The Moon Project: Part 3 - The Paper

Transcription

1 The Moon Project: Part 3 - The Paper 2003 Ann Bykerk-Kauffman, Dept. of Geological and Environmental Sciences, California State University, Chico * What Should Be Included In The Paper 1. A narrative that answers the questions at the beginning of the description of your topic (not necessarily in order make your paper flow as a single whole essay and put the topics in some logical flow order). This narrative should be 3-5 pages long, not including diagrams. 2. All of the graphs that are related to your topic, completed correctly. 3. A Data Section that consists of your (original) completed Table of YOUR Moon Observations sheets, and any additional extra data tables required for your topic. Specific Requirements for the Narrative The text portion of your paper must be typed. Hand-drawn diagrams and graphs are, however, perfectly acceptable, as are hand-written data entries. Write a good SCIENTIFIC introduction and conclusion. The introduction should tell the reader what specific questions are addressed in the paper. The conclusion should summarize the answers you presented in the paper. DO NOT use the introduction or conclusion to describe your feelings about doing the project; this kind of information does not belong in a scientific paper. You can tell us your feelings in the Concluding Comments assignment at the end of the semester. Write a coherent paper that flows logically. You will be asked to answer specific questions in your paper but DO NOT write your paper as disjointed answers to the questions. Write a coherent essay-format paper that flows smoothly from topic to topic and stands on its own. Clearly describe all relevant 1 patterns, as revealed by YOUR observations, data and graph(s). Specifically describe what EACH graph reveals. Use specific observations as recorded in the observation tables to illustrate each pattern that you describe in your paper; refer to these specific observations in the text. For example, one year, I observed the moon and sun at 7 p.m. every evening from September 14 through September 22. My sketches of the moon and sun show that, each evening, the moon was higher in the sky than it had been the previous evening and the angle between the moon and the sun was greater each evening. Present your descriptions of relevant patterns BEFORE you explain what caused them. Answer each question for your topic completely and give specific examples. For example, if someone asked you what caused the phases of the moon, you could give a general answer like this: The phase the moon depends on how much of the lit portion of the moon is visible from earth; this depends on the relative locations of Earth, the moon and the sun. But that would not be very helpful to the person who asked the question. In order to fully understand the phases of the moon (as we saw in the video A Private Universe), a person needs to see several specific examples of the 1 A pattern is relevant if it can help answer your assigned questions. * Supported by NSF Grant # Permission is granted to reproduce this material for classroom use. MP 23

2 MP 24 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper relative locations of Earth, the moon and the sun for specific phases of the moon (new, full, waxing crescent, first quarter, waning gibbous, etc.). Illustrate your answers to the questions with well-designed conceptual drawings (if you need help getting started, use the hint drawings for your topic as a starting point). These drawings are VERY IMPORTANT! It is impossible to make your explanations clear to the reader without such drawings. Specifically refer to these drawings in the text of your paper. Use your logic and critical-thinking skills. Every assertion that you make in your paper must be backed up with evidence that consists of data that YOU observed and/or graphed. For example, do not state that the moon rises an hour later each day unless you can derive that conclusion from your data or graph(s). Clearly and fully explain all logical chains of reasoning that lead from each item of data (or pattern in the data) to each assertion. This is NOT a library or world-wide-web research paper. You will not find the answers to your questions in any available documents. Don t waste your time trying. This project IS your chance to do real science the way scientists really do it (i.e. figuring out the answer themselves, based on patterns in raw data, and NOT by getting the answer from any outside source). BUILD on what you learned from lecture, lab and homework, but come to new conclusions based on YOUR moon observations, data provided in the course packet, and patterns you see in your graph(s). You may ask your lab instructor for help; s/he will help you figure out the answers for yourself but s/he will not tell you the answers. Fully cite your sources for any diagrams, data, or ideas that you got from somewhere other than your own head. Place your citation immediately adjacent to each item, NOT just in a list at the end of the paper. You may follow any standard citation method you wish. Keep your paper focused on your assigned topic. DO NOT re-explain concepts covered in class. Use the terms revolve (i.e. orbit) and rotate (i.e. spin) correctly. We will deduct points for incorrect uses of these terms. Put a page number on each page. Specific Requirements for the Graphs Include ALL of the graphs that related to your topic. Include a legend on each graph that explains any symbols or different colors used. Specific Requirements for the Data Section of Your Paper The Data Section should consist of all YOUR data, but ONLY YOUR data. Do NOT trade data with other students. Do NOT get data from the world wide web. All observations reported in the data

3 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper MP 25 section of your paper must be your own! Anyone caught stealing data will receive a score of zero for the data portion of the moon project (worth points). If you didn t collect enough data yourself, you may include a SEPARATE section in your paper that consists of data from someone or somewhere else. You MUST clearly highlight these data as not yours and you MUST specifically cite your source (in other words, name the person you got the data from, fully reference the publication or give the full Web page address). You may then use these data to support the conclusions of your paper BUT they won t count toward the data portion of your project. To See an Example of an Excellent Moon Paper There is an example of an excellent moon paper on reserve in the library (The call number is BYKERK-KAUFFMAN A 18-F). Please note that the specific topic for this example paper was very different from yours.

