Online courses directory (423)

Organic chemistry is a branch of chemistry that focuses on a single element: carbon!  Carbon bonds strongly with other carbon atoms and with other elements, forming numerous chain and ring structures.  As a result, there are millions of distinct carbon compounds known and classified.  The vast majority of the molecules that contain carbon are considered organic molecules, with few debatable exceptions such as carbon nanotubes, diamonds, carbonate ions, and carbon dioxide.  Carbon is central to the existence of life as it is an essential component of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), sugars, lipids, and proteins.  A well-rounded student of science must take courses in organic chemistry to understand its application to various topics, such as the study of polymers (plastics and other materials), hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals, molecular biology, biochemistry, and other life sciences. In the first semester of organic chemistry, you will learn the basic concepts needed to understand the three-dimensional structu…

This course is a continuation of CHEM103 [1]: Organic Chemistry I.  As you progress through the units below, you will continue to learn the different chemical reactions characteristic of each family of organic compounds.  We will focus on four most important classes of reactions: electrophilic substitution at aromatic rings, nucleophilic addition at carbonyl compounds, hydrolysis of carboxylic acids, and carbon-carbon bond formation using enolates.  The enolate portion of this course will cover the reactivity of functional groups. We will also look at synthetic strategies for making simple, small organic molecules, using the knowledge of organic chemistry accumulated thus far.  At the end of this course, you will possess the tools you need to plan the synthesis of fairly complicated molecules, like those used in pharmaceutics.  From the perspective of a synthetic organic chemist, the two most challenging aspects of synthesizing drug molecules are the incorporation of  "molecular rings" (rings of 5, 6,…

This course is designed to look at the topics covered in advanced high school chemistry courses, correlating to the standard topics as established by the American Chemical Society. Engaging instruction and supplemental video demonstrations are designed to help prepare students for college level chemistry.

This course will help anyone who loves dogs to better understand their dog’s reproductive health and how to control its reproduction. This includes understanding the pros and cons of having your dog spayed or castrated, and understanding at what age that surgery can be performed.

This course is the second semester of the two semester sequence, Chemistry Concept Development and Application. This course will cover the topics of a typical second semester General Chemistry course at most colleges and universities. We will use the Chemistry Concept Development Study approach, developed and used in our courses at Rice and used in Part I of this course.

This course views climate change from a variety of perspectives at the intersection of the natural sciences, technology, and the social sciences and humanities.

Physics 101 is the first course in the Introduction to Physics sequence. In general, the quest of physics is to develop descriptions of the natural world that correspond  closely to actual observations.  Given this definition, the story behind everything in the universe is  one of physics.  In practice,  the field of physics is more often limited to the discovery and refinement of the basic laws that underlie the behavior of matter and energy.  While biology is founded upon physics, in practice, the study of biology generally assumes that the present understanding of physical laws is accurate.  Chemistry is more closely dependent on physics and   assumes that physical laws provide accurate predictions.  Engineering, for the most part, is applied physics. In this course, we will study physics from the ground up, learning the basic principles of physical laws, their application to the behavior of objects, and the use of the scientific method in driving advances in this knowledge.  This first course o…

The physics of the universe appears to be dominated by the effects of four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear forces, and strong nuclear forces.  These forces control how matter, energy, space, and time interact to produce our physical world.  All other forces, such as the force you exert in standing up, are ultimately derived from these fundamental forces. We have direct daily experience with two of these forces: gravity and electromagnetism.  Consider, for example, the everyday sight of a person sitting on a chair.  The force holding the person on the chair is gravitational, and that gravitational force balances with material forces that “push up” to keep the individual in place.  These forces are the direct result of electromagnetic forces on the nanoscale.  On a larger stage, gravity holds the celestial bodies in their orbits, while we see the universe by the electromagnetic radiation (light, for example) with which it is filled.  The electromagnetic force also makes…

As you learned in BIO101 [1], the cell is the fundamental unit of life; in fact, the smallest living organisms are composed of a single cell. We have learned that, despite their small size, cells are far from simple, and we have only recently begun to understand just how complex they are. This course will present you with a detailed overview of a cell’s main components and functions. Most of the units will cover topics familiar to you from BIO101, such as mitosis or the cell nucleus, but will explore them in greater depth. The course is organized roughly into four major areas: the cell membrane, cell nucleus, cell cycle, and cell interior. We will approach most of these topics straightforwardly, from a molecular and structural point of view. [1] http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio101a/…

