Category: Natural science

Molecule/substance Introduction
The common and IUPAC name of your molecule/substance. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: IUPAC Nomenclature Of Organic Chemistry: https://www.acdlabs.com/iupac/nomenclature/
Where you can observe your molecule/substance in society and/or in nature.
A brief discussion on why you chose your molecule/substance.
If possible, a picture and/or video of you safely observing your molecule/substance in the field. If you cannot safely observe it, please include a couple of images from the internet.
Body

Description
You must include a physical description. You can use your personal observations from photographs. If you cannot safely observe your molecule/substance, you must research.
Physical Characteristics (appearance, texture, color, odor, melting point, boiling point, density, solubility, polarity, etc.)
Chemical description: You will need to research the chemical properties of your compound/molecule)
Chemical Characteristics (stability in air or other environment, flammability, volatility, etc)
Discovery
a. Describe the initial discovery of your molecule. Who discovered the molecule, when, how, etc? Some compounds are part of a larger substance/plant. If this is the case, describe the isolation of your specific compound. The isolation refers to the initial time your molecule/substance was discovered from its raw materials, or isolated from its natural resources. Please see here for some hints on chemical isolation.
Usage and Benefit or Harm to Society
Where has your molecule/substance been used. Is it used regularly or is has it only been used on occasion? If your compound is one we ingest when eating, include information on foods it’s commonly found in.
Write about the Benefit or Harm to Society Caused by your molecule/substance. Many compounds can be used as bioweapons or have both positive and negative impacts. Other compounds have had benefits as medicines or have caused harm as illicit narcotics. All of these are good ideas to start out thinking about, so I’d like you to discuss these impacts on society, the future, and in any way you can think they may be beneficial or harmful.
Conclusion

This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.
Start your conclusive section with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen molecule/substance (common and IUPAC name and physical characteristics).
Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the isolation and synthesis of the molecule/substance.
Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the structure and function of your chosen molecule/substance.
Wrap up the conclusive section with a closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or behavior of your chosen.
The Reference Section

This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation. Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal citations throughout the outline where appropriate. Please be sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any additional questions.
Please make note of the following tips and tricks:

I understand that this is a rough draft and, as your research and writing continue over the next few weeks, details may be added or changed. Although you do not have to resubmit it to me, I recommend that you update this outline to help you best complete Assignments 3.
Write your outline so that it has detailed bullets that you can easily then flesh out into sentences for the narration of your presentation (Assignment 3).
After your outline is complete, I recommend that you next draft your introductory and conclusion sections for your outline. This will ensure that all the main points of the outline are incorporated in these two framing sections of your final presentation.
Please note that less than 10% of your outline or presentation (Assignment 3) should contain direct quotes.
All internal citation references should be listed on the reference page, and vice versa.

    Suggest a strategy for getting younger people to attend national parks on a regular basis.
    Do you think its important for younger people to visit our national parks and/or other park system(s) in order to make the connection between our actions and environmental consequences?

INSTRUCTIONS:

Reminder: Follow the correct formatting for all worksheets (12 pt font, double-spaced, do not include original questions BUT KEEP THE BULLET POINTS WITH THE QUESTION NUMBER). Incorrect formatting will result in a 5% penalty on this assignment.

Answer/address all of the following questions. You are creating an outline of your Introduction for your scientific paper. You are expected to paraphrase the literature that you read IN YOUR OWN WORDS, so no quotations try paraphrasing it! Include in-text citations after your bullet points. In all cases, we require that your work be typed. Finally, part of your grade for each question is based on how well you answered the question (e.g., 3 bullet points with vague information is not considered a good answer) and creativity. Plagiarism is unacceptable and will result in an automatic 0 on this assignment.

For each question, the required citations are the minimum and you can use more citations than listed (e.g., if the question is asking for 2 citations, you can cite more than 2 citations). HOWEVER, each question should have unique citations to meet the minimum reference requirement (i.e., find a new citation for Q#2 compared to Q#1); your “Literature Cited” section would thus have at least 8 unique references. However, you can still cite the same article multiple times across questions (e.g., after citing 2 unique articles for Q#3, you could also cite an article from Q#1 in the paragraph to strengthen your answer/content and thus have 3 citations total for Q#3). Peer-reviewed references can be from any year.

