Category: Natural science

APPROACH: You can use 4 of any of the questions that you answer during the quarter’s weekly HW assignments and expand on these question, e.g., 2 1/2 pages written per question; or you can take any topic you heard about during the quarter that you are particularly interested in and expand on one topic for 10 pages.

Here I ask you to choose the second way to complete the task: According to the course materialstake any topic you heard about during the quarter that you are particularly interested in and expand on one topic for 10 pages.

FORMAT: Double spaced, not smaller than 11 font and not larger than 12 font, and you need to include references for sources with proper in-text citations. APA style referencing is preferred but any style will be accepted if consistent within your paper.

Again: you must read all the course materials in detail, in order to let you have more inspiration when writing. In addition, you must know that the ten pages do not include references.

Imagine you have just been named Energy Czar for the U.S. with complete authority to design and implement a national energy management strategy for the next 50 years. Your goals are to satisfy the functions for which we use energy in the U.S. at a reasonable cost over the long-run, taking into consideration social and environmental consequences of energy production and use.  You might also consider the concepts in the proposed Green New Deal.  Your post must propose a clear energy strategy, however, not just say you want to follow or oppose energy components of the Green New Deal.

Based on your reading of Chapters 9 and 10, describe the key elements of your strategy and explain why you chose that approach. Your strategy must reflect that you read and understand the material in the book.

For maximum credit for this discussion, you must write your main strategy post no later than the end of the first week of the discussion period, then read the other posts, and post a comment on one saying whether you think that strategy would or would not work in the area you are from (or know best) and why.  Post your reply comment by the end of the discussion period.

In your main strategy post, first describe your strategy, then
explain why you chose that approach and finally
comment on what would have to happen to implement your strategy and how likely you think that would be.
Read other posts and give a thoughtful response to at least one other post.  Your response  comment should say whether you think that strategy would or would not work in the area you are from (or know best) and why. 

Chapter 9 covers nonrenewable energy, including fossil fuels and nuclear energy.  These types of energy come from resources that took millions of years to form.  They are considered nonrenewable because we are using them at a rate so much faster than they can be replenished.  Chapter 9 describes the science of how fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas are formed, how the energy is stored in chemical bonds, and how we transform the stored energy to the forms we use to power our vehicles and provide electricity.

Chapter 10 discusses renewable energy sources and technologies, including solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal energy. 

Both chapters present environmental and social issues related to energy production and use and discuss how individuals and groups can work toward sustainability in energy use.

Science in the Books: The Annotated Bibliography

Objective:  Identify peer-reviewed journal articles that support or refute the major themes in the book Silent Spring by Rachel Carson.  Assess sources to support the research for your final presentation (for credibility, reliability, and relevance) and list references in proper APA format.

Assignment Instructions:  An annotation is a summary and evaluation, and your annotated bibliography will include a summary and evaluation of some of the sources (or references) you will use for your presentation.

For this project, you will assess five sources to include:

1) a complete citation for each source,

2) a summary of each source, and

3) an evaluation of each source in the context of the book you selected for class.

Five sources are required for this assignment (i.e., you are to write an annotation for each source).   

Use this TEMPLATE to summarize and evaluate each of your five sources.

Citation:
          Written in APA reference list format.

Summary:
What is the purpose of the source, review article, original research? What topics are covered? This section is generally 4-6 sentences that summarize the authors main point. Be sure to paraphrase and summarize. Do *not* paste in direct quotes.

Evaluation:
After summarizing the article, it is necessary to evaluate it and specifically relate it to the themes covered in the book you selected for the class. Briefly evaluate how/of the science in this article relates to/supports/contradicts the science in the book. In other words, reflect on the sources potential utility/importance related to the selected book. Do this in no less than 4-6 sentences.

