This course introduces students to science and scientific reasoning from a perspective that integrates computer science and the natural sciences. Students will gain a basic understanding of computer technology (its organization, history, societal impact, etc.) and how computers are used in various scientific disciplines. In particular, the use of the scientific method and the importance of computer modeling in scientific inquiry will be studied. Students will learn to develop simple Web-based programs for analyzing data and modeling systems, and use those programs in conducting hands-on experiments. Applications in biology, physics, and data science will provide insights into how these disciplines approach problems and utilize computers and computer modeling as tools.

The specific goals of this course are:

• To learn the fundamental concepts underlying computer technology and appreciate the computer's impact on science and society.
• To understand and practice the scientific method as a technique for studying natural and artificial phenomena.
• To develop problem-solving skills through the process of designing, implementing, and experimenting with Web-based computer programs.
• To develop critical-thinking skills by conducting experiments and analyzing the data obtained by observing natural phenomena and also by simulating complex systems on a computer.
• To experience the interdisciplinary nature of computing and appreciate how the different scientific disciplines approach problems and utilize computers as tools.

This course is considered by the university to be an In-person Instruction (SD100) course. The auditorium allows for all students to attend class in person while maintaining appropriate social distancing. Students are expected to attend classes in person on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Thursday afternoon class sessions will be online labs using Zoom. To encourage collaboration during these online lab sessions, students will be divided into smaller cohorts and assigned to separate, moderated Zoom rooms. Check this syllabus each week to determine the zoom room you are assigned (based on your last name).

If you must miss a class because of an emergency, you are expected to notify the instructor as soon as possible. If you are sick, please do not come to class. In the event of illness (fever/chills, shortness of breath, headache, sore throat, lack of taste/smell, etc.) please register your condition with the COVID-19 Screening App CampusClear and notify the instructor. Even if you can't attend class, you won't fall behind. Class sessions will be live-streamed in the instructor's zoom room (http://creighton.zoom.us/my/davereed) and a recording will posted on Blueline within 24 hours. Be aware that all class materials posted on Blueline, including quizzes, discussions, and Zoom recordings, are considered to be copyrighted and are intended to be used only by students enrolled in the class, for the purposes of fulfilling the course objectives. Only the instructor may record common class sessions. Sharing any of these materials with others outside of the course will be considered "misuse of academic resources," as defined in the Creighton University Student Handbook as an act of academic misconduct, and students can be penalized, up to and including failure of the course.

Many of the class periods will involve working on a computer, either using provided software tools or developing your own interactive Web pages. As described in the university tech guidelines, students are expected to have a laptop with a camera. You are encouraged to bring your laptop to class, even when attending in person. Installing the preferred class software, Brackets, is straightforward and assistance will be available during the first lab session if needed.

Students in this course will adhere to all Creighton community standards. Students will properly wear a mask in class and maintain 6-feet of distance between individuals whenever possible. Students will be required to enter and leave classrooms in a socially distant manner. For this reason, the instructor will plan to dismiss you in sections. You are required to sanitize your work area upon arrival and departure with the provided supplies.

Instructor and TA office hours will be conducted via Zoom, with face-to-face (but socially distanced) meetings scheduled by request.

Instructor office hours:	MW 10:30-12:00, TR 1:00-2:00	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/davereed
TA office hours:	Sun 2:00-3:00 (Julius)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/juliusquilarto
	M 5:00-6:00 (OC)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/ozioma
	T 5:00-6:00 (Gabbi)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/gabbicaito
	W 6:30-7:30 (Nathan)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/nathanlauder
	W 8:30-9:30 (Vi)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/viconrad
	R 8:00-9:00 (Claire)	http://creighton.zoom.us/my/clairepini

Class periods will consist of three types of activity, roughly organized along the following schedule.

