ESSAY RUBRIC

Please include the information listed below in your essays –

What happened? -When did it happen? -Who or what caused it? -What did they do about it? -What did they do to repair it?

Scientific Inquiry using WildCam Photos

Overview

This assignment is based on developing scientific questions and hypotheses using wildcam photos from Gorongosa’s National Park in Mozambique. Africa. The key terms that you need to know are:

Phenomenon: an observation of a situation or fact that does not have a known cause, mechanism, or explanation.

Hypothesis: a tentative explanation for the observed phenomenon based on observations and/or prior scientific knowledge or data.

Complete the following steps below and answer each question below with a 1-4 sentence response, or by filling in the table. All of your responses should be in complete sentences.

Required Resources

The following multimedia on Gorgongosa National Park will help you answer the questions below

View the animation on Gorongosa’s Water Cycle and launch the Gorongosa Interactive Map to learn more about the natural features and vegetation types of Gorongosa National Park. In the menu on the left side of the interactive map, click on the links to launch pop-up features that have additional information and videos. Use your cursor to place a checkmark next to each link to add locations to the map, including trail cameras and river conservation areas.

Tracking Lion Recovery in Gorongosa National Park

Surveying Biodiversity in Gorongosa National Park

A science-based approach to restoring Gorongosa’s wildlife

Register and launch the Wildcam interactive database to explore and revise your research questions (see below). You can download data to answer most research questions based on animal sightings. It is highly recommended that you view the brief tutorial at the beginning of the Wildcam so that you will be able to select criteria in order to explore your research questions.

By typing my name here I acknowledge that I have viewed all of the above required materials

Name: Jonsel Jackson

1.) Developing Questions:

Develop at least three different questions about the observed phenomena related to vegetation type, and/or the kind of species in each vegetation type using the Wildcam interactive database.

a. The woodlands is a type of closed canopy forest, with little to no vegetation growing at the ground. Are elephants not able to go in there and help knock down some trees. With trees being knocked down, sunlight is able to come through and allow more vegetation to grow allowing more animals to eat the vegetation.

b. Why have leopards, hyenas and wild dogs not been seen in decades at the park?

c. Where do crocodile’s go once the lakes or rivers dry up during the hot months and how do they survive?

2.) Comparative Research Question:

Choose one of the scientific questions you listed in #1 and rewrite it as a comparative research question.

a.)

Examples: Comparative questions ask how some variable differs among a set of groups and are useful for designing experiments. For example, “Do male monarch butterflies have a larger wingspan than female monarch butterflies?” is a comparative research question. The variable measured is wingspan and the groups that are compared are males and females. Counting the number of gazelles that visit a field is a somewhat interesting observation, but comparing the number of gazelles in a field with a high number of shrubs to a field that has a low number of shrubs is more interesting and useful in understanding how gazelles use their habitat.

5.) Develop a hypothesis from your comparative research question.

Example Question: During which season is the abundance of animals in the limestone gorge vegetation type highest?

Example hypothesis: In the limestone gorge vegetation type, animals are most abundant in the dry season because they are attracted to the water and green vegetation that are scarce in other areas.

My Hypothesis:

6.) Collect Data

Use the Wildcam interactive database to answer your comparative research question. A legend in the lower left of the screen explains how the map is color-coded by vegetation type and natural features. The orange dots on the map show the location of cameras. When you click on any of the orange dots, a pop-up window with a random selection of six images is displayed from that camera. Along the top of the pop-up window, information is displayed about the camera location and vegetation type.

The data on this map can be filtered by preset parameters. Click the “View Filters” button in the upper right portion of the map for a drop-down menu of filters.

Choose two filters that represent the variables in your hypothesis, or research question, and then select two camera locations on the map.

Record your observations in the table below:

7.) Hypothesis Support

Explain whether the photo data supported or refuted your hypothesis. Use data from the table in your explanation. Describe at least two limitations in using trail camera data.

8.) Further Develop the Research

Explain how you might approach the study of this subject differently if were you to conduct similar research again. Discuss which new questions or ideas you have based on what you found.

1

Consider this scenario: Last night, a male in his early 20s was reported missing along a local body of water, a pond, river, lake, or ocean, in your jurisdiction after a night out with friends at a local bar. There is no eyewitness information about his disappearance, but a shoe resembling what he was wearing was spotted this morning on the shore of the waterway.

The city manager, police chief, local media, and the missing man’s family are putting more and more pressure on fire/rescue to call in divers to search for the missing man.

After reviewing this scenario, explain types of risk management and mitigation and how they might impact decisions made concerning major issues, potential solutions, and recommendations for the given situation. Your analysis must be a minimum of two pages in length. A minimum of one supporting source is required, which can include your textbook. Use APA Style when writing your responses.

