Put your thinking cap on to begin studying concepts in forensic science, starting with historical perspectives covering the use of forensics to investigate and solve crimes. You’ll go over history and development, crime-scene evaluation, the crime lab itself, trace evidence, impressions, fingerprints, blood, and DNA as you interact with online lessons, conduct hands-on lab activities, communicate with classmates in online forums, write a research report, and much more.

This course explores conundrums and analyzes a range of mathematical and philosophical paradoxes. You’ll consider Zeno’s paradoxes of space and time, such as The Racecourse, in which Achilles continually travels half of the remaining distance and seemingly can never reach the finish line. To address these types of paradoxes, you’ll be introduced to the concepts of infinite series and limits, and then explore paradoxes of set theory, self-reference, and truth, and paradoxes of probability and inductive reasoning.

Advance your understanding of high school biology concepts as you cover topics typically found in a first-year university biology course. This course includes a laboratory component designed to meet College Board® standards and provides a solid foundation for the AP Biology exam, which you’ll prepare for using online lectures, readings, laboratory exercises, homework assignments, and exams that mirror the AP format. Major themes include biochemistry, energy transfer, cellular structure and specialization, mitosis and meiosis, genetics, and ecology, among others. 

While you read this sentence, your eyes alone are transmitting approximately 10 million pieces of data per second to your brain. Nevertheless, your attention remains focused on these words, you quickly decipher their meaning, and your memory stores make the whole process feel seamless. How is this possible? Cognitive psychology—often referred to as the “science of the mind”—examines how we represent and process information from our environment.

The study of probability and game theory allows students to apply math to real-world situations. In this course, you’ll learn to use some of the major tools of game theory, a branch of mathematics focused on the application of mathematical reasoning to competitive behavior. You’ll explore concepts like dominance, mixed strategies, utility theory, Nash equilibria, and n-person games, and learn how to use tools from probability and linear algebra to analyze and develop successful game strategies.

Bring your experiences to life on the page in this personal essay course. Through 10 assignments, we will experiment with different essay forms to describe scenes, illustrate conflicts, narrate events, share memories, and extract meaning. As we progress through the course and hone our personal essay writing skills, we will learn to use our senses to create vivid descriptions, observe and select details that convey our perspective to readers, imagine and describe events from others’ points of view, and unlock the power of revision. We’ll complete 10 essay projects over 10 course units.

Record-high temperatures, rising sea levels, massive wildfires, superstorms, and other environmental disasters have increasingly alarmed citizens across the globe. Scientists believe drastic measures are necessary to slow these types of catastrophes and are using expertise in multiple disciplines to explore solutions. This course investigates these and other ecological concerns to develop students’ understanding of human impact on environmental systems.

When the sun runs out of fuel, will it explode in a giant supernova or fade into a white dwarf? Does every galaxy revolve around a supermassive black hole? Will the universe keep expanding or eventually collapse upon itself? Astrophysics—the study of the physical laws governing astronomical objects and the universe—is key to determining how the universe started, how it works, and where it’s headed. In this course, you and your classmates will learn about scale and distances between planets, stars, and galaxies.

How do individuals interact? How do they cooperate, compete, and respond to incentives? All involve strategic behavior, the purview of the economic theory of games.

Study game theory through experiments, competitions, mathematical analysis, and debate, and apply game theory to model, evaluate, and predict outcomes of strategic behavior in the real world.

Conduct a final research project in which you model and analyze a real-world strategic interaction.

Would a boat made of bread and peanut butter actually float? Could one tree be recycled into sweaters and bicycle seat covers? Could a pancake as big as a city block flatten a school? Children’s books ask readers to believe in imaginary worlds—but sometimes, there are important science concepts behind their words and pictures. This course delves into the science behind the stories. You and your classmates will explore the digestive system, weather patterns, engineering, and city planning while reading Judi and Ronald Barrett’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.