Why are you writing essays in a science course? In the real world, we rarely communicate in the form of multiple choice questions. Writing essays after you learn a topic will enable you to 1) think and write clearly immediately after you learn a new concept 2) identify misconceptions to your instructor and 3) review for the final exam. Hopefully, your essay writing skills will improve after writing approximately 50 essays during this 12 week course.

You will generally be writing one of the following types of essays:

- Summary

- Process Description

- Analysis

- Compare/Contrast

- Concept Sketch

Before writing the week one essays, identify which type each essay is.

Week 1

 Astronomy Journal 

What is the difference between observation and inference?

 Origin of Modern Astronomy (Earth-Moon System)

Use an annotated sketch to show the position of the moon, earth and sun during a solar and lunar eclipse.

How do scientists think the moon formed? What evidence supports their beliefs?

Describe how you can use the scientific method to solve a problem.

1. Clearly state the problem

2. List the possible explanations

3. Pick the most likely explanation

4. Make a hypothesis that predicts how the problem will be solved.

5. Test your hypothesis.

6. Make a conclusion or reformulate the hypothesis.

Week 2 - Touring the Solar System (Planets-Asteroids and Comets)

Make a sketch of the solar system. Place and label the planets based on relative position from the sun.  Include direction of rotation and revolution for each planet and the sun. Place the asteroid belt, Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud on your sketch with annotations made in complete sentences. Use the map you received in class and this link to scale it. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/

Use the planetary data to explain how the Terrestrial planets differ from the Jovian planets? Give a few key characteristics for each planet.

Week 3

Beyond the Solar System - Chapter 16  

The sun is a mid-size star on the main sequence. Describe the life cycle of the sun including how astronomers think it began and how it will end. (Include a description of the phases and a time frame.)

 Use the Intrinisc Properties of Some Well-Known Stars to analyze the relationships between mass, temperature, luminosity and estimated lifespan.

 What type of galaxy is the Milky Way Galaxy? Where are we located in it? What is in its center? How are galaxies classified?

 Describe and give evidence for the Big Bang Theory. How has it been modified to support observations made by the Hubble telescope..

Atmosphere Journal

Heating the Atmosphere - Chapter 11

1)     Analyze how you can cook a marshmallow over a candle using conduction, convection and radiation..

2)     Compare and contrast ozone depletion and global warming.

3) Find two cities that are on the 40 degree latitude line that have large differences in temperature.  Give the names of the cities and their respective temperatures. Explain why these two cities that are the same distance from the equator would have such widely varying temperatures.

4) Describe characteristics for each layer of the atmosphere. What determines the boundaries for the layers of the atmosphere? Read about oxygen and altitude at http://www.adlers.com.au/oxygen.php

Moisture, Clouds and Precipitation - Chapter 12

1) Explain adiabatic cooling. What role does adiabatic cooling play in cloud formation?

2) After completing the cloud classification chart, explain how to classify clouds in your own words.

3) On a molecular level, explain why evaporation had a cooling effect and condensation has a heating effect on the surrounding environment.

4) If the water vapor content remains the same, what happens to the relative humidity and the specific humidity as the temperature drops. Why?

The Atmosphere in Motion - Chapter 13

1) Compare and contrast an aneroid barometer with a mercury barometer.

2) What causes air pressure to vary vertically and horizontally? What is the relationship between heat and pressure?

(For the vertical changes, think about what happens to the spacing of air molecules as you move up in the atmosphere. For the horizontal changes, think about convection and how it affects surface air pressures)

3) How does the Coriolis Effect change from location to location? How does it change with latitude and altitude? Does it affect wind speed, wind direction or both speed and direction?

4) Wind speed varies in time and place. What factors affect wind speed and direction?

Hydrosphere Journal

Oceans: The Last Frontier - Chapter 9

1) Look at the salinity map in the lecture notes. What line of latitude has the highest and lowest salinities? Why? The Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Dead Sea have salinities of 12^0/00 , 54^0/00, and 94^0/00 respectively. The Great Salt Lake, Mayport Jetties and Sargasso Sea have salinities of 112 ^0/00, 12^0/00 and 37^0/00 respectively. Why do they vary?

2) Sketch a profile with the following sea floor features: shelf, slope, abyssal plain, trench, mid-ocean ridge. Highlight the features that are likely to be present between Jacksonville and Africa.

3) Compare and contrast active and passive margins

4) How do salinity and temperature change with depth? How do the thermocline, halocline and pyncocline change with latitude?

Restless Ocean - Chapter 10

 Make annotated sketches of beach drift, long shore currents and rip currents.

 What causes tides?  Compare and contrast spring and neap tides. Why are there two tides a day?

 What is the "conveyor"? What makes it move? How does it affect global climates?

What causes El Nino, La Nina and normal conditions?  How do they affect weather worldwide?

Landscapes Fashioned by Water - Chapter 3

If you are a water droplet in Jacksonville, Florida, describe some of your past, present and future "travel opportunities". Where did you come from and where are you going? Consider the hydrologic cycle, the headwaters of the St. John's River and the recharge area for our ground water. (Use at least 3 terms from the hydrologic cycle in your trip description.)

What determines how much material is deposited? What determines how fast a stream is eroding?

Compare and contrast springs, artesian wells and geysers.

What causes Karst topography? How does it form? In what type of rock does it occur? What features occur in Karst topography? How could you recognize a Karst lake on a map?

Final Exam Review - What do you remember? What did you forget?

Try to write a "closed book, closed notes" essay for each of the following journal. Do one chapter at a time. Then "self-grade" it. Study that chapter and try again.

What was your favorite learning strategy? Describe how you can do it.