GSPH 103 Basic Science

Mechanics (Laws of motion, levers and pulleys, work energy and power), Optics (law of reflection, real and virtual images, reflection and refraction, dispersion of light, lenses and lens aberrations, optical instruments eg human eye, magnifying glasses, microscopes and telescopes), electricity and radioactivity.

The students will be introduced to measurements, conversion factors, atoms and elements, electronic configuration, the periodic table. Discuss chemical bonding, ionic and covalent bonds, bond polarity. Electrolytes and non- electrolytes, acids and bases, ionization of water, pH scale, buffers. Solutions, water as solvent, nature of solute- solvent interactions, concentration of solutions, structure and oxidation of alcohols, aldehydes and ketones. amino acids, protein structure denaturation of proteins by temperature, enzymes and their effects on reactions in the body, nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, base pairing.

Basic concepts in genetics, Sickle cell disease, thalassemias and related genetic diseases, genetic screening, principles of parasitism, parasitic groups and their relation to disease, insects of medical importance, principles of pest control.