WebQuest 1: Mass Extinction

Introduction
At several times in Earth’s history, the diversity of life forms suddenly (geologically speaking) decreased. The most famous (but not the most severe) of these mass extinctions happened about 65 million years ago (abbreviated Ma) at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods (known as the K-T boundary). More than half of all life on Earth died out, and the dinosaurs completely disappeared. What caused this catastrophe?

The Task
Research possible causes of the K-T extinction, and write a short paper explaining evaluating these hypotheses.

Process & Product
First, use the Web sites below to gather evidence about what happened at the K-T boundary. Take notes. Next, evaluate hypotheses (“theories”) of proposed causes of the K-T extinction. Take more notes. Finally, in your own words, paraphrasing sufficiently at all times, explain (1) which hypothesis or combination of hypotheses you favor, (2) which hypotheses you do not favor, and (3) your reasons.
Audience: A member of the SJSU community who has little background in Earth Science.
Length of paper: 1.5 pages maximum (12 pt. Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, etc.)


Resources
BBC 1 — Clear language, but content coverage isn’t thorough. Some pages have incorrect titles, but the links all seem to be OK.

Enchanted Learning — Fairly straightforward language, moderately thorough content. Also examine the other three main links at this page (short titles: K-T, Other, and Studying).

BBC 2 — Summary of evidence, with many different pages (use the tabs). Pages on this site load quite slowly, so be patient and perhaps work in another page while you're waiting.

BBC 3 — Summary of theories; also loads slowly.

UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology — Filled with paleontological details that probably won’t be in your paper but are useful for evaluating extinction hypotheses.

Prof. McLean's site— A remarkable site. Much (but not all) of the science is fairly technical, and I don’t expect you to master it, but do read about the dark underside of science where personality, power, influence, and fame obstruct the idealized nature of scientific progress.



Webquest 2: Drilling for Oil in Alaska's ANWR
Inspired by Bill Prothero, UCSB

Introduction
In this WebQuest, you’ll examine the question of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR) – a timely example of the interplay between science and politics.

Pro and Con
The current federal administration says that developing ANWR oil fields will reduce our dependence on foreign oil because ANWR resources would equal 48 years of imports from Iraq or 19 years of imports from Saudi Arabia. Opponents of drilling claim that drilling will cause irreparable environmental harm, and that a better course of action is to increase fuel efficiency in automobiles, develop alternative energy sources, or both.

The Task
Evaluate the Pro and Con positions outline above. You may run across some technical jargon or statistical terms in your research, but you should be able to grasp the major aspects of the issue.

Process & Product
First, research the Web sites below to clarify your own understanding of the issue. Take notes. Then write your article in your own words, paraphrasing sufficiently at all times, that explains the position of both the Pro and Con sides, include their rebuttals of each other’s arguments.

Audience: A member of the SJSU community who has little background in Earth Science.
Length of paper: 1.5 pages maximum (12 pt. Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, etc.)

DUE October 26


Resources
START WITH THIS LINK: http://www.sibelle.info/oped15.htm

Read over it, then VISIT THE PRO?CON LINKS on this site (scroll down 1 screen to find them).

For MORE INFORMATION (including Kerry and Bush viewpoints), see:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-0028-01.htm

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/19463/story.htm

www.anwr.org (click on various short articles to get their opinion about the issue)

http://environment.about.com/od/election2004/i/ANWR_Oil.htm




WebQuest #3 Global Warming
Due: Thursday May 12, 2005

Earth’s surface temperature has risen about 1.1°F in the last century. Not much -- but scientific consensus is that this global warming has been sufficient to trigger many side effects, and computer models predict continued warming will produce a variety of greater environmental impacts throughout the 21st century.

ASSIGNMENT: A 2-page (500-word) double-spaced paper that consists of two parts, each about a full page long and using the bold-faced titles listed below.

Part 1: The Evidence Clearly and concisely describe the effects of global warming on the Earth and its inhabitants since about 1900. Do NOT describe projected effects of future warming in this part of the paper. Focus on effects that have the strongest evidence and that pose the gravest risk to humans, plants and animals, and the natural environment.

