FREE LEARNING SERIES
Scientists: ideas, discovery and institutions
Understand the work of Raman, Janaki Ammal, Ramanujan and Sarabhai through light, plants, numbers and space.
4 lessons · Learn at your own pace
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Learn, practise, explain
Try the exercise before reading its explanation. Answer the self-check questions in your own words, then compare your reasoning with the answers. Revisit any difficult section before moving on. No account or payment is needed.
- 01
C. V. Raman: what scattered light can reveal
Raman’s achievement becomes clearer when we understand the measurement behind it. Follow a question about light through repeated observations, an energy explanation and the institutions that supported further research.
Learning outcome: Explain the effect with a simple energy account, distinguish an observation from an interpretation, and understand why controls and collaborators matter.
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Janaki Ammal: chromosomes, cultivated plants and biodiversity
Botany connects cells with crops, landscapes and human knowledge. Janaki Ammal’s career shows why counting chromosomes, comparing plants and keeping careful records can change the questions scientists are able to answer.
Learning outcome: Explain chromosome sets using a paper model, distinguish a count from a complete biological explanation, and evaluate the limits of a plant observation record.
Open lesson → - 03
Srinivasa Ramanujan: patterns, partitions and proof
Ramanujan found remarkable relationships among numbers. To appreciate that work, move beyond famous anecdotes and try the mathematical habits it invites: define the objects, count systematically, test a pattern and ask what would prove it.
Learning outcome: Calculate small partition numbers, explain one Ramanujan congruence in words, and distinguish examples, counterexamples and proof.
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Vikram Sarabhai: science, institutions and public purpose
A research programme needs more than an ambitious idea. Sarabhai’s life helps explain how scientific questions, trained teams, institutions and practical needs can be connected over many years.
Learning outcome: Explain a satellite communication chain, distinguish a technical output from a learning outcome, and assign historical credit without confusing plans with later results.
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