NASC - Natural Science
Alfred State courses are grouped into the following sections:
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This laboratory course is designed to accompany NASC 1003 for the student who wishes a laboratory component to astronomy. It will cover many of the same topics as the astronomy course but using a laboratory setting including the use of a telescope, computers, graphing, and various measuring instruments, and astronomical charts.
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This course is designed to introduce the principles of astronomy. Emphasis will be placed on scientific process critical thinking, and modeling. This course is suitable for science majors or as a science elective. Topics to be covered are: light spectroscopy, solar system evolution, planetology, comets and asteroids. An optional laboratory course will be offered.
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Course surveys principles and applications of physical and earth science. Half of course is devoted to physical phenomena relating to life on earth, including: gravitation, energy, thermal and electrical phenomena, etc. Other half is concerned with earth and its surroundings including: geologic history and structure of earth, tides, atmosphere and solar radiation, meteorology, climate phenomena, astronomy, etc.
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The laboratory course will emphasize modern measuring techniques as they relate to theory presented in NASC 2003. Students will benefit from practical problem solving opportunities which provide both tactile and visual learning approaches to astronomy knowledge. Technology introduced will include computer simulations, WEB sight data retrieval, Charge Coupled DIsply (CCD) Camera, Schmit Cassagrain telescopes, Geiger-Muller system and spectrographs.
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This course is designed as a continuation of NASC 1003, Astronomy, or as a separate introduction to stellar evolution and cosmology. It will introduce advanced topics from the fields of astronomy and cosmology. Emphasis will be placed on scientific process and critical thinking. This course is suitable for science majors or as a science elective. Topics to be covered are: star cycles, galactic evolution and cosmology. An optional laboratory course will be offered.
