Physical Sciences courses help students develop scientific literacy in Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Astronomy and Physics. Course credit may be applied to fulfilling general degree requirements at Morton College or transfer to four-year institutions.
Physical Sciences courses prepare students for advanced studies in the sciences and a multitude of careers in the fields of engineering, health care and scientific research.
Courses
Beginning course is for students majoring in chemical engineering or science intending to transfer to a four-year college requiring 10 hours of chemistry. Fundamental principles of chemistry are reviewed, with emphasis on ionization, structure of matter, valence and oxidation state. Lecture four hours, laboratory three hours per week. This course applies to the IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science package. Prerequisite: Engineering students: MAT 105 and one year of high school chemistry. Liberal arts students: MAT 105.
Covers the relationships between the elements of the physical environment and man. Attention is focused on the world problems stemming from the interaction of man, physical environment, atmosphere and natural resources. Field trips are an important part of the course. Lecture five hours per week. This course applies to the IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science package.
This introductory course, covering the fundamentals of physical geology, deals with the physical processes that formed the earth in the past and continue to shape its surface today. Topics include historical background on the development of geology as a science; a thorough grounding in the reading of topographic maps; using maps to interpret the geology of the earth’s surface and the study of the minerals and rocks constituting the earth’s crust. Students discuss the latest theories of plate tectonics, sea floor spreading and paleomagnetism. Lecture two hours, laboratory four hours per week. This course applies to the IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science package.
History of astronomy, planets, solar system, the Milky Way, stars, stellar evolution and cosmology are topics in this introductory astronomy course. Lecture is three hours per week. Also offered as independent study telecourse. This course applies to IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science Package.
Students are introduced to physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Lecture is three hours per week, laboratory two hours per week. This course is for non-science majors, and applies to IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science Package.
In this introductory course, liberal arts and preprofessional students study mechanics, motion of particles, force and motion, work and energy and status of fluids, as well as temperature, heat and work, kinetic theory of matter, wave motion and sound. They explore these concepts and the scientific method through lectures, classroom demonstrations, written exercises and problem-solving activities. Lecture four hours, laboratory three hours per week. This course applies to the IAI General Education Core Curriculum Physical Science package. Prerequisite: MAT 105.