Question Reality: Cosmos (Coursera)

Offered by Dartmouth College,
Question Reality: Cosmos (Coursera)

This course explores the concept of reality and the physics of the sky. You will travel through the philosophies and worldviews of early civilizations to the time of early scientists such as Plato, Aristotle, and Copernicus.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

You will learn how Galileo's findings with the telescope challenged the Aristotelian interpretation of the cosmos, about Galileo’s revolutionary conclusions on gravity, and Newton's universal law of gravitation.
This course will also introduce you to the scientific methods and their limitations. You will also explore the properties and behaviors of homemade pendulums.
Next, you will explore modern ideas of cosmology, of the Big Bang, and even recent speculations that our universe is not all there is. Mysteries and properties of light and how they were discovered, questioned, and confirmed through experiments over the past few hundred years through the present will also be discussed.

Course 1 of 3 in the Question Reality! Science, philosophy, a search for meaning Specialization.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Module 1: Cosmos: Part 1
This module explores the concept of reality and physics of the sky.

WEEK 2
Module 2: Cosmos: Part 2
This module will introduce you to the scientific methods. You will also explore the properties and behaviors of homemade pendulums.

WEEK 3
Module 3: Cosmos Part 3
This module explores modern ideas of cosmology, of the Big Bang, and even recent speculations that our universe is not all there is. It further examines various mysteries and properties of light and how they were discovered, questioned, and confirmed through experiments over the past few hundred years through the present.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Astro 101: Black Holes (Coursera) Coursera
University of Alberta

Astro 101: Black Holes (Coursera)

What is a black hole? Do they really exist? How do they form? How are they related to stars? What would happen if you fell into one? How do you see a black hole if they emit no light? What’s the difference between a black hole and a really dark star? Could a particle accelerator create a black hole? Can a black hole also be a worm hole or a time machine? In Astro 101: Black Holes, you will explore the concepts behind black holes. Using the theme of black holes, you will learn the basic ideas of astronomy, relativity, and quantum physics.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Vers l'infiniment petit (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique

Vers l'infiniment petit (Coursera)

Partez à la découverte de l'infiniment petit, en compagnie de physiciens et de physiciennes qui vont vous faire découvrir les secrets de la matière quand on l'étudie aux distances les plus courtes, aux énergies les plus élevées. Vous vous initierez aux progrès les plus récents de la recherche en physique nucléaire et de la physique des particules, et vous découvrirez les principes des accélérateurs et des détecteurs avec lesquels on a pu étudier la matière à ces échelles, pour arriver jusqu'à la découverte du boson de Higgs en 2012 auprès du collisionneur de particules du CERN, le LHC.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Part 1 (Coursera) Coursera
Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Nanotechnology and Nanosensors, Part 1 (Coursera)

Nanotechnology and nanosensors are broad, interdisciplinary areas that encompass (bio)chemistry, physics, biology, materials science, electrical engineering and more. The present course will provide a survey on some of the fundamental principles behind nanotechnology and nanomaterials and their vital role in novel sensing properties and applications. The course will discuss interesting interdisciplinary scientific and engineering knowledge at the nanoscale to understand fundamental physical differences at the nanosensors.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Fundamentals of Fluid-Solid Interactions (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique

Fundamentals of Fluid-Solid Interactions (Coursera)

What is fluid-solid interactions ? It is what happens when the motions of a fluid and of a solid are somehow coupled. This happens all the time, around you when leaves flutter in the wind, inside you when your heart beats, above you when wings of a plane vibrate, under the sea... The idea behind this MOOC is to give you the basic tools to be able to predict and eventually mitigate things called flutter, galloping, sloshing, vortex-induced vibrations, added mass, to cite a few. We are going to consider any possible domains of applications such as civil engineering, aerospace engineering, nuclear engineering , ocean engineering, biomechanics and even food processing !

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Emergence of Life (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Emergence of Life (Coursera)

How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life. This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which revolutionized our understanding with a new "Tree of Life."

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Density Functional Theory (Coursera) Coursera
École Polytechnique

Density Functional Theory (Coursera)

The aim of this course is to give a thorough introduction to Density Functional Theory (DFT). DFT is today the most widely used method to study interacting electrons, and its applicability ranges from atoms to solid systems, from nuclei to quantum fluids. In this course, we introduce the most important concepts underlying DFT, its foundation, and basic ideas. We will in particular stress the features and reasons that lead DFT to become the dominant method for simulating quantum mechanical systems.

Nov 16th 2026
3 Weeks
Física: Vectores, Trabajo y Energía (Coursera) Coursera
Tecnológico de Monterrey

Física: Vectores, Trabajo y Energía (Coursera)

Este curso provee al estudiante con conceptos y herramientas matemáticas para modelar problemas en física, que al aplicar podrá enfrentar con éxito los cursos de física universitarios. Así pues, la filosofía de este curso consiste en cubrir temas conceptuales relativos a la Física y desarrollar tu capacidad de aprender y aplicarlos en tu vida profesional.

Nov 9th 2026
5-12 Weeks