Description Objective: Writing about scientific principles and phenomena is an increasingly important skill in the 21st century. This assignment is designed to help you understand a major concept covered in this unit while also helping you develop your science writing skills. You will do this in a 500-600 word assignment. Instructions You have two choices for this assignment: Option 1: An essay or Option 2: A letter. Please choose one of the two types of assignments below. Option 1: An essay You should: 1) Formulate and answer a question Select a concept that was covered in the first midterm and formulate a question. Use this question as the title of your essay. Sample questions: • What is the difference between heat and temperature? How do they relate to each other? • How can you estimate enthalpies of reaction from bond energy? 2) Explain how this applies to your life Write a 500-600 word essay answering this question, and discuss how the information could be useful to you in your own life. Be sure to include some concrete information that was covered in this unit, explaining why the information is relevant to your life and useful for you. Be sure to explain how the information applies to you personally and give examples. Example of how to start an essay: • “Living in Irvine, I enjoy the cool summer nights. The difference in temperature between day and night is due to the small specific heat capacity of the ground, which is mostly sand. During the day, it absorbs the heat from the sun and becomes very hot quickly because of its small heat capacity. At night, the heat is released and transferred and thus the ground cools down quickly. That’s why I bring a light cardigan with me when I stay out late in summer. But I don’t have to on humid summer day. As water vapor in the air absorbs outgoing radiation from the ground and re-emits it back towards the ground, humid nights are warmer than dry nights.” 3) Structure your essay as suggested below • State your question in the title. • 1st section: Give an overview of the answer to your question. • 2nd section: Provide the scientific details of the answer to your question. Be sure to select the relevant information from class notes and the textbook. • 3rd section: Make it personal. Explain why this information is relevant to your life or useful for you and give examples. Since you will be writing about science from a personal perspective, you can use personal pronouns (I, we, you, etc.). OR Option 2: A letter 1) Formulate and answer a question Select a concept that was covered in the first midterm and formulate a question. Use this question as the title of your essay. Sample questions: • What is the difference between heat and temperature? How do they relate to each other? • How can you estimate enthalpies of reaction from bond energy? 2) Explain how this applies to a friend or family member Write a 500-600 word letter to a family member or close friend, answering this question, and discuss how the information could be useful to this person in their own life. Be sure to include some concrete information that was covered in this unit, explaining why the information is relevant to this person’s life and useful for this person. Be sure to explain how the information applies to this person and give examples. Example of how to start an essay: • “Sister, I know how much you enjoy the cool summer nights in Irvine. The difference in temperature between day and night is due to the small specific heat capacity of the ground, which is mostly sand. During the day, it absorbs the heat from the sun and becomes very hot quickly because of its small heat capacity. At night, the heat is released and transferred and thus the ground cools down quickly. If it is humid, though, water vapor in the air absorbs outgoing radiation from the ground and re-emits it back towards the ground, which makes humid nights warmer than dry nights. So, make sure to bring a cardigan with you on dry summer nights!” 3) Structure your essay as suggested below • State your question in the title. • Begin your letter by addressing your recipient: Dear _________, • 1st section: Give an overview of the answer to your question. • 2nd section: Provide the scientific details of the answer to your question. Be sure to select the relevant information from class notes and the textbook. • 3rd section: Make it personal. Explain why this information is relevant to this person’s life or useful for them and give examples. This assignment requires that you formulate your own question and approach, so do not use the sample questions or specific examples provided above for your paper. Great ways to start questions that will help you think deeply in this class include: How do/does ______? Why is/are ______? What is the difference between ______? For this assignment work independently and do the best you can; you’ll receive feedback on your work after it’s turned in. Formatting Your paper should be 500-600 words. Save your paper in a Word document and then copy and paste your paper into the text box below. Name To allow for anonymous grading, please do not put your name in the paper itself. The submission system will link your name and ID to your assignment. Deadline and Grading Submit your paper by the deadline: 11:59 PM, Thursday, April 30. This assignment counts towards your course grade and will be graded on the following: the quality of the question related to class content covered in the first midterm, the quality of the scientific reasoning used to answer the question, and organization of the paper.
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