Syllabus Application
NS 102
Science of Nature II
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Semester
Summer 2025-2026
Course
NS 102 -
Science of Nature II
Time/Place
Time
Week Day
Place
Date
10:40-12:30
Tue
FASS-2128
Jul 6-Aug 21, 2026
09:40-11:30
Fri
FASS-2128
Jul 6-Aug 21, 2026
Level of course
Undergraduate
Course Credits
SU Credit:4, ECTS:6, Basic:6
Prerequisites
NS 101
Corequisites
NS 102R
Course Type
Lecture
Instructor(s) Information
Ezgi Gülçay Özcan
- Email: ezgi.gulcay@sabanciuniv.edu
Emine Süphan Bakkal
- Email: suphanbakkal@sabanciuniv.edu
Course Information
Catalog Course Description
Science of Nature courses aim to initiate a curiosity and desire for learning “scientific thinking” in students and at the same time to introduce some of the basic concepts of physical, chemical and biological sciences in connection with questions concerning the nature and our daily life. The NS 102 course consists of two modules: “(1) Are humans causing climate change?” and “(2) Can we ever comprehend the workings of the brain?” Scientific methodology and fundamental concepts in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences are introduced through an integrated approach in the framework of these questions. Upon completing NS 102 students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate skills for critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving through integration of different concepts and information. 2. Distinguish among scientific laws, hypothesis and theory and use them to differentiate facts from fiction. 3. Apply mathematical concepts to solve quantitative problems. 4. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of the terminology, major concepts and theories of one or more fields in physical, chemical, and biological sciences. 5. Describe the role of science and technology, and develop skills for communicating scientific concepts and facts to society in general. 6. Demonstrate professionalism and ethics when using scientific approach to make informed decision in daily life situations.
Learning Outcomes:
| 1. | Determine the best-fit line to actual data related to the Earth’s climate to assess if climate is changing, and suggest a cause using the concepts of correlation and causation |
|---|---|
| 2. | Make general calculations on Earth's energy balance and use data to describe the role of greenhouse effect in climate change |
| 3. | Describe greenhouse effect in terms of interaction of molecules and IR radiation, and relate gas laws to weather |
| 4. | Relate work done on a system and heat transferred to the internal energy of the system and solve problems that relate 1st law of thermodynamics to climate |
| 5. | Make an argument on the relation between the 2nd law of thermodynamics and greenhouse effect |
| 6. | Identify Gibbs free energy as the quantity that defines the equilibrium state of a system, and discuss the factors affecting the spontaneity and rate of reactions contributing to climate change |
| 7. | Apply thermodynamic and kinetic arguments to climate related problems |
| 8. | Discuss the properties of cells that constitute brain (neurons and glial cells), and describe how ions can diffuse across cell membrane |
| 9. | Explain the origin of resting membrane potential, relating to the concepts of potential energy due to electric charges of ions and their concentrations |
| 10. | Using the concepts of diffusion and membrane potential, describe how electrical signal is generated within a neuron (action potential), and how it can be modeled with an electric circuit. |
| 11. | Discuss the parameters in the neuron circuit model and relate them to the signal generation and transmission in actual neuron |
| 12. | Based on the circuit model, discuss the factors affecting the speed of neuron signals |
| 13. | Relate the single neuron circuit to neuron communication and data interpretations and limitations in brain science. |
| 14. | Discuss why we are yet away from understanding very-complicated workings of our brains. |
Course Objective
To introduce the basic sciences as a unified concept for understanding nature. All 1st year students are obliged to take this course.
Science of Nature courses aim to initiate a curiosity and desire for learning ?scientific thinking? in students and at the same time to introduce some of the basic concepts of physical, chemical and biological sciences in connection with questions concerning the nature and our daily life.
The NS 102 course consists of two modules: ?(1) Are humans causing climate change?? and ?(2) Can we ever comprehend the workings of the brain?? Scientific methodology and fundamental concepts in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences are introduced through an integrated approach in the framework of these questions.
Upon completing NS 102 students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate skills for critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving through integration of different concepts and information.
2. Distinguish among scientific laws, hypothesis and theory and use them to differentiate facts from fiction.
3. Apply mathematical concepts to solve quantitative problems.
4. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of the terminology, major concepts and theories of one or more fields in physical, chemical, and biological sciences.
5. Describe the role of science and technology, and develop skills for communicating scientific concepts and facts to society in general.
6. Demonstrate professionalism and ethics when using scientific approach to make informed decision in daily life situations.
Science of Nature courses aim to initiate a curiosity and desire for learning ?scientific thinking? in students and at the same time to introduce some of the basic concepts of physical, chemical and biological sciences in connection with questions concerning the nature and our daily life.
The NS 102 course consists of two modules: ?(1) Are humans causing climate change?? and ?(2) Can we ever comprehend the workings of the brain?? Scientific methodology and fundamental concepts in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences are introduced through an integrated approach in the framework of these questions.
Upon completing NS 102 students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate skills for critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving through integration of different concepts and information.
2. Distinguish among scientific laws, hypothesis and theory and use them to differentiate facts from fiction.
3. Apply mathematical concepts to solve quantitative problems.
4. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of the terminology, major concepts and theories of one or more fields in physical, chemical, and biological sciences.
5. Describe the role of science and technology, and develop skills for communicating scientific concepts and facts to society in general.
6. Demonstrate professionalism and ethics when using scientific approach to make informed decision in daily life situations.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Related to This Course:
| Affordable and Clean Energy | |
| Climate Action |
Course Materials
Resources:
There is no course book for this course; however, there are collections of Weekly Resources provided on SUCourse under the module page (Climate Module or Brain Module) sorted under the weekly tabs (CLT1, BRN1, etc).
Recommended Books
"Conceptual Integrated Science", P. G. Hewitt (an e-copy available at the Information Center, click this link - you can check it out for 24 hours at a time)
"Science of Nature I", M. A. Alpar (PDF version available on SUCourse. Turkish version, "Doğayı Öğrenmek - Fizik" will also be available at the Information Center, on student reserve; several copies available for purchase at Homer)
Top Hat (online response system)
Recommended Books
"Conceptual Integrated Science", P. G. Hewitt (an e-copy available at the Information Center, click this link - you can check it out for 24 hours at a time)
"Science of Nature I", M. A. Alpar (PDF version available on SUCourse. Turkish version, "Doğayı Öğrenmek - Fizik" will also be available at the Information Center, on student reserve; several copies available for purchase at Homer)
Top Hat (online response system)
Technology Requirements:
Top Hat (online response system)
In Active Lectures, we will be using an online response system called Top Hat accessible from tophat.com on your web browser or through a free Top Hat app (tophat.com/mobile-apps) if using tablet. Most of you already have an account from the previous semester. If you have not used the system before, please review this "Getting Started" guide before the first lecture. You must log in Top Hat with your SU email account name or it will not be counted.
In Active Lectures, we will be using an online response system called Top Hat accessible from tophat.com on your web browser or through a free Top Hat app (tophat.com/mobile-apps) if using tablet. Most of you already have an account from the previous semester. If you have not used the system before, please review this "Getting Started" guide before the first lecture. You must log in Top Hat with your SU email account name or it will not be counted.