NATS 101 Sect. 2
Writing Requirements
Clear and informative
writing is an important part of any discipline. Writing also helps
develop your
critical and analytical thinking skills and helps you to understand new
and
confusing concepts. The written work
required in this class falls into two categories:
1a. Experiment Report
Observation and
measurement are an essential part of scientific study and discovery.
Four
simple “take home” experiments have been developed for this NATS
course. An
additional experiment may be developed during the semester. At
some
point during the semester you should check out one of the sets of
materials,
perform the associated experiment, and write an experiment report.
Experiment
instructions and a more detailed description of the report format will
be
distributed with the experiment kits.
The four experiments and tentative
due dates are listed below:
Experiment Title
or Topic
Report
due date
#1
Measuring
the Percentage Oxygen Concentration in Air
Mon.,
Feb. 5
#2
Measuring
the Latent Heat of Fusion of Ice
Mon.,
Feb. 26
(the energy needed to melt ice)
#3
Measuring
the Solar Irradiance (the energy in sunlight)
Mon.,
Mar. 26
#4
Using
Archimedes Law to determine the number of
Mon., Apr. 2
ball bearings hidden inside an object
1b. Report on a Scientific Paper
At least
one scientific paper has been identified that relates to and expands on
material that will be covered in class. If you select this option you
will need
to read and then prepare a summary report on the paper.
Detailed instructions will be distributed
with copies of the report.
1c. Report on a Book
A very limited number
of books that touch on weather-related topics are available for
checkout. The
expectation here will be that you read an entire book or a significant
portion
of a book and report on what you have learned. A list of titles is
available on
the class website. More information on the report format will be
distributed as
books are checked out. A due date will
be assigned when you check out a book.
You will have approximately 3 weeks to read the book and
complete your
report.
NOTE
You will
need to select one of the three options above (just one, not all three). In each case you will be allowed to revise
and resubmit your original report. Most
students should plan on performing and reporting on one of the
experiments.
Because of limited amounts of experiment materials and in order to
avoid a
flood of reports at the end of the semester, students will be assigned
to a
particular experiment (or to one of the other options) during the first
week or
two of class.
2. One Side of One
Page Writing Assignments
The object of the one side of one page (1S1P) assignments is to have you read and learn more about material in the textbook or readily available source.
Periodically
during the semester a list of topics will be posted on the 1S1P Report
Assignments and Topics link on the class web page. After selecting
a
topic, but
before you actually begin reading, ask yourself what you already know
about the
subject and try to imagine what you will find in the textbook. As you read about the topic in the textbook
create a brief outline. What were the main points, the key concepts or
principles? This outline can serve as the foundation for your report.
Once you
have a relatively clear idea of what you want to say in your report,
you may
refer back to the textbook for help with filling in any missing details
and
clearing up any misunderstanding. Your report should be written in your
own
words; it should be your understanding and explanation of the material.
You
shouldn’t just “copy and paste” portions of the text into your report
or
paraphrase the text.
Reports
should be prepared on 8.5 x 11 inch paper. Typed reports must be double
spaced
and use 11 pt font or larger. A one side of one page limit will be
strictly
enforced. Reports may be handwritten, but your writing must be legible
and the
one page limit will still apply. The one page limit will require that
you
condense, abridge, and even leave out material covered in the textbook. Try to identify and explain the main points,
you don't need to include every detail. In many cases a drawing
or figure
might be appropriate and might save considerable written explanation
(you may
refer to figures in the textbook by number rather than trying to
reproduce them
in your report). Your report will be graded on quality and clarity of
writing,
organization, and information content. Sample
1S1P report.
You may earn up to 40 points on Part 1 (Experiment
or Book Report)
and up to a maximum of 45 points on Part 2 (1S1P reports). A writing
percentage
grade will be computed as follows:
%
grade = 100% x (report grade + 1S1P points)
80
The writing
percentage grade computed above will have the same weight as one quiz
grade
(the writing grade, however, will not be dropped even if it is
lower
than all your quiz grades). Note that it
is possible for the writing percentage grade to be over 100%.