Introduction
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. One key to effective science writing is explaining how science can be used in everyday life. 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 these two options and follow instructions below.
Option 1: An essay
You should:
1) Formulate and answer a question
Select a concept from lecture content covered in the second midterm and formulate a question. Use this question as the title of your essay.
Sample questions:
How do electric field lines compare to magnetic field lines?
How does a capacitor store 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.
Examples of applications:
Magnetic fields are not visible to the naked eye, but can be applied to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. MRIs use powerful magnetic fields to generate signals from inside the body to create clear images of bones, organs, and tissues. This is how the doctor was able to diagnose my injury when I tore my ligament in a game.
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.).
Option 2: A letter
You should:
1) Formulate and answer a question
Select a concept from lecture content covered in the second midterm and formulate a question. Use this question as the title of your essay.
Sample questions:
How do electric field lines compare to magnetic field lines?
How does a capacitor store 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 persons life and useful for this person. Be sure to explain how the information applies to this person and give examples.
Examples of applications:
Brother, magnetic fields are not visible to the naked eye, but can be applied to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans. MRIs use powerful magnetic fields to generate signals from inside the body to create clear images of bones, organs, and tissues. This is how the doctor was able to diagnose your injury when you tore your ligament in last years game.
3) Structure your letter 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 persons life or useful for them and give examples.
Since you will be writing about science from a personal perspective, you can use personal pronouns (I, we, you, etc.).
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; youll receive feedback on your work after its 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. EEE will link your name and ID to your assignment.
Deadline and Grading
Submit your paper by the deadline: 11:00 PM, Wednesday, March 6.
This assignment is worth 2 percent of your course grade and be graded on the following: the quality of the question related to class content covered in the second midterm, the quality of the scientific reasoning used to answer the question, and organization of the paper.
If you have any questions about this assignment, please email physics7readers@uci.edu.
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: Required question
1.*
Which option did you choose?
Option 1: An essay
Option 2: A letter
2.*
Please paste your paper here (maximum 500-600 words):