Hazardous Waste Categories

This assignment is designed to familiarize you with the physical, chemical, and hazardous properties that are used to properly classify hazardous wastes. The management and disposal of hazardous wastes depends on which category the hazardous waste is assigned. Some wastes are neutralized; others are incinerated or solidified. Properly classifying a hazardous waste ensures that the waste is compatible with allowable treatment technologies available for each class of hazardous waste, and it helps to ensure that workers will not be harmed when treating a misclassified waste.

Your assignment is to answer the following questions on hazardous waste in two parts.

Part A

Describe the different categories of hazardous waste that can be found in homes and residential buildings. Explain this using a table listing the properties that make each category hazardous. Based on the hazardous properties, propose your idea on how these wastes should be stored while waiting for periodic collection by the local community.

Part B

For a comparison between residential and industrial generators, what are four examples of hazardous wastes that are generated in a vehicle maintenance facility? Explain using a table to list the properties that make each category hazardous. For each hazardous waste identified, in your opinion, what are the biggest concerns that need to be addressed when the wastes are in storage for collection by a waste hauler?

Your essay should be a minimum of two pages not counting your reference page. Ensure you include an introduction. Use at least two outside sources (e.g., EPA website) besides your textbook. Please ensure that all outside sources, including your textbook, are cited and referenced using correct APA-style formatting. You should combine Part A and Part B into one document for submission to the instructor.

Literature Review-Final Paper

According to Machi and McEnvoy (2016), “a literature review is a written argument that supports a thesis position by building a case from credible evidence obtained from previous research (p.5)”.

The Literature Review Model

You must present a logical argued case about your topic. To do that you must present your literature review in two ways. First you will need to do the argument of discovery in which you discuss and explain what is known about the subject (Machi & McEnvoy, 2016). Then, you will utilized the argument of advocacy in which you analyze and critique the knowledge gained to answer the argument, which is the thesis statement (Machi & McEnvoy, 2016).

An argument is the logical presentation of evidence that leads to and justifies a conclusion (Machi & McEnvoy, 2016).

For example: More students are reporting depression since the shutdowns started (), there have been a high number of suicide deaths in 2020 (), and depression can increase the risk for suicide (), therefore; shutdowns during the Coivd 19 pandemic were damaging to student’s mental health. “Student’s mental health has been damaged during the Covid 19 pandemic” is the thesis of our argument ().

Make sure in your final paper that you can address the following questions.

1. What is the stated conclusion?

2. What is the evidence that supports this conclusion?

3. Is that evidence supported/convincing enough?

4. Does the evidence logically explain the conclusion?

In your final paper outline you should have stated several points or claims about your topic. Claims are declarations of a proposed truth (Machi & McEnvoy, 2016). You will need to provide evidence to support that claim. Evidence is your actual data or the data/ results from other studies (your sources). Providing the claim and evidence is not enough. You will need to also provide the warrant. The warrant provides the logic connection, whether it is indirect or not.

For example:

· You should not cross the street. (Claim)

· The signal is red. (Evidence)

· The unstated rule is that your stop on red. (Warrant)

Requirements of Literature Review

1. Follows APA style

2. 6 pages long of CONTENT

3. APA Student Title page

4. Reference Page

5. 8 sources (with 6 being quantitative research articles)

a. These should be the same sources that you choose for your annotations unless they do not meet the quantitative research requirement.

PY 205 Final Paper Grading Rubric

Student:

In the mechanics section, you are allowed 2 mistakes before points are deducted for each error. This can also serve as a checklist for you before submitting your work. I will refer to the type of error in the comments in the paper.

1. APA Style: (34 points)

Title Page: (6 pts – 2 pt each)

__________ Separate Title page

__________Page number

__________ Proper student title page elements

Citation: (6 pts)

__________In-text

Reference Page (8 pts – 2 pt each)

__________ Page Title

__________Alphabetical Order

__________ Proper Formatting of References

__________Indentation of References

Body: (14 pts- 2 pt each)

__________ Free of Extra Spacing

__________Page numbers

__________Title

__________Margins

__________Font (Double-Spaced)

__________Page Length

__________ Proper use of headings

2. Grammar & Mechanics (28 pts – 4 pts each)

__________Paraphrasing

__________ Contractions/Personal Pronouns

__________ Slang/Empty Phrases/Wordiness

__________Spelling

__________Punctuation

__________Clarity of Prose (basic grammar)

__________ Run-on and fragments

__________Organization

__________Quoting (Proper format)

3. Summary (Content) (38 points)

__________Introduce the topic (4 pts)

__________ Provide background info. (6 pts)

__________Synthesis of Articles/Description of the studies (12 pts)

__________Identification of problem or gap in research (12 pts)

__________ Conclusion (4 pts)

Comments

Points Possible: 100

Final Grade:

Claim

Evidence

Warrant

Reserach Interest

Identifies

Literature Review

Discovers and Advocates

Reserach Thesiss

Reserach Topics

Specifies and Frames

Ansewers