In this course we will learn the fundamental chemical concepts of composition and stoichiometry, properties of matter, the gas laws, atomic structure, bonding and molecular structure, chemical reactions, and energy changes in chemical reactions. Considerable time will be devoted to learning the use of the periodic table as a way of predicting the chemical properties of elements. We will also emphasize application of those chemical principles to environmental, biological, industrial and day-to-day life situations.

This course will explore environmental pollution problems covering four major areas: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and energy issues. Several topics, including acid rain; automobile emissions; ozone layer depletion; climate change; mercury, lead and cadmium poisoning; pesticides; solid waste disposal; and problems of noise and thermal pollution will be addressed. We will emphasize some of the environmental issues affecting our immediate community, as well as those in developing nations.

This course is part of an integrated science learning experience combining water resources, mathematical modeling, and microorganisms using the Hampshire College Kern Center, built to the Living Building Challenge Standard, as a case study. Students will meet twice a week to explore the science behind the microbial systems of the living building. Then, once a week all three classes (NS132, NS140 and NS156) will meet together to complete interdisciplinary projects, share expertise, and form a collaborative science learning community.

This course looks at agriculture as a set of ecological systems and issues. It refers to ecology in both the sense of interactions between organisms (e.g., crops, pests, and predators) and their environment, and in the larger-scale sense of environmental impacts and related social and political issues. A broad range of topics will be covered, including pesticides and alternatives, soil fertility and erosion, the role of animals, genetically modified crops, biofuels, global vs. local trade and more.

Worried about climate change and how we will live sustainably in the future? Join us to brainstorm and assess solutions together. This will be a course for first and second year students interested in learning how to evaluate potential solutions to current local and global environmental and social problems. The course will be co-taught by faculty across the curriculum at Hampshire and will include guest lectures from experts in the field of climate change and sustainability.

This course is part of an integrated science learning experience combining water resources, mathematical modeling, and microbiology using the Hampshire College Kern Center, built to the Living Building Challenge Standard, as a case study. Students will meet twice a week to explore the science behind the systems of the living building in their specific discipline. Once a week all three classes (NS132, NS140 and NS156) will meet together to complete interdisciplinary projects, share expertise, and form a collaborative science learning community.

Addiction, as defined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. Drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works, but what is the evidence for this? Do the current medical models and treatment modalities of addiction provide effective interventions? Are there alternatives? This course provides an overview of the science and issues surrounding substance-related addictions and the processes and mechanisms that underlie addiction.

This course is part of an integrated science learning experience combining water resources, mathematical modeling, and microbiology using the Hampshire College Kern Center, built to the Living Building Challenge Standard, as a case study. Students will meet twice a week to explore the science behind the systems of the living building in their specific discipline. Once a week all three classes (NS132, NS140 and NS156) will meet together to complete interdisciplinary projects, share expertise, and form a collaborative science learning community.

All facets of musical performance, the production of sound, its transmission and alteration by the performance space, and its perception by members of the audience, are candidates for study in acoustics. In this course we will develop the physics of vibrating systems and wave propagation and study the measurement of sound. Topics will include: vibrating systems, wave motion, wave analysis, resonance, room acoustics, and the application of these principles to various classes of instruments. There will be weekly problem sets and a class presentation by each student on a topic of interest.