2021-22 Undergraduate Academic Catalog

GSCI-1030 Geology of the National Parks –Su 3.5 hours This course will explore the geology of the national parks and surrounding areas in specific regions of the United States. It is a two-week travel study course that fulfills the three and a half-hour laboratory physical science requirement. Trip locations may vary from year to year. Six or more major areas will be explored on each trip. Students will be expected to complete a photographic atlas with appropriate geological descriptions of each stop. Special emphasis will be placed on how geologic history is interpreted and placed into biblical and conventional frameworks. Students will learn how to make geological observations and take field notes. No previous geological knowledge is required. It is necessary for students to be in good physical shape for occasional hiking in rough terrain and at high altitudes, although requirements can be modified for students unable to do so. Special equipment may be required. Special course fees apply and will vary from year to year. GSCI-1110 4 hours Environment: Science, Sustainability, and Stewardship –Sp An interdisciplinary study of the environment that considers foundational understanding rooted in science, society, and economy. We will explore the socio-ecological implications of human activity, impacts, and responsibility for the environment. Students from all majors are welcome and will be challenged to develop and apply a biblical stewardship ethic. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory per week. Crosslisted with ENVS-1110. (Fee: $100) GSCI-2010 Physical Science for Teachers –Fa, Sp 4 hours Introduction to a selection of core concepts of physics and chemistry for preservice elementary education teachers. Students will develop methods of learning science, with emphasis on inquiry, scientific method, and integrating common everyday objects and experiences with a view toward cultivating the excitement of studying God’s creation. Three lectures with one weekly one-hour lab. Does not satisfy the physical science general education requirement. (Fee: $75) GSCI-3010 Concepts in Middle School Science –Sp 4 hours This lab course highlights key concepts in middle school science by reviewing and extending concepts from previous science courses with an emphasis on the integration of earth sciences, physical sciences, and life sciences. Concepts addressed include the nature of science, methods of science, the history of science, biological and geological evolution, and development of the DNA model and the role of DNA in the Modern Synthesis Theory. Prerequisites: GBIO-1000 Principles of Biology; GSCI-1010 Principles of Earth Science. CHEM-1000 Principles of Chemistry (recommended) (Fee: $75) (even years) GSCI-3060 4 hours Environmental Science for Middle School Educators –Sp Introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the dynamic relationships that exist between the earth’s organisms and their environment and how human activity affects these relationships. Students will identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made and identify and explore sustainable solutions to the problems. This course will include pertinent pedagogy for teaching environmental science in a middle school setting. Three lectures and one laboratory session per week. This course does not satisfy the general education requirement for biology. Prerequisites: GBIO-1000 Principles of Biology, GSCI-1010 Principles of Earth Science (Fee: $100) (odd years) Mathematics (MATH) MATH-1700 4 hours Calculus and Dynamical Systems for the Life Sciences –Fa, Sp An introductory calculus and dynamical systems course for majors in the life sciences. Discrete and continuous dynamical systems, limits and derivatives, including derivatives of trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic and inverse trigonometric functions, applications of derivatives and dynamical systems, including related rates and optimization, differential equations, integrals - both definite and indefinite - and their applications, and possibly analysis of autonomous differential equations. Prerequisite: GMTH-1030 Precalculus or equivalent; or permission of instructor. MATH-1710 Calculus I –Fa, Sp 5 hours First course of a two-course sequence covering basic concepts of analytic geometry and single variable calculus. Includes limits and single variable calculus. Includes limits and derivatives of algebraic and transcendental functions, applications of the derivative, single variable integration, including the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and integration by substitution, and applications of integration, including solving differential equations and finding volumes of revolution. Prerequisite: GMTH-1030 Precalculus or equivalent; or permission of instructor. MATH-1720 Calculus II –Fa, Sp 5 hours The second course of a two-course sequence covering the basic concepts of analytic geometry and single variable calculus. Includes techniques of integration such as integration by parts, trigonometric substitution and partial fractions, improper integrals and L’Hopital’s rule, sequences, series, expansion of functions into Taylor and power series, conic sections, plane curves, calculus of parametric equations and polar coordinates, vectors and geometry in three-space, vector-valued functions and curvature. Prerequisite: MATH-1710 Calculus I or equivalent or permission of instructor. MATH-1880 Topics in Calculus –Fa, Sp, Su 1–3 hours This course is for students who are attempting to transfer credit for MATH-1710 or MATH-1720 Calculus I and II when those transferred courses lack some of the topics contained in MATH- 1710 or MATH-1720. It requires full participation in a MATH-1710 or MATH-1720 course during the sections in which the student’s transferred course is found to be deficient or in a stand-alone course offered during Summer School I. Prerequisite: GMTH-1030 Precalculus or equivalent; permission of instructor. Corequisite: partial transfer credit for MATH-1710 and/or MATH-1720 or approved transient credit for a Calculus I or II course that will provide less than full credit for MATH-1710 or MATH 1720. MATH-1990 3 hours Beautiful Math Structures and Thinking –Fa This course introduces freshmen math majors to interesting mathematical ideas and applications beyond the usual scope of standard math courses. Topics include an introduction to propositional logic, function theory, and infinite sets. Other topics will be chosen from elementary number theory, modular arithmetic, error-correcting codes, Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio, fractals, discrete dynamical systems and chaos, Euler and Hamilton Circuits, democracy and impossibility theorems, game theory, the Platonic solids, n-dimensional space, and other topics up to the discretion of the instructor. MATH-2210 Logic and Methods of Proof –Fa 3 hours Introduction to formal mathematical logic; emphasis on preparing students for the abstraction of upper-division courses. Special attention is given to the development of students’ skills with a variety of methods of proof, using examples from numerous areas. Prerequisites: MATH-1720 Calculus II; MATH- 1990 Beautiful Math Structures and Thinking; or permission of instructor. 2021–22 Undergraduate Academic Catalog Page 301 Course Descriptions GSCI-1030 – MATH-2210 SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS