Course Book 
There is no course book. There will be weekly resources provided on SUCourse under the module page (Climate Module or Antibiotic Brain Module). 

Recommended Books
"Conceptual Integrated Science", P. G. Hewitt(available in the Information Center, on student reserve) 
"Science of Nature I", M. A. Alpar (PDF version available on SUCourse. Turkish version, "Doğayı Öğrenmek - Fizik" will also be available at the Information Center, on student reserve; several copies available for purchase at Homer) 

Top Hat (Online Response System) 
In lectures, we will be using an online response system called Top Hat accessible from tophat.com on your web browser, or through free Top Hat app if using tablet. If you have not used the system before, please review this "Getting Started" guide before the first lecture. You must log in Top Hat with your SU email account name or it will not be counted. 
You must bring a laptop or tablet connected to SABANCIUNIV WiFi to each lecture. All cell phones are to be kept turned off during the lectures. 

In order to allow all students to use Top Hat efficiently, please connect only one device to the internet during the lectures.

Science of Naturecourses aim to initiate a curiosity and desire for learning “scientific thinking” in students and at the same time to introduce some of the basic concepts of physical, chemical and biological sciences in connection with questions concerning the universe, nature and our daily life. 

The NS 102 course consists of two modules “(1) Can we stop/reverse climate change?” and “(2) Can we ever comprehend the workings of the brain?” Scientific methodology and fundamental concepts in the physical, chemical, and biological sciences are introduced through an integrated approach in the framework of these questions. 

Upon completing NS102, students will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate skills for critical thinking, reasoning and problem solving through integration of different concepts and information.
2. Distinguish among scientific laws, hypothesis and theory and use them to differentiate facts from fiction.
3. Apply mathematical concepts to solve quantitative problems.
4. Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of the terminology, major concepts and theories of one or more fields in physical, chemical, and biological sciences.
5. Describe the role of science and technology, and develop skills for communicating scientific concepts and facts to society in general.
6. Demonstrate professionalism and ethics when using scientific approach to make informed decision in daily life situations.

Academic Integrity Policy -- YOU MUST READ AND FOLLOW 

Each student will be evaluated only for her/his own work. Students are encouraged to work and study together; however, what you put down on your worksheets, quiz and exam papers should be your own work in your own words. Be aware that you will not be helping your friends by allowing them to copy. If your friends want to make use of your worksheets or, exams or quizzes, to allow this is not helping them. Such behavior, as all forms of cheating, is unfair and disrespectful to yourself, to all the students in the class, to your instructors and teaching assistants, and to the University. A student involved in cheating has misused the trust extended to him or her. If discovered, such behavior will have DISCIPLINARY consequences for all parties involved. 

Violations of academic integrity will result in zero grades for that worksheet or exam, both for those who cheat and those who allow and help them cheat. In all such situations, those students will receive a warning and will be asked to have a face-to-face meeting with the faculty member. Then if repeated, no matter how minor, cheating will result in immediate disciplinary action and failing the course. 

We have mutual trust and respect for each other as individuals while sharing a collaborative learning experience. This is very valuable for all of us, and having to lose this trust and respect would be very regrettable.

Weekly organization of this course is shown in the table below. Each week, there is a set of specific learning objectives for you to achieve. You can find the learning objectives listed in the module page on SUCourse. It is your responsibility to check SUCourse frequently and follow assignments and announcements.

There will be two exams (each one at the end of each module) and 14 weekly sets during the semester. 

The overall course grade will be evaluated based on the exams, assignments and lecture participation, each weighing as given in the table below. Please note that 55% of your course grade is based on your exam performance because the exams assess your individual achievement level of the weekly learning objectives.

* Lowest 3 grades will be dropped.

Exams: The exam scores are out of 100. There will be bonus points in each exam; therefore, it is possible for you to score above 100 on the exams. 

The first exam will include the topics from the first module, and the second exam will include the topics from the second module only. 

Virtual Lecture Set: The aim of virtual lecture is for you to learn the basic concepts of the upcoming week before the in-class active lecture. Each virtual lecture set includes several interactive videos and quizzes in a sequential order. Three submissions are allowed for each quiz until the due time. The virtual lecture sets are 10% of the total grade. It is due at 11:00 am on Mondays, and no late submission will be accepted.   Each week's virtual lecture set is worth 10 points. You must score overall at least 70% of total score in order to receive credit for that week.

Active Lecture: During the active lecture hours, you will be actively working with your peers to apply and deepen your understanding of the concepts you learned from the virtual lecture set, with a guidance of the instructor. You must complete the virtual lecture set in order to get maximum benefit from the active lecture each week. Also, you MUST bring your laptops or tablets to each lecture. No cell phone use is allowed during the active lectures. 

You are not allowed to submit answers to TopHat questions from outside the classroom, or submit for another student. Such cases are considered as academic dishonesty and require disciplinary action. 

The active lecture grades will be calculated based on your participation during the lectures. Your cumulative percentage (total points you get/ maximum available points) is recorded as your lecture grade. 

The final Top Hat % will be converted to the lecture participation grade as follows:

• If > 80% = 10 points (regardless of your %, 10 points is the maximum you can receive)
• If below 80%, the lecture grade = 10 x (your %) / (80%) points 
• 
  

  Recitation: The aim of the recitation worksheet is to enhance conceptual understanding in the collaborative, student-centered learning environment through practice problem solving, hands-on experiments, simulations and group discussions. You MUST bring your laptops or tablets and your notebook to each recitation. A quiz will be given at the end of each recitation. Recitation grades are 10% of the total grade. 
  
  Please come to the recitations on time so as not to affect your group mates. No latecomers are accepted to the recitations, and no cell phone use is allowed during the recitations. You are not allowed to submit quiz from outside the classroom, or submit for another student. Such cases are considered as academic dishonesty and require disciplinary action. 
  
  Homework: The aim of the homework is to reflect your understanding of the week’s contents and concepts. Homework assessment must be submitted on SUCourse by 10:00pm on Wednesday, every week. No late submission will be accepted, but until the deadline you can retake the homework assessment five times, to improve your grade. Only the highest score will be recorded. Homework grades are 15% of the total grade.

For Virtual Lecture, Recitation and Homework, the lowest 3 grades will be dropped when calculating the average of each item and the following formula will be applied to calculate the overall grade. 

Overall Grade= [Midterm I] × 0.275 + [Midterm II] × 0.275 + [Recitation] + [Homework] + [Virtual Lecture] + [Active Lecture] 

Please note:

• The first decimal place of 5 and larger will be rounded up to the next integer (e.g., 67.5 → 68).
• If your exams' average (Midterm I and Midterm II) is below 30, you fail regardless of your overall course grade.
• Failing to take one of the exams will result in failing the course.
• The letter grade ranges which will be used as a guideline, are provided in the table below.
• If your course grade is in the range of 49-40, your status will be reviewed by instructors based on your exam average and course participation.



Letter Grade	Ranges	Conditions
A	100-90	Exam average ≥ 30
A-	89-85
B+	84-80
B	79-75
B-	74-70
C+	69-65
C	64-60
C-	59-55
D+	54-50
F	49-0





NA Policy:

• If you miss one of the exams, you will automatically receive NA for the course.
• If you otherwise fail the course and you have attempted less than 50% of all non-exam assessments (including active lecture attendance), you will receive NA