Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Are The Cans In The Store “Volume Optimized”? [Mathematics], Bukurie Gjoci

Open Educational Resources

This is one of LaGuardia’s Project Connexion STEM Team’s experiential learning activities. Project Connexion's purpose is to promote creative thinking on how to engage students in the classroom. As part of this, the STEM team developed Experiential/co-curricular activities that demonstrated to students how their work in class connects to the world around them. These activities were embedded into the syllabus to ensure the participation of all students. Each professor designed a Co-curricular activity for their courses, ensuring that the Co-curricular activity directly linked course material to the outside world.

This Calculus I Experiential Learning Project aligns with one of the …

Hydrophilic Porphyrins Based Chemosensors For First Transition Series Metal Ions [Chemistry], Sunaina Singh

Open Educational Resources

General Chemistry is a two-semester course (General Chemistry I, SCC 201 and General Chemistry II, SCC 202) required for majors in Biology and Environmental Sciences.

This lab experiment, aligned to LaGuardia Community College’s Inquiry and Problem Solving Core Competency and Written Communication Ability was designed for General Chemistry I (SCC 201 Honors) course. Honors courses in LaGuardia emphasize critical thinking, analytical writing, and introduce students to research. This lab experiment provides an opportunity for students to engage in hands-on laboratory work, to develop laboratory skills, and to conduct research in the classroom by using two water soluble porphyrins to detect …

Research Paper Development Assignment: Guidelines, Cerr Worksheets, Global Learning Worksheet, And Powerpoint Presentation Prompts And Rubric, Angela Padilla

Open Educational Resources

❏ This Research Paper Assignment is designed for NSF & LMF courses (STEM majors). The assignment is to have students research a global scientific issue. Possible topics that work well for this assignment contain solar panel use, the increase in health issues (like respiratory or mental health conditions) due to global warming/climate change, animal (and other living organism) extinction (or increase) due to global warming, sea level rise, coastal flooding, how the increase in ocean plastics affects the ocean and its species (which affect the environment/climate), etc. However, any global scientific topic will do.

❏ The assignment’s main objectives are …

Scavenger Hunt Reflection Lab Report, Angela Padilla

Open Educational Resources

A. Scavenger Hunt Description

❏ This Scavenger Hunt Assignment is designed for the First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (NSF 101) and the First Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math and Science (LMF 101) (STEM majors).

❏ The main objective of this assignment is to familiarize students with their campus and its resources, to encourage students to collaborate with each other, and to be aware that the scientific method is applied to solve any problem, not just scientific issues. It is meant to address the Integrative Learning Core Competency.

❏ Students are given the entire class time (at least two …

Thermochemistry: Heat Of Neutralization And Hess’S Law [Chemistry], Kevin Mark, Phil Mercier, Janet Gonzalez, Burl Yearwood

Open Educational Resources

The General Chemistry 1 (SCC 201) course has been designated for the core competency of Inquiry and Problem Solving along with the Written Communication Ability. These abilities are best observed in the laboratory section of the course where SCC 201 students are asked to submit weekly written lab reports that range in chemistry topics from chemical structures to the chemical analysis of polluted environments. SCC 201 will be implementing a new experiment in the laboratory portion of the course entitled, “Thermochemistry: Heat of Neutralization and Hess’s Law.” The design of the experiment incorporates many elements of LaGCC’s Core Competencies and …

Air Pollution [Liberal Arts: Math And Science/Natural Science], Ian Alberts

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed for students in the pathways introductory chemistry class and the first year seminar and aligns with the Inquiry and Problem Solving core competency. In this context, there is a focus on “framing the issues” (identifies and/or addresses questions and problems), “evidence gathering” (assembles, reviews and synthesizes evidence from several diverse sources), “evidence” (analyze the data to address the questions posed) and “conclusions” (critical thinking, reflect on the outcomes, draw conclusions and generate new knowledge). There is also a Global Learning component based on comparing data collected locally with corresponding data from other locations or countries. The …

Mathematical Inquiry With Loops, Jeanne Funk

Open Educational Resources

Mathematical Inquiry with Loops is a fun activity designed to introduce students in LMF101 (First Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math and Science) to mathematical exploration and hypothesis formation via hands-on exploration with paper loops. It should make students understand that the “facts” that make up mathematics, are not arbitrary, but arise from observation and experience. It should also encourage students to view mathematics as a science rooted in exploration and problem solving, rather than an esoteric exercise in symbol manipulation.