• Each Tuesday morning will be a lecture/discussion on a topic in computer science or technology. Students will be assigned a chapter from the book or online readings, and must complete a review quiz on Blueline before the scheduled class period. Attendance and participation in class discussions is expected of all students.
• Each Thursday morning will be a hands-on learning activity. This may involve the instructor demonstrating Web development and/or programming techniques, with exercises to be undertaken by students individually or in small groups. These days may also include off-line activities that engage students to explore various topics in computing and the sciences.
• Each Thursday afternoon will be supervised work period with students working on project assignments from the book, assisted by the instructor and teaching assistants. On select days, students will complete lab-style assignments, which involve using computers as tools to solve problems from the sciences.

There will be two 50-minute tests and a cumulative 100-minute final exam. The final course grade will be based on the following weightings with minimum cutoffs of A (93-100%), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89%), B (83-86%), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79%), C (73-76%), C- (70-72), D (60-69%), and F (0-59%). Some shifting of grades, in an upward direction only, may occur as final letter grades are assigned.

ten chapter quizzes	5 %
eight chapter projects	30 %
five lab assignments	15 %
two 50-minute tests	25 %
100-minute final exam	25 %

Creighton's policy on cheating and plagiarism is spelled out in the Student Handbook. In addition, the following guidelines hold for this course.

• For chapter projects and lab assignments, you are encouraged to talk with your classmates and assist each other in completing the projects. All answers and code submitted by you must be your own work, however. Thus, exchanging answers or copying code is expressly forbidden.
• Since the point of the review quiz on reading assignments is to ascertain what you found interesting or confusing in the readings, no collaboration is allowed on the review quiz.
• All tests are closed book, with no collaboration between students allowed.

Violations of these guidelines will be dealt with severely, with possible outcomes including failure in the course.

Date	Topic	Participation (Zoom by last name)	Readings	Hand-in
Jan 28	Course Overview Lab 1	Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z
Feb 2 4	Computer Basics (pptx) The HTML & the Web (pptx) Project 1.A (upload instructions)	Harper auditorium Zoom Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C1 Chapter X1 (p. 194)	C1 quiz   Lab 1
9 11	World Wide Web (pptx) HTML & Hypertext (pptx) Project 2.A	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C2 Chapter X2 (p. 212)	C2 quiz   Project 1.A
16 18	The Internet (pptx) Dynamic Web Pages (pptx) Project 3.A	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C3 Chapter X3 (p. 230)	C3 quiz   Project 2.A
23 25	History of Computers (pptx) Applications in Cryptography (pptx) Lab 2	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C4 TBD	C4 quiz   Project 3.A
Mar 2 4	TEST 1 Interaction & Design (pptx) Project 4.A	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter X4 (p. 250)	Lab 2
9 11	Scientific & Computational Thinking (pptx) Applications in Biology Lab 3	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C5 TBD	C5 quiz   Project 4.A
16 18	Algorithms & Programming (pptx) Numbers & Computation (pptx) Project 5.C	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C6 Chapter X5 (p. 273)	C6 quiz   Lab 3
23 25	CS as a Discipline (pptx) Randomness & Libraries (pptx) Projects 6.A & 6.C	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C7 Chapter X6 (pp. 290 & 292)	C7 quiz   Project 5.C
30 Apr 1	Applications in Artificial Intelligence Applications in Data Science Lab 4	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	TBD TBD	Projects 6.A & 6.C
6 8	TEST 2 Conditional Execution (pptx) Project 7.C	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter X7 (p. 313)	Lab 4
13 15	Inside the Data (pptx) Loops and Simulations (pptx) Project 8.A	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C8 Chapter X8 (p. 329)	C8 quiz   Project 7.C
20 22	Inside the Computer (pptx) Computing in the News Lab 5	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C9 TBD	C9 quiz   Project 8.A
27 29	Impact on Society (pptx) Impact on Society (cont.) Exam Prep	Harper auditorium Harper auditorium Zoom: A-F,   G-J,   K-N,   O-Z	Chapter C10 TBD	C10 quiz   Lab 5
May 4	Course Review	Harper auditorium
11	FINAL EXAM     Tuesday 1:00-2:40

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