4 MP 26 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper Grading Criteria for Topic #1: Moon Rise and Set Part of Moon Paper Introduction & conclusion. General quality of the writing Treatment of the Question #1: Where does the moon rise and set? Why? (answer, use of evidence and Treatment of Question #2: Why does the moon rise and set at different times during the day? Is there a systematic pattern? Why? Treatment of Question #3: Is there any correlation between the times of moonrise/moonset and the phases of the moon? Why? Point Value Expectations For Full Credit 10 Well-constructed useful introductory and concluding paragraphs. A well-organized clearly-written paper that is free of grammar and spelling errors. 10 Correct answer. Accurate descriptions of your observations and good use of them to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why the moon rises and sets where it does. Well-designed illustration(s). 20 Good use of your graph to derive a pattern as to how the times of moonrise/set change from one day to the next. Good use of modeling and sound logic to explain why this pattern exists. Well-designed illustration(s). 20 Good description of the pattern of correlations between phase of moon and moon rise/set times. Clear, precise, accurate and complete explanation as to why the moon rises and sets at particular times during particular parts of its cycle of phases. Well-designed illustrations. Moon Observations, general 20 Complete, accurate and honest. At least 20 observations; at least 7 observations of waning moon. Twice-daily observations 10 At least 10x; at least four hours apart. Accurate, clearly shown. Graph showing when the moon is up 10 Complete and accurate. Grand Total Points 100

5 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper MP 27 Grading Criteria for Topic #2: Angle of the Illuminated Portion of the Moon to the Horizon Part of Moon Paper Introduction & conclusion. General quality of the writing Treatment of the Question #1: Why does it look like the lit portion of the moon rotates? Treatment of Question #2: How many degrees does the lit portion seem to rotate per hour? Treatment of Question #3: Why does this pattern of lunar maria appear to change orientation? Point Value Expectations For Full Credit 10 Well-constructed useful introductory and concluding paragraphs. A well-organized clearly-written paper that is free of grammar and spelling errors. 20 Accurate descriptions of your observations. Good use of your observations and sound logic to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why the lit portion of the moon appears to rotate. Specific configurations of the observer relative to the Earth, moon, and sun are described and illustrated for specific observations. Well-designed illustration(s). 15 Correct answer. Good use of a best-fit lines on your graphs to derive your answer; calculations shown clearly. 10 Clear, precise, accurate and complete explanation as to why the pattern of lunar maria appears to change orientation. Well-designed illustrations. Moon Observations, general 20 Complete, accurate and honest. At least 20 observations; at least 7 waning moon observations. Twice-daily observations and one day of total observations Graph of the Amount of Apparent Rotation of the Illuminated Portion of the Moon vs. Time Lapse Between Observations. 15 Twice daily observations: at least 10x; at least four hours apart. Multiple observations in one day: at least six, at least one hour apart. All accurate, clearly shown. 10 Complete and accurate. Grand Total Points 100

6 MP 28 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper Grading Criteria for Topic #3: Length of the Moon Day Part of Moon Paper Introduction & conclusion. General quality of the writing Treatment of Questions #1 and #2: How and why does the length of the moon day AND the maximum height of the moon vary over one moon cycle? Treatment of Questions #3 and #4: How and why does the length of the moon day AND the altitude of the moon change with the phase of the moon AND month of the year? (answer, use of evidence and Point Value Expectations For Full Credit 10 Well-constructed useful introductory and concluding paragraphs. A well-organized clearly-written paper that is free of grammar and spelling errors. 25 Accurate descriptions of the patterns shown by your measurements and by the graph. Good use of these patterns to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why the length of the moon day AND the maximum height of the moon vary over one moon cycle. Welldesigned illustration(s). 25 Accurate descriptions of the patterns shown by your measurements and by the graph. Good use of these patterns to prove your answer. Valid explanations as to why the length of the moon day AND the altitude of the moon change with the phase of the moon AND month of the year. Well-designed illustration(s). Moon Observations, general 20 Complete, accurate and honest. At least 20 observations; at least 7 waning moon observations. Measurements of altitude of moon Graph of the # of Hours the Moon is Out. 10 At least five measurements made near the highest point on the moon's path; about a week apart; accurate; clearly compiled in table. 10 Complete and accurate. Grand Total Points 100

7 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper MP 29 Grading Criteria for Topic #4: Synodic and Sidereal Months Part of Moon Paper Introduction & conclusion. General quality of the writing Treatment of Question #1: What is the periodicity of the cycle of changes in the length of the moon day. Why? Treatment of Question #2: What do the longest, shortest and average-length moon days have in common? Why? (answer, use of evidence and Treatment of Question #3: How long does it take the moon to go through all of the constellations of the Zodiac? Why? (answer, use of evidence and Treatment of Question #4: How do we know that a sidereal month is exactly 27 1/3 days? (answer and use of evidence ) Point Value Expectations For Full Credit 10 Well-constructed useful introductory and concluding paragraphs. A well-organized clearly-written paper that is free of grammar and spelling errors. 10 Accurate descriptions of the patterns shown by your graph(s). Good use of these patterns to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why the cycle of changes in the length of the moon day has the periodicity that it does. Well-designed illustration(s). 15 Correct answers for what they have in common; good use of the graph(s) to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why the longest, shortest and average-length moon days of each cycle share common characteristics. Well-designed illustration(s). 15 Correct answer for how long it takes; good use of the graph(s) to prove your answer. Valid explanation as to why it takes the moon that long to go through all the constellations of the Zodiac. Well-designed illustration(s). 5 Correct answer for how we know the length of the sidereal month; easy to follow; good use of the graph(s) to prove your answer. Well-designed illustration(s). Moon Observations, general 20 Complete, accurate and honest. At least 20 observations; at least 7 waning moon observations. Observations of astronomical place of the moon Graph of the astronomical place of the moon Graph of the # of Hours the Moon is Out 10 At least 10 observations; accurate. Good drawings of the stars around the moon. 5 Complete and accurate. 10 Complete and accurate. Astronomical place of the moon on average, long and short moon days correctly noted. Grand Total Points 100

8 MP 30 The Moon Project: Part 3 The Paper