Sunday, September 24, 2006

An Exemplary 5-4-3-2-1

As a change of pace (and no, it's not because I am lazy this week), I wanted to post what I thought was an exemplary 5-4-3-2-1. The only thing that I altered was that I removed the answer to the question "What are two really great things that happened this week?" to protect this student's privacy.

Below the student's responses is my explanation for why I thought this 5-4-3-2-1 was particularly well done.

21 September 2006
5-4-3-2-1
A.
a. A gram is much lighter than I thought it was, making some of my predictions during the mix and match exercise seem a bit absurd. A gram is not even close to a pound in mass which I first thought were comparable to each other however, a gram is really only about .0022 pounds.


b. An abstract is more than a summery of an experiment. It explains the experiment in detail without stating every detail of the experiment. It gives the reader a total picture of why the experiment was performed, what it accomplished, mentions certain materials that were used, and either states the results or predicts them.

c. When a certain animal that is indigenous to a certain area is moved from its home to another, much different environment, the animal is susceptible to many different viruses as well as other factors like other animals which may eat them. The fact is that the animals that are in a certain area are genetically predisposed to what ever land they have known whether it be as a result of evolution or not.

d. I never knew Mentos had such an explosive reaction when mixed with Coca Cola. The coke experiment I witnessed showed how volatile the two can be when mixed with each other.

e. Coming up with an experiment that is realistic as well as accurate is not easy. So many variables must be taken into account for even the most financially blessed of scientists. The experiment I came up originally with was a good idea that may have shown me as well as others an answer or solution to the problem of rust on hockey skates. I did not have the resources nor the time to do the experiment properly and therefore had to switch my project to a more reasonable one that did not really solve an important problem.

B.
a. How exactly does the genetic predisposition of an animal factor into its survival? The fox squirrel project seemed like a very interesting topic for this concept.


b. Why is this predisposition mentioned in the previous question existent in some cases but not in others, is it the result of evolution or something else?

c. What is the chemical in the Mentos that causes the explosive reaction as witnessed in the experiment performed outside?

d. Why is an abstract important in the process of the experiment? Why can’t the facts in the experiment be simply stated and left to the interpretation of the reader?

C.
a. Genetics seem like a very interesting thing to learn about. I think that it is important to understand the genetic make up of an organism to better understand why and how it functions.


b. I would like to learn more about the delmarva fox squirrel experiment and how it can be used in the future to help recover other endangered species.

d. I would like to do more work designing an experiment, only in a hypothetical situation since I do not have the materials that can be used to make an experiment that could benefit mankind right now but maybe someday.

E.
a. Hopefully I’ve improved my 5-4-3-2-1 for this week since last weeks was mediocre at best.
I would also like to improve my in-class work since my original experiment in the design your own experiment exercise was not very inspired; I think I can do more in terms of innovation compared to some of the work I did this week.


This student was particularly thoughtful and reflective in his/her responses and made reference to specific topics that were discussed in class. The student was honest in acknowledging that previous work was subpar. When the student stated what was learned in class he/she included how that information personally impacted him/her.