This activity is designed to be very low stakes (ungraded) and to take one hour of class time. There …

Hydrocarbon Reaction Experiment [Chemistry], Kevin Mark

Open Educational Resources

The Foundations of Chemistry SCC 110 course is required for LaGuardia’s Health Sciences students interested in the Nursing, Dietetic Technician and Veterinary Technician programs. This course has been designated for the Inquiry and Problem Solving competency as well the Digital Communication ability. SCC 110 students will use SCC 110 lecture material and information in the SCC 110 lab manual to perform an electrophilic addition. Students will be able to correlate the organic theory concepts with the experiment by making physical observations (e.g., color changes) when carrying out the lab procedures. The student findings will be synthesized and expressed by making …

Introduction To Data Analysis Using Excel And Lab Report Writing Using Lagcc Institution Data, Kevin Mark

Open Educational Resources

Objectives

Part 1: An Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel

1. To interpret, summarize and present numerical data using the digital tool Microsoft program Excel.
2. To plot numerical data as a graph and determine an equation of a line. In addition, using the appropriate formatting functions to label your graph and creating a best fit line.

Part 2: Lab Report Writing Using LaGCC Institutional Data

1. To communicate your interpretations of research data. This is done writing discussions and conclusions (using scientific language) and is often accompanied by data tables and graphs.
2. To use your Microsoft Excel graphing skills to interpret, inquire …

Women In Science: Why So Few? [Liberal Arts: Math And Science], Reem Jaafar, Benjamin J. Taylor

Open Educational Resources

This assigment was developed in the context of LaGuardia’s Center for Teaching and Learning sponsored Learning Matters mini grant “Connection Between First Year Seminar and Capstone Learning Experiences.” It provides Liberal Arts experience to students across the academic spectrum and is designed for students in LMF 101 (First-Year Seminar for Liberal Arts: Math & Science) and is conducted in conjunction with students from a capstone course, LIB 200 (Science, Technology, and Humanism). The assignment aligns with the Inquiry and Problem-Solving Core Competency and the Written Ability. In this assignment, LMF 101 students research and read several articles centered on the …

Learning About Women In Stem For First-Year Students [Liberal Arts: Math And Science], Reem Jaafar, Ian Alberts

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was designed for students in the first year seminar and aligns with the Inquiry and Problem Solving core competency, with a focus on “framing the issues” (identifies and/or addresses questions problems and/or hypothesis informed by knowledge of context) and “evidence gathering” (assembles, reviews and synthesizes evidence from diverse sources of relevant knowledge). Both assignments rely on writing and one may include an oral component. In writing, the focus is on “Content Development and Organization,” as well as “Control of Language, Syntax, and Mechanics.”

LaGuardia’s Core Competencies and Communication Abilities

Main Course Learning Objectives:

• The LMF course for Liberal …

Inquiry Into Saving [Mathematics], Jeanne Funk

Open Educational Resources

‘Inquiry Into Saving’ is an assignment originally designed for MAT117, which is a course for students who have been placed in basic skills mathematics and who can apply a college level course in Algebra and Trigonometry to their program. These students should, ideally, be early in their LaGuardia career, though that is frequently not the case. All, however, are novices of mathematics. The assignment was vetted and revised based on feedback from the Inquiry and Problem Solving in STEM CTL seminar and a charrette not affiliated with the seminar. Revisions addressed connections to the Inquiry and Problem Solving/Written competency/ability pair, …

World Population Dynamics: Modeling Involving Polynomial Functions [Mathematics], Mangala Kothari

Open Educational Resources

In this Inquiry and Problem Solving Assignment students are expected to reflect on their analysis and compare their results with the actual population by conducting their own elementary level research such as searching databases, gathering information and interpreting. Students are expected to comment on the scope of the mathematical model and connect their learning in context to the real-world problem. The assignment includes open-ended questions such as: Write a paragraph about the dynamics of population for the world. What could be some of the possible parameters that contribute to the change in population size? Reflect on what you learned by …