1 credit
Fall 2026 Lecture Lower Division
The course is intended for Biomolecular Design majors and other students interested in how scientific principles inform design decisions in biology and science generally. The course will start by exploring the physics and chemistry behind common phenomena. We will do this through inquiry - delving into the fundamental principles of physics and chemistry that explain these processes. When combined with suitable quantitative techniques, we will examine how biology constructs complex molecular structures and their purposes, as well as how humans utilize these biologically designed molecular properties. Examples of questions that will be addressed in the first semester include: Why can we put toilet paper in the toilet but not other papers? We will examine the structures of carbohydrates in both plants and humans, and explore how these properties give them malleability, ductility, and strength. We will also discuss how biology creates these molecules and how we extract and use them. When we put paint on our skin, we can wash it off. Henna (a popular dye used in India to decorate the skin) stays for a day or two, but tattoos stay for a very long time. How do they work, and how does biology respond to external stimuli?
Learning Outcomes1Demonstrate preliminary understanding of how chemistry and physics underpin biology.
2Explain and provide examples for the differences between complicated and complex systems.
3Practice deconstruction of research questions into testable hypotheses that can be addressed through literature search and experiments.
4Generate conceptual and basic quantitative models for a biological system.
5Create and present a biology design problem where a team comes up with a research question, identifies the underlying components and interactions, and explains the constraints that have led to a particular design in biology.
Restrictions
made by Purdue students.