Planet Earth

Earth & Environmental Science V1053y

About the Proposal:

• You should identify an unanswered question in earth sciences, and propose a strategy to help solve it.
• Your strategy could involve making measurements, collecting samples, building a model, or any other approach that might constrain or answer the question you have posed.
• IMPORTANT: You do not have to answer the question: you only have to pose the question clearly, and outline a viable course of action, which, if followed, has a decent chance of helping to answer the question.
• Maximum length: four pages.

Proposal Format:

Beginning in the spring of 2001, the proposals for Planet Earth MUST conform to the following format:

• Section 1: The question (one sentence)
  • this must be an unanswered question about the earth

  • it must be stated in the form of a question, i.e. one sentence, ending in a question mark

• Section 2: Background (less than one page)
  • What other people have already done to try to answer the question

  • Why the question is interesting or important

• Section 3: Working Hypotheses (bullet list)

  • one or more possible answers to the question

• Section 4: Plan of work (1 to 2 pages)
  • exactly what work you plan to do
  • plan could involve making measurements, collecting samples, building a model, or any other approach that might constrain or answer the question you have posed.
  • be as specific as possible

  • anticipate problems that might arise, and suggest potential solutions

• Section 5: How the plan of work will constrain the question (1 to 2 pages).
  • if the plan of work were to be carried out, how would the results help to constrain the question?
  • what evidence would you look for in the data or samples or observations?
  • if we saw               , then it would mean               , but if we saw               , then it would mean               .

Time table:

• two weeks before last class session: Section 1 (The Question) must be submitted by email to the TA.
• one week before last class session: Section 3 (Working Hypotheses) must be submitted by email to the TA.
• last day of class: complete papers are due, in class.

Examples of Bad Proposals:

• What is the effect of soda can littering on animals and plants? (grade ?).

Examples of Bad Proposals:

Important Note: 2001 was the first yeat that we required the prescribed format. These example proposals were written in the student's choice of format.

• What happened to the Dinosaurs? (grade C--).
• The Mystery of the Dinosaurs (grade D).
• Earthquake Prediction (grade C).

Return to Planet Earth home page.

Check out the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Web Site.

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Updated: April 20, 2004

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