, solve and build their own mini putt holes, also made of 2 x 4s and steel corners.

Student teams design and conduct quality-control experiments to test the reliability of several ultraviolet protection factors. Students use UV-detecting beads in their experimental designs to test the effectiveness of various types of sunscreens and sunblock. For example, they might examine zinc oxide nanoparticles versus traditional organic sun protection factors. UV intensity is quantitatively measured by UVA and UVB Vernier sensors, and students record and graph their results. By designing and conducting this experiment, students compare various substances, while learning about quality control.

Students continue the research begun in the associated lesson as if they were biomedical engineers working for a pharmaceutical company. Groups each perform a simple chemical reaction (to precipitate solid calcium out of solution) to observe what may occur when Osteopontin levels drop in the body. With this additional research, students determine potential health complications that might arise from a new drug that could reduce inflammatory pain in many patients, improving their quality of life. The goal of this activity is to illustrate biomedical engineering as medical problem solving, as well as emphasize the importance of maintaining normal body chemistry.

The students will learn about recent meteor strikes and the effects they can have. They will then examine their significance in the history of the planet, and what they do to the surface of a planet when forming a crater. The students will then experimentally determine how the size and impact velocity of a meteorite determine the size of the crater.

Introduction to Sociology 2e adheres to the scope and sequence of a typical, one-semester introductory sociology course. It offers comprehensive coverage of core concepts, foundational scholars, and emerging theories, which are supported by a wealth of engaging learning materials. The textbook presents detailed section reviews with rich questions, discussions that help students apply their knowledge, and features that draw learners into the discipline in meaningful ways. The second edition retains the book’s conceptual organization, aligning to most courses, and has been significantly updated to reflect the latest research and provide examples most relevant to today’s students. In order to help instructors transition to the revised version, the 2e changes are described within the preface.

This seminar is designed to be an experimental and hands-on approach to applied chemistry (as seen in cooking). Cooking may be the oldest and most widespread application of chemistry and recipes may be the oldest practical result of chemical research. We shall do some cooking experiments to illustrate some chemical principles, including extraction, denaturation, and phase changes.

Students gain first-hand experience with the steps of the scientific method as well as the overarching engineering design process as they conduct lab research with the aim to create a bioplastic with certain properties. Students learn about the light mechanism that causes ultraviolet bead color change, observe the effect of different light waves on a phosphorescence powder, and see the connection between florescence, phosphorescence and wavelength. Students compose hypotheses and determine experimental procedure details, as teams engineer variations on a bioplastic solid embedded with phosphorescence powder. The objective is to make a structurally sound bioplastic without reducing its glowing properties from the powder embedded within its matrix. Groups conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of their engineered plastics, then recap and communicate their experiment conclusions in the form of a poster, slides and verbal presentation. As an extension, teams make their own testing apparatuses. As a further extension, they combine all the group results to determine which bioplastic matrix best achieves the desired properties and then “manufacture” the optimum bioplastic into glowing toy figurine end products! Many handouts, instructions, photos and rubrics are provided.

Students create large-scale models of microfluidic devices using a process similar to that of the PDMS and plasma bonding that is used in the creation of lab-on-a-chip devices. They use disposable foam plates, plastic bendable straws and gelatin dessert mix. After the molds have hardened overnight, they use plastic syringes to inject their model devices with colored fluid to test various flow rates. From what they learn, students are able to answer the challenge question presented in lesson 1 of this unit by writing individual explanation statements.

This seminar focuses on the cognitive science of moral reasoning. Philosophers debate how we decide which moral actions are permissible. Is it permissible to take one human life in order to save others? We have powerful and surprisingly rich and subtle intuitions to such questions. In this class, you will learn how intuitions can be studied using formal analytical paradigms and behavioral experiments. Thursday evening, meet to learn about recent advances in theories of moral reasoning. Overnight, formulate a hypothesis about the structure of moral reasoning and design a questionnaire-based experiment to test this. Friday, present and select 1-2 proposals and collect data; we will then reconvene to analyze and discuss results and implications for the structure of the moral mind.

Given an assortment of unknown metals to identify, student pairs consider what unique intrinsic (aka intensive) metal properties (such as density, viscosity, boiling or melting point) could be tested. For the provided activity materials (copper, aluminum, zinc, iron or brass), density is the only property that can be measured so groups experimentally determine the density of the "mystery" metal objects. They devise an experimental procedure to measure mass and volume in order to calculate density. They calculate average density of all the pieces (also via the graphing method if computer tools area available). Then students analyze their own data compared to class data and perform error analysis. Through this inquiry-based activity, students design their own experiments, thus experiencing scientific investigation and experimentation first hand. A provided PowerPoint(TM) file and information sheet helps to introduce the five metals, including information on their history, properties and uses.