The central question of this course: “why study wood?” If “why study wood” is the question, one answer would be that it is the only raw material available to us that is truly renewable in human life span terms. Wood is as important to society today as it ever was, despite the development of many man-made substitute materials, changing resource availability, and the changing needs of society. Some items on the list of wood products stay the same (lumber, plywood and veneer for building construction, furniture, shipping pallets & crates and other containers & packaging materials, railroad ties, utility poles, chemical feed stocks, etc), but the list also keeps changing to meet new needs and challenges as the resource changes.
Wood Science: Beyond Building
West Virginia UniversityAbout this Course
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Flexible deadlines
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Beginner Level
Approx. 10 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: English
Shareable Certificate
Earn a Certificate upon completion
100% online
Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
Flexible deadlines
Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
Beginner Level
Approx. 10 hours to complete
English
Subtitles: English
Offered by
West Virginia University
Founded in 1867, West Virginia University is moving toward a global destiny. World-class faculty are exploring everything from pulsars to nanoscale technology. Rated as the #2 public university at which to do research and a top-20 best place to work in academia, WVU is collaborating with international academic and research partners.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
2 hours to complete
Welcome and Global Use
2 hours to complete
8 videos (Total 52 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
8 videos
Book Recommendations8m
Organization Recommendations5m
Forest Cover and Harvests: Part A4m
Forest Cover and Harvests: Part B6m
Comparing Fuel Values2m
Managing Forests8m
Harvesting Wood12m
4 readings
About Names10m
Commercial Species10m
Hardwoods vs Softwoods10m
Characteristics and Availability of Commercially Important Woods10m
1 practice exercise
Module 1 Quiz18m
3 hours to complete
Basic Wood Science
3 hours to complete
10 videos (Total 57 min), 7 readings, 1 quiz
10 videos
Wood Structure & Moisture Content: Part B8m
Wood Structure & Moisture Content: Part C6m
Wood Challenges and Solutions4m
Solving the Riddle3m
Stress Tests3m
Anisotropic Nature of Wood5m
Wood Decay and Preservation: Part A7m
Wood Decay and Preservation: Part B5m
Wood Decay and Preservation: Part C7m
7 readings
Moisture and Normal Wood Behavior10m
Moisture Relations & Physical Properties of Wood10m
Drying & Control of Moisture Content & Dimensional Changes10m
Wood Qualities10m
Stress in Wood10m
Estimating Dimensional Changes10m
A Rotten Shame. 1985 Phipps Conservatory Wood Repairs Need Redoing10m
1 practice exercise
Module 2 Quiz40m
2 hours to complete
Wood Products
2 hours to complete
9 videos (Total 67 min), 4 readings, 1 quiz
9 videos
Andrew White: Guitar, Part B9m
Andrew White: Guitar, Part C8m
Solid Wood Flooring4m
Engineered Wood Flooring: Part A9m
Engineered Wood Flooring: Part B9m
Modern/Engineered Wood Products: Part A5m
Modern/Engineered Wood Products: Part B6m
Making Engineered Wood Products4m
4 readings
Wood Products: Introducing Andrew White10m
CITES: The Lacey Act10m
Engineered Wood Composites10m
Historic Glued-Laminated Arches Evaluated for Structural Quality10m
1 practice exercise
Module 3 Quiz28m
3 hours to complete
Wood and the Environment
3 hours to complete
10 videos (Total 56 min), 7 readings, 1 quiz
10 videos
Climate Science: Part B7m
Life Cycle Analysis3m
Life Cycle Analysis of Railroad Ties4m
Invasive Species: Part A9m
Invasive Species: Part B8m
Land Use4m
Impact of Supply and Demand8m
Sustainable Management4m
Bonus: Outtakes2m
7 readings
Understanding the Carbon Cycle; Readings from NASA.10m
reThink Wood: Life Cycle Assessment10m
CORRIM Fact Sheet: The Role of Forests, Management, and Forest Products on Carbon Mitigation10m
Tree-of-Heaven: Ailanthus altissima10m
Demand and Sustainability10m
Forests and Population Growth10m
Bonus: Outtakes10m
1 practice exercise
Module 4 Quiz22m
Reviews
TOP REVIEWS FROM WOOD SCIENCE: BEYOND BUILDING
by DBJun 4, 2020
I am glad that I took this informative course. This course is useful to each and every people irrespective of their academic background and interests. It is good course regarding wood and its uses.
by CZFeb 11, 2020
As a Civil Engineering student, this course has been very helpful for me. I do recommend to have this course in order to get the basic concept of wood science and its use as a building material.
by AHFeb 14, 2018
Several of the links were dead, but other than that, great information in a very easy to follow manner. I especially enjoyed the questions during the video. Those helped tremendously.
by ACApr 22, 2020
This course was a wonderful experience in learning about forest - wood - timber - products. Thank you for sharing that knowledge. It is a trip of understanding the wood and it's uses
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