A thorough understanding of the systems of the body and the ways in which they fit together is imperative for study in many fields of biological inquiry, including medicine, physiology, developmental studies, and biological anthropology.  This course will provide you with an overview of the body from a systemic perspective.  Each unit will focus on one system, or network of organs that work together to perform a particular function.  At the end of this course, we will review the body from an integrative perspective, creating a more realistic vision of the ways in which the systems overlap.  We will also discuss current body imaging techniques and learn how to correctly interpret the images in order to put our newly-gained anatomical knowledge to practical use. This is a terminology-heavy course.  We will identify tissues and organ systems according to their functional and regional contexts, but information concerning the processes by which the tissues and organ systems actually function will be covered…

In this course you will learn about how and why DNA and protein sequences evolve. You will learn the theory behind methods for building and analyzing phylogenetic trees, and get hands-on experience with some widely used software packages.

Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology is a 12-lesson course teaching a comprehensive overview of non-avian dinosaurs. Topics covered: anatomy, eating, locomotion, growth, environmental and behavioral adaptations, origins and extinction. Lessons are delivered from museums, fossil-preparation labs and dig sites. Estimated workload: 3-5 hrs/week.

How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life!

Get Rich and Save the Earth…Or Else! Learn about the past, present, and possible futures of human energy use.

This is a general chemistry course for college freshmen who are majoring in science, medicine or engineering. 这是一门面向大学理科生的普通化学课程。

Neurobiology is all about the biology of our nervous system, from the spinal cord to the brainand everything in between. The nervous system allows us to have conscious thoughts, enables us to learn, and gives us voluntary control of our muscles. Our understanding of neuroscience begins with the ancient Egyptians, who practiced surgical drilling to treat certain neurological disorders. The earliest philosophers believed that the heart (not the brain) was the center of consciousness and intelligence. As scientific knowledge matured and developed, philosophers disproved that belief but discovered that there is much more to neurobiology than “the brain.” Researchers found that there are literally hundreds of billions of nerves and other cells that cooperate and share information to make the nervous system work. Accordingly, neurobiology is an extremely complex field of study. This course is designed to provide you with an overview of the most important areas of neurobiological study. We will not pay much…

Human physiology is the study of the body’s processes, also known as functions. You already have experience with this subject, because you are a human and perform numerous functions each day to maintain your body’s balance or homeostasis. For example, gas exchange in your lungs provides the body’s cells with adequate oxygen supply needed to survive and carry out metabolic processes. Digestion of food components in your mouth, stomach, and small intestines breaks larger substances into molecules that can be absorbed in the small intestines and used for energy. White blood cells attack foreign bodies, such as bacteria and cells containing viruses to keep you free from infection. As you might expect, an understanding of physiology is paramount if you wish to pursue studies in health care, development, or even behavior. A doctor needs to understand how to relate a urine sample to kidney function. A nurse needs to know the importance of electrocardiogram results and heart activity. A medical laboratory sci…

This lab course supplements BIO304: Human Physiology [1].  Although we cannot virtually replicate the lab experience, this “lab” will familiarize you with scientific thinking and techniques and will enable you to explore of some key principles of human physiology. The material in this lab supplement relates to the material covered in the lecture and reading portion of the course.  While the lecture and reading portion focuses on big-picture concepts, here we will focus more on visual understanding, manipulation, and practical use of your knowledge.  You will review the physiology of the organ systems by using images of models, experiments, and videos.  Then you will be asked to assess your knowledge, which eventually can be put to practical or experimental use. Co-requisite: BIO304: Human Physiology [2]. [1] http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio304/ [2] http://www.saylor.org/courses/bio304/…

Genetics is the branch of biology that studies how traits are passed on from one generation to the next and why there are similarities and differences between related individuals. Prior to the discovery of genes, scientists knew that parents passed something down to their offspring, but they did not know how or what. Gregor Mendel’s famous experiments with peas indicated that certain features, such as pea texture and flower color, are encoded by two sets of traits and that the parental traits can be separated. Decades later, scientists discovered that parents passed down DNA, which was present in chromosomes. Since the discovery of DNA, we have come to appreciate the importance of chromosomes. Genomics is a relatively new field with the bold aim of understanding the function of every single gene in a genome, including the human genome. This field took off with the completion of the first sequenced genome, and after the completion of the Human Genome Project, it has attracted increasing research. Mendelian…

Este curso está diseñado para que los estudiantes adquieran los conocimientos necesarios para distinguir los cuatro tipos de tejidos celulares que conforman el organismo. Está dirigido a estudiantes de Medicina, Biología, Veterinaria, Fisioterapia y Enfermería