Over the next few weeks, your will be investigating this question: Does urbanization affect the life history of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)?

1. List a minimum of 3 bullet points explaining why the studys question is important. Cite at least TWO peer-reviewed scientific article (primary or secondary). Include in-text citations and add the full reference to the Literature Cited in Q#6. (14 pts)
    Why is it important to study urbanization in population ecology?
    You should also tie into why a reader should care about Eastern Mosquitofish in South Florida. Why is this fish species important?

2. List a minimum of 8 bullet points explaining what is already known about how urbanization affects the life history of animal and/or plant populations. Cite at least FOUR different examples from peer-reviewed scientific articles, of which AT LEAST TWO MUST BE A PRIMARY SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE. Include in-text citations and add the full references to the Literature Cited in Q#6. Hint: You do NOT have to find articles on mosquitofish populations! (40 pts)

3. List a minimum of 5 bullet points on our current knowledge about the normal life history of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Cite at least TWO peer-reviewed scientific articles, of which AT LEAST ONE MUST BE A PRIMARY SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE. Include in-text citations and add the full references to the Literature Cited in Q#6. (20 pts)
    Consider the following important life history traits: type of reproduction by mosquitofish, age of sexual maturity, number of offspring in a brood/clutch, number of times that females can reproduce in a lifetime, generation time, population size/growth rate

4. Based on the study question, write an ecological hypothesis. (3 pts)

5. Based on the readings that you completed to answer the above questions, write predictions for how urbanization will affect Eastern Mosquitofish: (i) number of offspring, (ii) generation time (average time until a female gives birth to one offspring), and (iii) population growth rate. (6 pts)

6. Write out your Literature Cited section here. Follow the formatting guidelines from the instructions section of this worksheet. (8 pts)

Your Current Event Essay must include:

Titles of Primary Source Articles
2 source articles are required (1 primary source article & 1 related source article); however, most students utilize more sources plus their textbook
Primary Source Article Author and Discussion of Author Qualifications
In other words, describe the author’s background in detail.
Note – if the chosen article is a summary of a scientific journal article, include qualifications of both the article author and the research scientist
Summary of Primary Source Articles and Related Source Article(s) – IN YOUR OWN WORDS [minimum length = 2 detailed paragraphs]
Critique of Primary Source Articles and Related Source Article(s) – IN YOUR OWN WORDS  [this section should be the bulk of your essay, minimum length = 4 detailed paragraphs]
Specifically, address the following questions:
How does the topic of the article affect the Earth as a whole?
How does this article relate to my life?
References (APA format preferred)
Please use the above 6 numbers/headings to organize your essay

Enter a library either a physical library or a digital one with no idea about what you are looking for beyond the general topic of Lithosphere. While it can be fairly easy to randomly peruse books on a topic in a physical library, this might not be as easy to envision in a digital setting. Here are some ideas to make this exploration more random. Search a key term on the topic and peruse titles until you find one that interests you then read the third one after that title instead. Or you could select the first resource with a last name that starts with a particular letter of the alphabet. Or look at the bibliography of a resource and find the first resource it lists. Ask a librarian to suggest a resource on your topic. Or you can look for an author on the topic that shares your first or last name.

This is the final Wander of this class. I hope that you have enjoyed these “observe and reflect” exercises and the opportunity for a low-stakes way of demonstrating your mastery of the course content. Much less stressful than a test, right?

In this final Wander, I want you to take the next step in your initiation as a Wanderer … a leave behind. While a leave behind can be many things – a stone, a flower, or a found object – I ask that you leave behind a quote about nature that resonates with you. If you’re interested in geocaching, that could be a fun way to leave your note at the end of your Wander.

Remember, your Wander does not have to be physical. It is perfectly fine to take a mental Wander. What to do about the leave behind? Be creative!

A video of a team removing a plastic straw lodged in a sea turtle’s nose (Links to an external site.) garnered a large audience and drew attention to the plastic pollution problem has resulted in an increasing number of plastic bans targetting single-use items like plastic grocery bags and straws. However, most attention is on plastic in our oceans (National Geographic). (Links to an external site.) (National Geographic). Plastic pollution is a terrestrial problem, too. The 2nd mini-lesson introduces a few problems associated with plastics in the soil.

Do plastic product bans (e.g. grocery bags, straws) work? Explain why or why not.