Evaluation:  Please review the grading criteria below. Five sources must be evaluated, each based on the following criteria:

Source selection and credibility (12 points)

Sources are from peer-reviewed journals and based on current (last five years maximum range) and credible scientific work either directly or indirectly
Sources such as wikis or blogs are not utilized
APA formatting of the source (12 points)

Source citations are written in APA reference list format
Summary of the source (32 points) approximately 4-6 sentences

The topic sentence included stating the main topic of the source
Explains whether the source is original research or a review of the topic
States main conclusions or findings
Evaluation of source (32 points) approximately 4-6 sentences

A topic sentence stating if source supports or refutes book theme(s)
Provides evidence of the authors authority
States main points that offer evidence of your evaluation
Writing expectations and scientific terminology (12 points)

Summaries and evaluations accurately apply scientific concepts and use scientific terminology correctly
Proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation are used throughout

10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 1/6
Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
Due Nov 1 by 11:59pm Points 28 Submitting a text entry box or a file upload
Available Aug 24 at 12:01am Nov 1 at 11:59pm 2 months
Submit Assignment
Background
Shorelines at the intersections of land masses and oceans are dynamic regions shaped by wave energy.
Longshore drift refers to a net movement of sand parallel to a shoreline. Waves tend to approach
shorelines diagonally rather than precisely head on (see image below). This oblique approach results in
a longshore current, or movement of water in the surf zone (region of crashing waves). In addition to
moving water, the longshore current moves many tons of sand each year. Further landward, waves
swash up the beach face (swash zone) at an angle, but drain straight back down the beach. This action
entrains particles of sand in a zig-zag pattern, and over time they move along the swash zone in the
same direction as the longshore current in the surf zone.
The sand found on beaches and transported as longshore drift comes mainly from rivers, but may also
derive locally from rock cliffs, volcanoes, corals, or shells. When rivers are dammed for hydropower,
water supply, recreation, or flood control, beaches are deprived of an important source of sand.
Engineers attempt to stabilize shorelines with various structures, including groins, jetties, breakwaters,
and seawalls. Typically, groins, jetties, and breakwaters consist of large boulders accumulated into linear
ridges that rise above sea level; respectively, they maintain or widen beaches, keep the mouths of rivers
open, and protect ships or property from crashing waves. Seawalls are generally made of concrete or
large boulders and constructed on land rather than offshore. Their purpose is to protect the land behind
them from hurricanes and storm surges.
The map below shows a groin, jetty, and breakwater (shaded rectangles) in the sea near the shoreline.
10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 2/6
These structures can have both positive and adverse outcomes. By design, groins trap sand up current of
the structure; however, they often increase beach erosion down current of the structure. The longshore
current deflects around the groin, thus diminishing sand supply to the immediate down current area.
Jetties may induce similar patterns of deposition and erosion. Calm water behind breakwaters tends to fill
in with sand (the beach grows outward). Seawalls require heavy maintenance and, by protecting rock
exposures behind them, reduce the amount of sand supplied to beaches.
Rising sea level compounds coastal erosion problems. Sea levels fluctuate naturally over time, but can
also be influenced by human actions. Currently, we are in a warming period, and globally sea level is
rising.
Shorelines mark the beginnings of vast oceans, which cover about three-fourths of the earths surface.
We knew little about the topography of ocean floors until the 1940s and following decades, when echo
sounders (devices transmitting sound waves) were developed and deployed for military (detecting
submarines) and mapping applications.
Echo sounders transmit sound waves from a ship, measuring how long it takes for them to reach the
ocean floor and travel back. The travel time depends on the distance from sea level to the ocean floor. Let
D denote the distance from sea level to the ocean floor, t denote the two-way travel time of a sound wave,
and v denote the velocity of sound in water. It follows that 2D=vt, or D=vt/2.
