syllabus
info
title Empirical Science Workshop
term Spring 2007
credits 2
time Mon 3-4:50pm
place ?
level Intermediate
faculty all natural science faculty
required for all plans that are 50% or more science
prereq One year of college-level sciences/mathematics
blurb
Science is a way of knowing the world around us.
This course will help students to become scientists by asking them to work in small groups on several scientific problems. The projects will involve multiple disciplines and may combine elements of physics, biology,
computer science, chemistry, and/or mathematics. Each will require creative experimental design, data collection and analysis, and probing thought about the confidence with which the results can be claimed as knowledge.
In addition to honing their statistical skills, students will gain facility in the written and oral defense of scientific results.
This is a required course for sophomores likely to do Plan work in any area of the Natural Sciences and will be open to other students at the discretion of the instructors.
schedule
All Faculty:
- week 1 - Papers and discussion of what is good science
- NOTE THAT THERE IS A READING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS FIRST DAY; see the resources page.
Travis/Jim: Random Error
- 2 - random walk / coin flipping
- 3 - go over random walk; statistics stuff; start weird experiment. See dice and statistics notes.
- 4 - class presents weird dice results; discuss.
- 5 - Student project / oral presentation discussion
Todd/Bob: Systematic Error
- 6 - Discussion of Systematic Error [wk 2-4 project due]
- 7 - Biology or chemistry experiment
- 8 - Chemistry or biology experiment. As before, a formal write-up for one or the other will be due in class in week 9
Matt/Jenny: Correlation/Causation
- 9 - (multiple factors)
- 10 - (multiple factors) wk 6-8 paper due
- 11 - (multiple factors)
All Faculty attending:
- 12 - Student oral presentations: Nels, Lucy, Sylva
- 13 - Student oral presentations: Ryon, Ashley, Elina
- 5/11: wk 9-11 project due
Student projects (oral presentations) can be either based on a thorough review and critique of the literature, or on experimental procedures including collection and analysis of data. The topic should be something that is not typically studied scientifically. We will discuss this in week 5.
