LAw and physical

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We are only half way through the course and you have been introduced to an array of topics with more to come! For your final paper, I would like you to select a topic that has caught your interest or maybe you have been interested in something for some time and would like to learn more about it.

If you know what you would like to write about or browse through the remainder of the book for a topic, please submit a short statement as to the topic and more specifically, what do you want to know about it.

Requirements:
At least 6 pages in length, no more than 10 pages
An Introduction and a Conclusion
At least 5 outside references (Wikipedia will not be considered as a reference). Use Grantham’s library resources, the resources suggested in your book at the end of the chapters where you topic is referenced, court cases that support your point or any of the websites given in the folder of Resources at the beginning of the course.
It is to be written in APA style
Organization, Clarity, Neatness, Spelling and Grammatical skills will be also be considered as part of the grade.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your instructor

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.Analyze the ways in which your life would change if you transistors and microchips were not a part of our everyday lives.
 

 


2.
Identify 10 objects in your home that use semiconductors. What other kinds of materials with special electrical properties are found in all of these 10 objects (list at least one per item)?
 

 


3.
Many question the ability of the Department of Energy to do the good science needed to ensure that Yucca Mountain is suitable and developed appropriately. Detail the “question” that many have.
 

 


4.
List three medical technologies that rely on the physics of elementary particles? What are the benefits of these noninvasive procedures?
 

 


5.
Describe the movement of the Earth based upon the perceived change in positions of the stars.
 

 


6.
How can we talk about the evolution of stars over billions of years when human beings have been observing stars for only a few thousand years?
 

 


7.
Some advances in our knowledge have been made possible through better equipment, such as Hubble’s discoveries using the 100-inch Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson. What other major discoveries in cosmology have relied on improvements in existing apparatus?
 

 


8.
Was the formation of Earth unique, or was it similar to the processes which created all the planets in the solar system?
 

 


9.
The temperature of Earth’s core is estimated to be > 5,000 degrees Celsius. Is the core temperature of a planet like Jupiter hotter or colder? Why? Does the distance from the Sun affect the core temperature?
 

 


10.
How does Clyde Tombaugh’s work fit into the scientific method?
 

 


11.
Describe the impact of adjustment to stress (strain) on the surface of the Earth.
 

 


12.
If there were a serious (8 on the Richter scale) earthquake in California, how might it effect Washington? How might that effect Idaho and Wyoming
 

 


13.
On what tectonic plate do you live? How many adjacent plates are there? What kinds of boundaries do you find to the north, south, east, and west? In which direction are these plates moving?
 

 


14.

Geology has been called an integrated science, because it calls on several scientific disciplines to help explain features and processes of Earth. Explain how geologists have used other sciences to answer the following questions:

a. How old is a piece of rock?

b. How is heat transferred from Earth’s deep interior to the surface?

c. How does Earth’s magnetic field change over time?

d. What is the structure of Earth’s interior?

e. What is the topography of the seafloor?

 

 


15.

Describe three places where you might find volcanic rocks forming today.

Describe three places where you could watch sedimentary rocks forming today.

Where would you have to go to watch metamorphic rocks form?

 

 


16.
How would our weather patterns be affected if Earth stopped rotating?
 

 


17.

One of the problems of understanding the workings of ecosystems is that it is not possible to hold everything constant and change only one variable.

Why is this true?

What effects might this have on the interpretation of observations or experiments?

 

 


18.

How might the law of unintended consequences play a role in the effects of legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions?

What industries will be affected?

How might this affect your daily life?

 

 


19.

What are the nonliving components of an ecosystem or environment?

How do the nonliving components limit the living components?

 

 


20.
How might changes in climate affect the relative distribution of organisms in an ecosystem? Provide an example.
 

 

Water Cycle

  1. Explain how the temperature difference between the poles and the equator drives the motion of the oceans and atmosphere.
  2. What are the differences between ice caps and glaciers?
  3. How do ocean currents affect local climate?
  4. Why do we call groundwater in most areas a “nonrenewable resource”?
  5. What is the Gulf Stream?
  6. What countries are directly affected by the path of the Gulf Stream?
  7. Find out what kind of rock is below the soil in your town. How did you find out this information?
  8. Give an example of an ecosystem near your home. Describe how energy flows through this ecosystem.
  9. How many different trophic levels were represented in your last meal?
  10. What is the ozone layer? Where is it located? Why is it important to life on Earth?
  11. What steps would have to be taken to reduce the severity of the greenhouse effect?
  12. Where do electric cars obtain their energy?
    Is it true they do not generate pollution because they have batteries?