By measuring the distance from sea level to the ocean floor at thousands of points, scientists were able
to construct topographic maps of the ocean floors (maps depicting the shape of the ocean floor). These
maps revealed complex forms rather than flat, featureless plains as previously thought. Oceans include
three major topographic units: continental margins, ocean basin floors, and mid-ocean ridges.
10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 3/6
Continental margins occupy the perimeters of ocean basins where they meet the continents. Many
continental margins exhibit three distinct segments: a shelf, slope, and rise. Shelves (most landward
segments) are flooded extensions of the continents. Slopes (middle segment) are steep as the name
implies, and represent the approximate boundary between oceanic and continental crust. The rise (most
seaward segment) is a gradual descent to the deep basin.
Ocean basin floors consist of flat plains (called abyssal plains) dotted with seamounts and also include
deep trenches. Seamounts are underwater volcanoes. Most seamounts are extinct. Often they form at
mid-ocean ridges (discussed below). Embedded in moving plates of lithosphere, seamounts migrate
away from mid-ocean ridges and gradually subside. Guyots are seamounts with flat tops, formed by
waves eroding a volcano that once rose above sea level.
Ocean trenches are long narrow features of the ocean floor, which form where moving plates plunge into
the mantle below. This setting is called a subduction zone. Trenches are the deepest parts of oceans; the
deepest trenches are approximately 11 km beneath sea level.
Extensive faulting and volcanic structures characterize mid-ocean ridges (sometimes called spreading
centers). Plates on either side of a mid-ocean ridge spread apart from one another. Mid-ocean ridges
average about 1,300 km wide, with a 20-80 km wide central depression called the rift valley, a site of
active volcanism. In some places, the volcanoes extend above sea level to form islands such as Iceland.
Assignment
1. Sketch and label areas of erosion and deposition resulting from the groin (top), jetty (middle), and
breakwater (bottom) in these three maps:
10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 4/6
2. Rising seas inundate land, compounding coastal erosion problems outlined above. Calculate how
much land would be inundated by water if sea level rose 1 foot over the next 30 years. Use three
scenarios for land surface slope: 1%, 50%, and 100%. For example, a 50% slope (0.5 in decimal form)
means that as you move inland, the land elevation increases 0.5 feet for every 1 foot of horizontal
distance. To solve this problem, express each slope in decimal form, set it equal to (change in
elevation)/(change in horizontal distance), and solve for change in horizontal distance.
1%:
50%:
100%:
3. The velocity of sound in water is approximately 1,500 m/s. Calculate the depth from sea level to the
ocean floor given the following two-way travel time measurements taken by an echo sounder (see
equation above, D=vt/2).
0.17 seconds:
3.60 seconds:
11.23 seconds:
4. (This exercise is from Physical Geology by Steven Earle and is used under a CC BY 4.0 license.) The
following map shows part of the sea floor near the southern tip of South America. North is toward the top
10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 5/6
Assignment 5 Rubric
of the map. Cooler colors (purples and blues) represent lower elevations, and warmer colors represent
higher elevations.
Identify the locations of the following features on the map:
continental shelf
continental slope
spreading ridge
subduction zone with a deep trench
an abyssal plain
some isolated seamounts
5. Worldwide, the oldest rocks at the ocean floor are about 180 million years old. In contrast, the oldest
continental rocks are approximately 4 billion years old.
Is this observation consistent with the observed tendency for oceanic rather than continental
lithosphere to descend into the mantle beneath ocean trenches?
Is it consistent with the observed density of oceanic (3.0 g/cm3) versus continental (2.8 g/cm3) crust?
10/19/2020 Assignment 5 Shorelines and Ocean Floor
https://unt.instructure.com/courses/34766/assignments/721720 6/6

Total Points: 28.0
Criteria    Ratings    Pts
6.0 pts    Question 1
2 points for each sketch   
6.0 to >0.0 pts
Full Marks    0.0 pts
No Marks
6.0 pts    Question 2
2 points for each calculation   
6.0 to >0.0 pts
Full Marks    0.0 pts
No Marks
6.0 pts    Question 3
2 points for each calculation   
6.0 to >0.0 pts
Full Marks    0.0 pts
No Marks
6.0 pts    Question 4
1 point for each location   
6.0 to >0.0 pts
Full Marks    0.0 pts
No Marks
4.0 pts    Question 5
2 points for each interpretation   
4.0 to >0.0 pts
Full Marks    0.0 pts
No Marks

