Science Meets Real Life

Each and every day, you are faced with having to make split-second decisions, and the need to solve random problems that you encounter. As you have learned in Units 1 and 2 to reach those decisions and work those problems out, you are subconsciously using the scientific method. In this Assignment, you will create a PowerPoint presentation to explain how you would use the scientific method to solve the following scenario.

You have agreed to take care of your friend’s dog Buddy while they go on a trip to Antarctica. On your two-hour trip to take your friend to the airport you get so caught up talking about their upcoming adventure that you do not have any time to ask questions about Buddy who is riding in the backseat. After you drop your friend off, just in time to catch their flight, you drive the two hours back home and realize that your friend accidently took the dog’s bag with them when they ran into the airport. You quickly go out to the local pet store and ask the salesperson to help you pick out food and supplies to take care of Buddy for the next few weeks. When you get home you feed Buddy but he refuses to eat his dinner. This puts you in a little bit of a panic since your friend is on a long flight and will then be on a ship to Antarctica so contacting them will be difficult. You take a deep breath and decide that you can try to solve this problem on your own. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation to show how you would apply each step of the scientific method to try to solve this problem using the proper terminology (hypothesis, experiment, etc.). Use a minimum of three references to provide factual support.

Make sure your PowerPoint ® presentation addresses the following questions. A template is provided in Course Documents to get you started. Additional slides should be added to address all the questions in this assignment and cite your sources. You are welcome to modify this template to suit your needs, being sure to meet the assignment requirements.

1. Apply the steps of the Scientific Method to this situation outlining how you would try to figure out what is going on with Buddy. It should be clear what each step of the scientific method is and what you would be doing for each step. Make sure you include a hypothesis that is consistent with the provided scenario in the appropriate step. Indicate which source you are using for the scientific method itself.
2. For your step that involves testing your hypothesis (experimentation) explain what would happen if the results supported your hypothesis and what would happen if the results did not support your hypothesis.
3. You know you can contact your friend at some point soon but only for a short time. What three testable questions would you want to ask them to help support or disprove your hypothesis?
4. Your neighbor comes over to help out with Buddy and poses the following hypothesis: Buddy won’t eat because he feels his owner is in danger. Is this a testable hypothesis? If so, please explain how you would test it. If not please explain why it is not testable in the context of the scientific method.

Basic Writing Expectations:

• At least 1000 words not counting the title or reference pages
• Include a title page, double space, font size 10 or 12
• Use a minimum of three sources
• Include a highly developed viewpoint/thesis, purpose, and exceptional content
• Demonstrate superior organization: use logic
• Free of grammar and spelling errors
• No evidence of plagiarism
• Use the APA style for all citations
• No more than 10% of your assignment should be taken verbatim from any outside sources.

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ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.