May 30, 2008

Introductory Science Moves Beyond 'Rocks for Jocks'

By JEFFREY BRAINARD

Courses for nonmajors get increased attention

Four hundred years have passed since Galileo helped prove that the Earth orbits the Sun once a year. But today more than one-third of adult Americans do not know this basic science concept.

In a survey last year, four-fifths of respondents couldn't correctly define "molecule." And only three-fifths agreed with the statement, "Astrology is not at all scientific."

That is not good news for educators who worry that Americans are

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