PLATE  TECTONICS (Any topic related to plate tectonics)
APA Style
Include Citations
1000 1200 words
Double Space Times New Roman
References 5 minimum – from true scientific journal, websites, newspaper (New Time for example), Books, NO WIKIPIDIA, Universities Science dept., etc. )
As you research your topic, I would like you to consider the following questions:
1)    What is the history that has led to our current understanding of the topic you are researching?
2)    Who are the main players involved in this research?
    -In other words, who were the scientists involved in the discovery / major advancements in the history and evolution of the subject (if your topic has any)?
3)    What are the major processes (physical and / or chemical) involved in your topic?
4)    How does your topic affect our world, today? 
    -If you are researching a subject involved with deep time, how does it influence our thinking and understanding of our place on this planet, today?
    -If you choose energy and mineral resources, what are their environmental and economic impacts?

You do not necessarily have to incorporate all of these questions into your writing, but I want them to be a guide for you to use as you research your topic. 

When I grade these papers I will be looking for the following:
1)    OrganizationI want to see that you can present your ideas in a clear and organized way.
2)    Introduction: I want to see purpose like for example (In this paper I will discuss )
3)    Detailresearch (and really any) papers require a close eye to detail.  I understand that we are not all wordsmiths, but that doesnt mean that we dont have to properly take the time to read and check our work. 
4)    Consistencyyou must use citations to correctly reference your work. 
5)    Timealthough these papers are not long, I want to see that you took this project seriously and spent the time to adequately research your writing.  This goes beyond organization, detail, and consistency.  I want to see that time was taken to thoroughly and properly execute the research of your particular topic.

PLATE  TECTONICS (Any topic related to plate tectonics)
APA Style
Include Citations
1000 1200 words
Double Space Times New Roman
References 5 minimum – from true scientific journal, websites, newspaper (New Time for example), Books, NO WIKIPIDIA, Universities Science dept., etc. )
As you research your topic, I would like you to consider the following questions:
1)    What is the history that has led to our current understanding of the topic you are researching?
2)    Who are the main players involved in this research?
    -In other words, who were the scientists involved in the discovery / major advancements in the history and evolution of the subject (if your topic has any)?
3)    What are the major processes (physical and / or chemical) involved in your topic?
4)    How does your topic affect our world, today? 
    -If you are researching a subject involved with deep time, how does it influence our thinking and understanding of our place on this planet, today?
    -If you choose energy and mineral resources, what are their environmental and economic impacts?

You do not necessarily have to incorporate all of these questions into your writing, but I want them to be a guide for you to use as you research your topic. 

When I grade these papers I will be looking for the following:
1)    OrganizationI want to see that you can present your ideas in a clear and organized way.
2)    Introduction: I want to see purpose like for example (In this paper I will discuss )
3)    Detailresearch (and really any) papers require a close eye to detail.  I understand that we are not all wordsmiths, but that doesnt mean that we dont have to properly take the time to read and check our work. 
4)    Consistencyyou must use citations to correctly reference your work. 
5)    Timealthough these papers are not long, I want to see that you took this project seriously and spent the time to adequately research your writing.  This goes beyond organization, detail, and consistency.  I want to see that time was taken to thoroughly and properly execute the research of your particular topic.

The topic has already been chosen. It is to be on Blue Fin Tuna, Atlantic and Pacific population. Primary focus of the paper is going to be the ecological cascades of what would happen if the Blue Fin Tuna went extinct and what is being done to protect them. Also hard data needs to be included on what the projections are for them being extinct if we keep fishing for them at the rate we are. Has to include 15 scholar references and can include graphics throughout the paper. I already have 15 sources with an annotated bibliography and will provide the instructions on how the paper will be broken down.