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Astronomy 1020 – Project Discussion – V1.2
NAMES (include all group members):
Introduction: Many studies show the benefits students receive from project-based
learning which reinforces both fundamental and practical skills. Among the purported
benefits are critical thinking skills, building collaboration as well as independent skills,
pragmatic skills especially associated with technology, and lifelong learning.
+ This guide will help you choose a topic for your semester project and learn the basics
of scientific research. Please see the Lab Manual and/or speak to your TA regarding the
due date for the project.
Learning Objectives & Science Process Skills for the Term Project Include:
I Interpreting and Manipulating Data: Students will learn to analyze and interpret
data from various sources. This includes mathematical relationships.
I Classification: Classifying objects and events according to similarities and differences.
I Hypothesis: Can construct a scientific hypothesis.
I Predicting: Make predictions based upon prior knowledge.
Topics: Any topic in 1020 is acceptable. Projects do not need to be strictly scientific
in nature, they can include other disciplines such as history, psychology, politics, etc.
However, every project has to be directly related to material from 1020. Possible topics
can be related to any of the following:
Black Holes
Dark Energy
Dark Matter
Galaxies
Light
Stars – Sun, Dwarfs, Giants, etc.
Supernovae
The topics listed above are very broad. In general, you will want to narrow down your
topic. For example, there are thousands upon thousands of research articles on Black
Holes. Black holes is such a large focus of research that it’s unrealistic to try and capture
everything. You will want to narrow your topic down to something more manageable such
as “Sgr A*” or “intermediate mass black holes”, etc.
n Don’t fret, your TA will help you decide upon a reasonable topic!
Project Proposal
In your proposal, you will need to provide an “outline”. The outline should describe
the focus of your project. It should address the following:
A)Briefly describe your topic and provide some details.
B)Think of a couple of questions you hope to be able to answer.
C)How will you present your project?
D)What are at least three primary sources you have found?
+ This proposal only needs to be a few sentences. That said, you are welcome to include
as much information as you would like. Please make sure to write in complete sentences,
use proper grammar, and keep everything legible. An example is included on the next
page.
Approach: There are many possible project ideas. Your project may take the form
of any of the following:
Art – Including a painting, comic book, etc.
Book – Children’s book, fiction, non-fiction, play, etc.
Instrument – Build an astronomical instrument such as astrolabe, telescope, etc.
Performance – Interpretive dance, song, etc.
Programming – Write some good code.
Video – Sketch, whiteboard animation, etc.
YOU HAVE AN IDEA? Run it by your TA!
+ Please remember that you are bound by the Student Code of Conduct. Your project
will be checked for plagiarism. Please speak to your TA if you have any questions or
concerns.
Research & Citations You should feel free to use resources such as Wikipedia to
look-up basic facts and resources. However, Wikipedia is not an acceptable source itself.
Primary sources include papers, scholarly/educational sites and people, NASA-related
work, textbooks, etc. Citations should include: the author, title, publisher, year,
and URL.
? What if after we start working on our project we need to change something? No
worries! This happens all the time in science, and truly any field, discipline, and job. If
you are starting to look into your topic and decide it is too mathematical, or perhaps it’s
a bit boring, you can always change your topic or approach. However, you do need to run
it by your TA to make sure there are no problems.
Page 2
Project Proposal – Example
Group Members: Nicolaus Copernicus & Henrietta Swan Leavitt
Project Topic: Stephenson 2-18
Outline:
A)Stephenson 2-18 is one of, if not the, largest stars! Our Sun is so tiny in comparison
that it is mind-blowing. The mass of Stephenson 2-18 is unknown, which makes it more
enigmatic and interesting.
B)Our group wants to learn more about this star. In particular we hope to answer two
primary questions we have: 1)How or why is this star so large? 2)Can stars get even larger?
C)We have decided to make a whiteboard presentation. We think a video showing the
size of the Sun and other stars in comparison will really bring home how huge Stephenson
2-18 truly is.
D)
1)“How big is the biggest star we have ever found?” by Jillian Scudder . Published 2015
in The Conversation.
https://theconversation.com/how-big-is-the-biggest-star-we-have-ever-found-37304
2)“The Most Massive Stars Known” by NASA. Publication date is unknown.
https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/weekly/7Page22.pdf
3)“Exploring the Mass-loss Histories of the Red Supergiants” by Roberta M. Humphreys
et al. Published in the Astronomical Journal
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/abab15
+ Your TA will let you know when to submit the project proposal. When doing so,
please make sure to include your name, topic, and the outline. You may use the Word
template provided, “Project-Idea.docx” or if more convenient you may write it up using
a different presentation program such as Google Slides etc. Just make sure your TA is
able to read and access the file.
Page 3
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