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LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK NATURAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT

SCP105 – Life in the Universe INSTRUCTOR:

Vanessa Brown

OFFICE:

M-222

CONTACT:

[email protected]

OFFICE HOURS:

Tuesdays from 1:00-2:00pm. Contact by email for questions, concerns, or additional requests to meet outside class.

COURSE DETAILS

This class explores the possibility that life exists elsewhere in the Universe. To investigate this topic, it is necessary to define what we mean by life and then discuss its origins and evolution. Topics covered in the course include identifying potential worlds where life could thrive, the properties of stars that could host habitable worlds, interstellar travel, and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• • • • •

CLASS HOURS/ CREDITS

To analyze the possibility that life exists from a critical scientific perspective. To understand the Copernican Revolution and our modern understanding of the laws that govern nature. To explore the environmental, physical, biological and chemical conditions for life. To understand how the properties of stars help us assess if a world orbiting a star could support life. To distinguish science from pseudoscience, particularly when analyzing UFO claims in the media.

3 credits; 3 hours

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TEXT

Bennett & Shostak (2012). Life in the Universe. 4th Edition.

PREREQUISITES

CSE099/ENA/ENG/ESA099/ECC101, MAT096

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY:

Instructors of this course are required to implement the College Policy regarding cheating on examinations and quizzes. A complete statement of the policy is available at the student counseling services, and the College Catalog.

GRADING

Attendance/Participation 100 points Quizzes (2) 250 points Activities/Homework (4) 200 points Research Paper 200 points Final Exam 250 points --------------------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL 1000 points

FILM REVIEW

As part of the course, you will watch and write a critical review of the film Contact. The purpose of the film review is not to summarize the plot, but to assess how informative the film would be to a viewer interested in the topic of life in the universe. You must support your position by referring to and discussing the validity of the scientific content presented in specific scenes. To guide your review, you will consider if the content of the film is organized in such a way that the viewer will come away from the film with an accurate view of contacting extraterrestrial life.

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ACTIVITIES

There will be regular in-class group activities/discussions throughout the semester. The topics are aligned with the lecture material covered that week. You must come to class prepared for the activity. At the end of each activity, you will turn in a summary; there are no make-ups for the activities. The activities are an essential component of the course. Below is a brief summary of several topics covered during the activities: Life on Mars You will explore how active chemical reactions can give mixed signals regarding the presence of life by replicating the contradictory results of the Viking Lander experiments on Mars. Defining the Habitable Zone You will explore the impact of temperature and stellar spectral class on habitable zones. You will analyze data from recently discovered exoplanets to assess if these planets fall within the habitable zone around their host star. What Happened at Roswell? You will recreate the controversy that began in Roswell, NM in July 1947 by expressing the chain of events through an artistic medium of your choice. The Drake Equation You will estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way by extrapolating variables, such as the fraction of stars with planets and the fraction of worlds that eventually develop intelligent life, from real data that you have studied throughout the course.

RESEARCH PAPER You will write a research paper on the possibility of life on a particular world; this can be a planet or moon in our solar system, or an exoplanet. After selecting a potentially habitable world and having it approved by your instructor, you will critically analyze the possibility that life exists there. The research will involve selecting several different published studies and synthesizing the results from these studies to arrive at your final assessment.

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MISSED WORK

Make-up quizzes will only be given for documented absences. If you are late to class, you will have the remaining time to take the exam.

LATE WORK

All homework assignments are due at the beginning of class. If you show up late to class on the day a homework is due, the homework is considered late. Homework turned in late will be penalized 5% per day. The research paper is subject to a late policy penalty of 15% per day. No extensions will be given.

CELL PHONES

Cell phones must be put away during class, with the ringer turned off. You may not use headphones at any time during class.

DISABILITIES

In coordination with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), reasonable accommodations will be provided for qualified students with disabilities. Please meet with me the first week of class to make arrangements. Jhony Nelson, Director of the Office for Students with Disabilities can be contacted at [email protected], or in person at Room M-102.

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Lecture Schedule: Week Lecture Topic

Reading/Assignments

1: 6/17

A Universe of Life?

Chapters 1-2

2: 6/19

The Universal Context of Life

Chapter 2-3

3: 6/24

The Geology of Earth

Chapter 4 [Homework 1 due]

4: 6/26

The Biology of Life on Earth

Chapter 5 [Quiz 1]

5: 7/3

The Origin and Evolution of Life on Chapter 6 Earth

6: 7/8

Searching for Life in Our Solar System

Chapter 7 [Homework 2 due]

7: 7/10

Life on Mars

Chapter 8

8: 7/15

The Moons of the Jovian Planets

Chapter 9 [Quiz 2]

9: 7/17

The Nature and Evolution of Habitability

Chapter 10 [Homework 3 due]

10: 7/22

Habitability Outside of Our Solar System

Chapter 11 [Research Paper draft due]

11: 7/24

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): Contact

Chapter 12 [Homework 4 due]

12: 7/29

Interstellar Travel

Chapter 13 [Research Paper due, Contact review due]

13:

Finals Week

Final Exam (Cumulative)

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