Asteroid Mining: Gold Rush in Space?
The project consists of two components: a short written report to be turned in on the last day of
class (typical length ~2 pages), and a 3-5 minute presentation to be given during class to small
groups of peers.
Written Report 90% of Total Grade:
1) Background information (10%)
You should include enough background information on a subject so that your classmates could
understand the science you have done without needing to look anything else up.
2) Clear scientific method backbone (40%)
You should have a clear scientific question you are asking and addressing. For example, “How would
various compositions of planets affect their habitability?” You should not just write a report on
everything there is to know about exoplanets.
You should also follow the scientific method. That is, form a hypothesis (make a prediction) based on
some initial observations and/or reasoning, outline your methodology, your results, and your conclusion.
Out of these many steps, methodology is one of the most important. Make sure you clearly express how
you have chosen to record/collect data, where the data you have analyzed comes from (if not your own),
or how you have calculated your data (i.e. explain the formulas you used, what variables you have
changed etc.). Clarity in describing what you did is far more important than the complexity of
what you did!
3) Scientific visuals, results, and reasoning (30%)
You should MAKE some scientific visual (a table, graph, chart, etc.) to support your scientific findings.
For example, a plot that shows the number distribution of Martian fan features versus Martian season
supports your conclusion that “fans appear more often when it is warmer on Mars”.
You should refer to your scientific visual when making your conclusion/arguments in your report.
Specifically I’ll look for examples that…
• compare and contrast data, i.e. “this graph shows that in the northern hemisphere of
Mars the crater density is nearly half that of the Tharis region of Mars. This supports
my conclusion that the Tharis region is older…”
• connect or discuss how the trend of a graph directly relates to your hypothesis, i.e.
“the fact that there is a positive trend between crater density and decreasing planet
size supports my hypothesis that smaller objects should be more cratered.”
Basically I want to see you make and interpret scientific visuals and use them to make your point(s)!
4) Difficulty & work level (10%)
Some projects will be more involved than others. I’ll assess the amount of work you put into your
project and give credit accordingly.
Peer Presentation 10% of Total:
Your presentation grade will be assessed from the in-class verbal presentation as well as from the clarity
of the presentation materials you turn in to me. You will present in front of a small peer audience and
presentations should clearly convey all the steps that are already in your written report (background,
scientific method, using scientific visuals).
