Instructor: Dave Wolczyk
Do you know what features make a planet habitable? Why is water the fundamental structure of life? Well, after you take Dave's course you would know how to answer these kinds of questions. In Dave's course the students began discussing what features might make a planet habitable. They examined why water is so fundamental to life as we know it, and discussed why all known living organisms are carbon–based. The students looked at the range of conditions in which living organisms can survive and considered the possibility of life on other worlds in our solar system. The students learned about the universal requirements for life as we know it and considered the common features of all known organisms. They discussed what is known about the earliest evolution of life on earth and the evidence that all existing organisms are descended from a common ancestor. They examined the process of Natural Selection and discussed the methods used to establish the relationships among living organisms. They also examined how organisms have evolved in response to changes in the earth's environment and how organisms, in turn, have drastically changed in this environment.
(Classes rotated weekly)