Part 2: The Prognosis Clearly and concisely describe possible impacts of global warming on California and Californians. Do NOT describe effects of warming prior to the present. Focus on impacts that pose the gravest risk, and that seem to backed up by the strongest arguments.

Use ONLY the following sources:
ACIA Executive Summary -- PDF download from Geology 10 home page
California Climate Summary -- PDF download from Geology 10 home page
Union of Concerned Scientists -- Global Environment page
Woods Hole Research Center -- Scintific Evidence for Global Warming


Your intended audience: Educated members of the SJSU community who have not necessarily familiarized themselves with this topic.

Your introduction to each Part should be NO MORE THAN 1 SENTENCE! Make a useful introductory statement, and then get to the meat of the paper.

My recommended strategy (though not required) is as follows:
For Part 1:
(1) Skim each of your four sources for proposed effects, and list them.
(2) Compare the four lists; the effects with the best evidence and/or most severe risk are likely to be identified on most or all of the lists.
(3) Carefully compare the descriptions of the effects from the different sources, and (of course) develop a concise explanation of the effect in your own words. Be concise; you only have about 250 words to work with, so make them count.
(4) Group related effects into paragraphs.
For Part 2:
My recommended strategy (though not required) is as follows:
(1) Skim each source for projected impacts, and list them.
(2) Compare the lists; the impacts with the most severe risk and/or strongest arguments are likely to be identified in two or more sources.
(3) Select the impacts about which you will write, and develop a concise explanation of each impact in your own words. Be concise; you only have about 250 words to work with, so make them count.
(4) Group related impacts into paragraphs.

Other guidelines
* I will evaluate your paper for both content and writing quality.
* Include no direct quotes.
* Include no citations or references (applies to papers in this course only!).
* Be SURE to thoroughly paraphrase your sources. Changing a few words in text that you have cut and pasted will earn you a zero on the writing component of your grade.
* You can earn a “bonus point” on the content component of this assignment (i.e., content scores of 6 are possible). To do so, you’ll need to put in more work -- the amount of source material is significantly greater than in the other WebQuests, yet you only have an additional half-page to explain it. Only concise, well-organized and well-written papers are likely to earn this point.
___________________

Optional WebQuest: El Niño and La Niña
Due May 12, 2005

Introduction
It’s popular to blame bad weather on El Niño or La Niña. But what are these phenomena, and how do they affect our weather? In this WebQuest, you’ll investigate how El Niño and La Niña events are generated by Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, learn how scientists study these events, evaluate the likelihood of an El Niño or La Niño event this year, and explore the regional and global consequences of such events.

The Task
You’ve been hired by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, pronounced Noah) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), each of which worries that it will be the next target of budget cuts, to help convince the public that it is important to support scientific studies of El Niño and La Niña events. NOAA and NASA want you to write a short article for your campus newspaper that will address the following:

What is an El Niño event, and how and why does it happen?
What is a La Niña event, and how and why does it happen?
How do scientists study and predict these events?
Are these events predictable?
What is the likelihood of an El Niño or La Niña event in the next year?
What are the social and economic impacts of these events?

Process & Product
First, research the Web sites below to clarify your own understanding of the topics you are to address in your article. Take notes. Then write your article in your own words, paraphrasing sufficiently at all times, that explains the points NOAA and NASA asked you to address.

Audience: A member of the SJSU community who has little background in Earth Science.
Length of paper: 1.5 pages maximum (12 pt. Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, etc.)
Due May 12, 2005

Resources
All About El Niño — This site could serve as your main "on-line text," because your textbook inexplicably ignores El Niño completely. All sections of this site are useful, simply written, and well-illustrated.

NOAA's El Niño Theme Page — Lots of background information with good graphics, as well as links to prediction pages.

NOVA's El Niño site — More good background information. Some of the articles are a few years old (referring to the late 1990s El Niño event), but this site is full of readable article on all aspects of El Niño and La Niña.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center — Scientists use measurements of wind directions, SST, ocean currents, etc. to predict the SST throughout the Pacific Ocean in the months ahead. Examine "3-Month SST Outlook" and "Monthly SST outlook" and compare the temperature anomalies (use colors and scale bar) to determine the basis for predictions regarding El Niño in 2002-2003.