PHYS-2028
Great Ideas in Science II
Course Web Page

This web page has been set up for the honor students at ETSU taking PHYS-2028 Spring 2009 semester with Drs. Luttermoser and Harker. Many of the lectures that will be presented to the class in this course sequence will also be available on this web site (see below). These lectures may be presented in a variety of different formats, including PowerPoint and PDF. Note that in order to view PDF (Portable Document Format) files, one needs Acrobat Reader in order to view the document. If your computer does not have this software already installed, you can install it from the link in the last sentence.


Course Overview

Great Ideas in Science II is a two-semester sequence that provides an honor student a front row seat on how the various disciplines in science interact with one another. PHYS-2018-001 is the Fall semester course in this sequence and PHYS-2028-001 is the Spring semester course. Through the years, different themes will be covered in Great Ideas in Science. Though Dr. L. will be coordinating the course and providing many of the lectures, we will have other faculty from different departments also providing lectures on different topics.

Academic Year Course Theme
2007/2008 Origins
2008/2009 Global Changes


Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus for PHYS-2028-001, Great Ideas in Science II (updated version). You can also download a PDF (original) version by clicking on this link.


Course Lectures:

Note that as lectures are written and the lecturer wishes to place these lectures online, they will be made available to you below as links to the topics. Note that in order to show PowerPoint presentations in your WWW viewer, clicking the left mouse button will advance the frames.

Students, click the Dr. Foster Levy link below to access the web page containing links to the readings that Dr. Levy wishes you to read before class on March 24, 2009.

NEW! Students, click the Pollution and Habitat Destruction link below to access the web page containing links to the readings that Dr. O'Donnell wishes you to read before class on April 30, 2009.

Lecturer Topic
Dr. Don Luttermoser The Changing Earth
    Solar System Formation & Evolution
    The Earth-Moon System
    The Changing Earth Atmosphere
Dr. Rebecca Pyles
Dr. David Harker
Dr. Foster Levy
Biological Evolution
Dr. David Harker
Dr. Donald Luttermoser
Dr. Kevin O'Donnell
Human Impact Forcing Change
    Evolution of Altruism
    Global Warming
    Pollution and Habitat Destruction


Student Projects and Assignments

Module Project 1: The Changing Earth Module (Luttermoser).
Click this link to view the write-up of this Student Project. Here the students will break into groups to give oral presentations on February 10 and 12, 2009 and submit a 6 page (minimum) written report (one report per group) on February 10, 2009 covering their presentation topic.

Module 2 Assignment 1: Biological Evolution (Pyles).
Click The Top 10 ScienceNOWs of 2008 to view this assignment.

Module 2 Assignment 2: Biological Evolution (Pyles).
Click History of Earth to view this assignment.

Module 2 Assignment Supplement: Biological Evolution (Pyles).
Click here to view references for the Biological Evolution assignments above. Future projects and assignments to be announced.


Extracurricular Activities

All students are expected to attend (if you have no prior commitments) Al Gore's public presentation on March 26, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Culp Auditorium.


Useful Links

Berkeley Continental Drift web site.
Carleton Plate Tectonics web site.
The Moon's surface at this University of Oregon site.


Student Readings

No official textbooks are required for this course. Specialized reading assignments will be made as needed during class.


Last modified: April 15, 2009 by D.G. Luttermoser