This module will discuss Henrietta Levitt's 1908 discovery of the period-luminosity relationship for cepheid variable stars, a key rung on the cosmic distance ladder, and Wendy Freedman's 1994 observation of cepheids in a distant galaxy, cutting the age of the universe in half. Students will calculate the age of the universe from its curvature and the galactic distance-velocity relation. This module will familiarize students with the limits of current medical understanding. A presentation of statistics and growth rate will lead into examination of measures being taken to slow the epidemic rate and ways of slowing the progress of the disease in individuals. Students in this module will examine the spectacular failed attempt to create a sustainable, self-contained living space.
Readings cover early optimism and eventual media criticism.
The main purpose of this module is to familiarize students with the technology of energy and its uses and misuses. An up-close and personal look at waste, involving brainstorming about possible alternatives. Students survey varying opinions, statistics, and sources of error in global warming predictions in order to come to individual decisions about whether or not the issue is important to their lives. It treats these various forms of representation withour assuming that forms other than the journal report are over-simplifications, distortions, or misrepresentations. The module sets out a variety of ways to look at this range of representations, providing faculty and students several avenues into the content and practice of the natural sciences.