Select an Appropriate Topic (10 points): Think of something in your life that you enjoy and/or know a great deal about. For example, your job, a hobby, a sport you watch or played, etc. Now, think about some aspect of this physical science you could apply to this topic. Some examples:
- Air resistance in racquet sports
- Newton’s second and third laws of motion applied to marching band
Background: Research what you have learned about these physical science concepts, in general, in your notes, your textbook, and one reliable additional source (e.g. a book, person, or internet source, such as a newspaper or scientific periodical article). Summarize the information from these three sources in 150-300 words. Be sure to use in-text citations for any words OR ideas that are not your own, which should be all of this section. When researching, do NOT look up how other people have applied this physical science concept to your topic. In other words, for the first topic above, it would be fine to do an internet search for “Air Resistance” or “Explain air resistance in simple terms,” but it would NOT be okay for you to search for “Air resistance in racquet sports” or “Air resistance in tennis” or “Physics of tennis.”
Application: Do not look up how to apply the concepts to your topic! Write 300-400 words, wherein you apply your knowledge of physical science to your topic of interest. This section should build upon the ideas from your background summary. Be creative, thorough and use the scientific method.
Example: You could say something like “Since air resistance depends on the speed of the object (as described above), a tennis ball moving at 129 mph (speed of Serena Williams serve, according to ESPN2) will have more air resistance than a tennis ball moving at 50 mph (likely speed of my serve)- this is illustrated in the force diagrams I drew in figures 1 and 2 below. Of course, the size of the ball is also a factor, as can be seen by comparing figures 2 and 3…” Remember, this is YOUR analysis- it does not have to be Nobel prize-worthy analysis, but it should be correct and it has to be done by you (feel free to seek help from me, though).
You will be expected to draw diagrams (force diagrams, equations, instructive sketch)- if your item has to do with motion or Newton’s laws, draw a few force diagrams that help show that you understand the concepts. Include several force diagrams. Be sure to have at least one force diagram for an object that is slowing down. Explain the force diagrams in the analysis you do, referring specifically to the force diagrams when you do so. If you need help, please come see me!
Report Quality: Each item should be typed (with the exception of neatly-drawn diagrams), free of grammar and spelling errors, and composed of clear language.
Documentation: YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST TWO EXTERNAL SOURCES FOR THIS ITEM. You may also use your textbook or class notes, but you need two sources other than those. Proper documentation is required! This includes in-text and a Works Cited list, both of which must be in APA format. Sources must be credible. A lack of documentation is an instance of plagiarism, which you will learn more about in the tutorial you will complete. Note that committing plagiarism is a violation of the AACC Academic Integrity Policy, and it is subject to failure of the course as well as meeting with the VP of Learning. APA (as well as writing) resources are available from the AACC Library websites and the Library and Citing Sources links in our Canvas course page.
General organization of this portfolio item
Topic (one paragraph maximum)
Background (150-300 words)
Application of PHS100 Concepts (include diagrams; 300-400 words)
Works Cited in APA Format*
*Must cite in-text as well in APA format throughout the paper
______________
Avoiding Plagiarism tutorial
Lesson 1: Plagiarism is wrong because plagiarism is taking something that is not yours and using it as if it is your own.
Case: Jayson Blair (and two of his editors) were forced to resign from the New York times in 2003 due to plagiarism (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/us/correcting-the-record-times-reporter-who-resigned-leaves-long-trail-of-deception.html). This is a really long document, but please read the first few paragraphs on the first page.
Case B: Stephen Ambrose, a well-known author of history
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/law-jan-june02-history_1-28/ Be sure to read the paragraph that starts “For example, Childers’ 1995 work…” which is near the beginning of the article.
Lesson 2: If you paraphrase information from a source, but do not give credit, it is still plagiarism.
If you paraphrase information, you must do the following:
- When you are writing, you must introduce where the information/idea is coming from, also known as citing or giving credit to the source. For example, you can say “According to Hewitt…” or “As described on the website http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/newtlaws/efff.cfm…“ This is important, because it lets the reader know that, for the moment, you are not speaking completely on your own knowledge, but are using or adapting information from a source.
- Additionally, you must include the full reference information elsewhere in the document (either in a footnote, end note, bibliography, or references page). Note that listing the reference information alone is not enough to avoid plagiarism!
- If you have paraphrased the ideas/information from the source, do not use quotation marks. If you have not changed the text significantly, then it is probably better to just use a word-for-word passage and use the quotation marks.
Please read through these two examples: https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/example3paraphrasing.html and https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/example5paraphrasing.html.
Lesson 3: When you copy a word-for-word passage from a source, you must include quotation marks.
If you use a word-for-word passage, you must do the following:
- When you are writing, you must introduce where the word-for-word passage is coming from- see the first bullet in Lesson 2 above for more information.
- Additionally, you must include the full reference information elsewhere in the document (either in a footnote, end note, bibliography, or references page). Note that listing the reference information alone is not enough to avoid plagiarism!
- Include the word-for-word passage in quotation marks.
There are five examples of plagiarized work involving word-for-word passage, as well as the corrected versions here: https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/examples.html.
Lesson 4: Plagiarism is wrong even if you do not intend to do it.
Learn what plagiarism is. Ask your professor if you are not sure about what you are doing, before turning in an assignment.
Please see https://icampus.strayer.edu/lrc/plagiarism/definition?page_view=types for further explanation.
Conclusion: When writing, you must differentiate between your ideas/words and those of your sources. You cannot just list the reference information at the end of the document.
