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What will I learn in this course?
This course serves as the pre-requisite course for the following five courses in the OS411 series. The modules and units in this course serve to provide a introduction or refresher program in the basic sciences found in the study of atmospheric science, meteorology, air quality science and modeling, and the other topics presented in subsequent courses. Major topics include:
  • Basic mathematics
  • Basic chemistry
  • Basic physics
  • Basic statistics
What are the learning objectives for this course?
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to do the following:
  1. define and use appropriately the following mathematical concepts:
    • vectors
    • derivatives
    • integrals
    • difference and differential equations
    • vector calculs
  2. define and describe the following chemical concepts:
    • stoichiometry
    • the elements and atomic structure
    • organic and inorganic nomenclature
    • chemical equations
    • gases
    • kinetics
    • equilibrium
    • thermodynamics
  3. define and describe the following concepts from physics:
    • motion
    • gravitation
    • temperature and heat
    • thermal properties
    • fluid mechanics
    • electric charges
    • electromagnetic waves
    • light
  4. define and use the following statistical methods:
    • basic statistics: mean, median, mode
    • statistical distributions
    • probabilities
Who is the audience for this course?
This course is intended for any student who requires an introduction or a review of the most fundamental scientific principles and concepts from the areas of mathematics, chemistry, physics and statistics. All of the following courses in the OS411 series assume a reasonable degree of fluency in the topics presented in this course.
What should I already know before taking this course?
There are no pre-requisites for this course, however, the material in this course is intended as a review of basic material in chemistry, physics, and mathematics for scientists and engineers, and it is expected that the student have some familiarity with the course content.
Do I need to do this module?

Answer these 20 questions to test your knowledege of this material. You should score at least an 80% (16 out of 20) before you consider trying to take the final exam for this course. NOTE! A high score on this pre-test is not a perfect predictor of mastery of the information in this course!

Tips on Taking the Course
  1. The course is divided up into four (4) modules. Each module contains a number of units. You should carefully read the "Module Description" at the beginning of each module. On this page, we will describe the learning objectives, provide you with a list of topics to be learned, and describe some basic pre-requisite skills or knowledge needed for the module. In addition, there is a short "pre-test" that will help you to determine if you have enough mastery of the module to allow you to either skim that module or skip it altogether
  2. On each page of each unit, you will be presented with a textual reading, coupled with one or more still or animated graphics to help you understand a particular topic. On many pages you will find an interactive calculator or model that you can use to help you explore the topic in more depth. At the end of each page, there will be a one-question "quiz" to help you self-assess your mastery of the information on that page.
  3. Each unit will culminate with a short unit review and a five-question self-assessment quiz. Likewise, each module has a module review and a 20-question self-assessment review. A graded exam of 50 questions is provided in paper format at the end of the course. See the note below about "Obtaining Course Credit" for more information about the course exam.
  4. The course materials require at least Netscape 4 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4. A variety of plugins, such as Shockwave, will also be required. Information on downloading and installing these plugins is provided on the Setup page.
Registration
If you are a United States state, local, or tribal air pollution control official, register with the Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI).

All others who would like credit or acknowledgement for course completion should register with NC State University.

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Obtaining Course Credit:

To obtain course credit, you must complete the final examination with a minimum score of 70%. The final exam will be sent to your proctor via postal mail once you have completed the course materials. You must secure the services of a proctor who has been approved by the institution with whom you registered. The proctor will administer the exam and return it to the appropriate person (see below) for scoring. No "partial" credit or acknowledgement of partial completion of the course modules is provided.

If you registered through the Air Pollution Training Institute (APTI), your contact for sending you an exam and grading it is:

Deborah Miller
U.S. EPA
APTI
MD 17
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
(919) 541-5552
miller.deborahr@epa.gov
If you registered through NC State University, your contact for sending you an exam and grading it is:
Christine Murphy
NC State University
IES
Box 7902
Raleigh, NC 27696-7902
(919) 515-5875
chris_murphy@ncsu.edu
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