NSCI 120 Natural Science

Bhatia, A., & Popovich, N. (2021, August 24). These maps tell the story of two Americas: One parched, one soaked. The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/24/climate/warmer-wetter-world.html

Viegas, J. (2012, October 30). How do animals deal with downpours? well, it depends… NBCNews.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from

https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49614541

Lab 4 Assignment—Making Predictions Using Models
Scientific models are so useful because they organize what we know about a phenomenon. We can use
them to show how different parts of a system interact. Models can help us predict how changing one
part of a system affects other parts of the system.
Part 1
Construct a food web diagram for an Eastern Woodland ecosystem. A food web diagram shows where
various organisms get their food. It’s one type of scientific model. Here’s an example:
[Image]
[Title] Current Food Web of Lake Mead
[Link] https://home.nps.gov/lake/learn/images/foodweb-lm.jpg
[Alt Text] Diagram of food web in Lake Mead. Near-shore plants, insects and algae feed amphibians,
carp, sucker fish, and bluegill fish and macroinvertebrates. Phytoplankton feed zooplankton and
macroinvertebrates. Zooplankton are consumed by birds, threadfin shad (a fish), sucker fish, and
macroinvertebrates. Bluegill fish eat macroinvertebrates. Largemouth bass eat all the other fish. Bald
eagles eat all varieties of fish and other birds.
[Attribution] Current Foodweb of Lake Mead comprises public domain material from the National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. UMGC has modified this work.
Include these organisms in your food web:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
chestnut tree
wild raspberry
turkey vulture
Northern Cardinal
field mouse
honeybee
gray squirrel
Great Horned Owl
black bear
•
•
•
•
earthworm
trillium
skunk
red fox
You must include all these organisms. Draw or find a picture of each. Your diagram must include your
name and the current date. Be sure to list any sources you used for figuring out the food web
relationships.
Part 2
Make predictions based on your food web.
Write a paragraph to explain the impact of each of the following scenarios on the ecosystem in your
food web. Which organisms would see the primary impact? How would that impact affect other
members of the ecosystem?
•
•
•
•
•
One quarter of the land is cleared and used for row-crop agriculture (corn, soybeans, and similar
crops).
One quarter of the land is cleared and an apartment complex is constructed.
Feral hogs join the ecosystem.
The forest is opened to hunting, but only within legal limits and species.
The forest is developed as a nature preserve and hiking and biking trails are constructed.
Which scenario has the most impact on the ecosystem? Which scenario has the least impact? Justify
your answers.
Peer Review Assignment (Week 7 Discussion)
The peer review assignment addresses the following course outcomes:
•
Distinguish between repeatable, quantifiable observations and subjective judgements
about the natural world.
•
Differentiate between personally collected data and information from third party
sources.
•
Apply the scientific method to address questions about everyday occurrences in the
natural world.
•
Draw conclusions that are based on available data and evidence obtained in an
experiment.
The primary objective of the assignment is to provide another opportunity for you to
demonstrate what you’ve learned during your Observation Project. You will demonstrate
what you learned by providing helpful information to your classmates.
Have you ever wondered how scientific journals decide which papers to publish and which to
reject? The editors are certainly not experts in all the subdisciplines covered by a scientific
journal. They rely on peer reviews—reviews by experts on the paper’s topic who are peers of
the paper’s authors. Typically, a review won’t give just a yes–no evaluation of a paper; it will
include many comments about how the paper could be improved before publication. These
comments could range from grammatical errors to serious questions about the methodology
or conclusions of the paper.
Reviewers look at questions such as these:
• Is the topic interesting?
• Is the description of the data collection sufficient for repeatability?
• Is the data analysis done in a sensible and well-described way?
• Is the presentation of the data compelling? Does it make a good case?
• Do the conclusions of the paper logically follow from the data?
In this assignment, you will be the peers of your fellow students and review their papers. You
might not be an expert in their topic, but after having come this far on the Observation
Project, you should be an expert on how to successfully conduct and construct the stages of
the NSCI 120 Observation Project.
Peer Review Steps
Step 1
Complete a draft of your final project report (Stage 3) and post it in the Peer Review
Discussion no later than the end of Week 6. You get credit for the Peer Review Discussion
just by posting your report by the end of Week 6. Do not reply to classmates in the Peer
Review Discussion.
Step 2
During Week 7, choose at least two project reports posted in the Peer Review Discussion to
review. You may not review your own project. Fill out the Observation Report Peer Review
form (available in the Peer Review Discussion and attached in the Peer Review Assignment
folder) for each project report and submit at least two reviews to the Peer Review
assignment folder. Do not contact the authors of the reports directly. In your peer review,
provide constructive and helpful feedback to the author of the project. What could be
improved? Remember, the main goal of the Peer Review Assignment is to demonstrate your
grasp of the knowledge and skills attained through the process of developing your full, threestaged NSCI 120 Observation Project. Just filling out the grading rubric is insufficient. Be sure
to include substantive, helpful comments as well. Your instructor will evaluate your Peer
Review submissions based on the helpfulness of your feedback and whether your feedback
reflects knowledge and skills you have gained in the course.
Step 3
On the first day of Week 8, your instructor will upload peer reviews for your project to the
Peer Review Assignment folder (where you submitted your peer reviews). The instructor will
make sure that there is no information about the identity of the reviewers for your project.
Use the information in the peer reviews proactively and productively to improve and polish
your final project report before you submit it for grading. You are not required to agree with
the comments or suggestions made by the reviewers. However, use your best judgement
about what you could implement to improve your project. Be sure to submit your final
project report on or before the last day of class.
Observation Project Peer Review Form [https://umuc365.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/AACourseDevelopment-US/EYgSLYrY1OxPuRq_2NzR9XUBYtJcgHlZSRzcjCBM9yqbPg?e=0o8NfB]
Observation Report Peer Review Form
Paper Title:
Paper Author:
Date:
Item
Topic of observation project is clearly
identified and described; author
explains why the topic is interesting.
Background research describes
important features of the topic
(features the author wishes to observe
and what factors might complicate
their observations).
Author clearly specifies planned
observations. These observations can
be made in the time available with the
resources available
At least one photo taken by the author
that illustrates some aspect of the topic
or planned observations is included.
A clear hypothesis statement related to
the planned observations is included.
References from background research
are cited in APA format.
The observation methods are described
in sufficient detail.
A photo of the author making
observations is included.
Possible Awarded
Points
Points
5
10
5
3
10
3
15
3
Comments
A table of data is included. Table
includes title, column headings, and
units.
A graph of data is included. Graph is of
a type appropriate for the data and
includes title, axis labels, and units.
A clear statement of support or
rejection of the hypothesis, with logical
reasoning for the decision, is included.
An explanation of takeaway lessons is
included.
Report is of an appropriate length.
Report is well organized and free from
spelling and grammatical errors. Report
includes title page.
Total
7
9
10
5
5
10
100
Did the topic catch your interest? What aspect of the topic did you find most interesting?
What parts of the description of the topic could be improved?
Critique the description of the data collection. Do you think you could use the description to
make observations and produce similar results? Why or why not?
Critique whether the data analysis approach is appropriate for the data. In what way(s) could
the data analysis have been improved?
Looking at the presentation of the data. What features jump out at you? How does the
presentation of the data assist or detract from the conclusion that the author makes?
Looking at the collected data. Do you agree with the author’s conclusions? Explain why or why
not.
Are there any other comments you wish to share with the author?