Origins of the Moon

ATTENTION CLASS:

Please use the worksheet of questions below in place of writing a paper for this assignment – this worksheet will help us focus on the main concepts for the week. Reach out to me directly with any questions. 

Assignment: Week 1 Written Assignment Worksheet – Origins of the Moon

Course: Introduction to Geology

Points Possible: 30 pts

1)      Briefly explain how the Earth’s Moon, and entire universe, formed per the Nebular Theory demonstrated in the online animation in our online course material and discussed in our text book (pages 21-24, and 817-819).  Be sure to explain everything in your own words – we are learning introductory geology and not trying to get our doctorates, so the writing does not need to be at a PhD level.  Keep It Simple – think about how you would explain this to a friend. Just remember though, we still need to make sure that we use complete sentences, spell check and proper grammar, because it does need to be readable and make sense – we are in college. (6 points total)

2)       Briefly explain how the Earth’s Moon formed, per the “Mars-Sized Object Collision” concept discussed in our textbook (pages 823-825).  Please note that the collision was with an object relatively the same size as the planet Mars for comparison purposes, but the collision was not actually with Mars. (6 points total)

3)      Provide 2 scientific reasons (essentially facts/data), from our week 1 reading and online course material, that would support the Nebular Theory as the method of formation for the Earth’s Moon.   Remember, the universe as a whole formed via the Nebular Theory, therefore if we think about the Earth’s Moon forming the same way as the rest of the universe and Earth via the Nebular Theory, then wouldn’t Earth and its Moon have similarities? (2 points per reason; 4 points total)

4)     Provide 1 scientific reason that refutes the Nebular Theory as the method of formation for the Earth’s Moon. Hint: Think about how the Earth and Earth’s Moon are different. (2 points total)

5)      Provide 2 scientific reasons that would support the “Mars-Sized Object Collision” concept as the method of formation for the Earth’s Moon. This means that the universe and Earth still formed via the Nebular Theory, but that the Earth’s Moon formed via the “Mars-Sized Object Collision” concept – hence the Earth and the Earth’s Moon would have formed two different ways. Hint: If the two formed in different ways, then wouldn’t they have differences instead of similarities? (2 points per reason; 4 points total)

6)      Provide 1 scientific reason that refutes the “Mars-Sized Object Collision” concept as the method of formation for the Earth’s Moon. Hint: Think visual evidence… (2 points total)

7)      Make sure that in every response to questions 1 through 6 that their utilized sources are cited in APA format. APA format is general (author last name, year published), but all details can be found in the Rasmussen APA guide at http://guides.rasmussen.edu/apa. (0.5 points per question response; 3 points total) 

8)      Below, create a reference list of all sources utilized in completing this assignment. Make sure that the reference list is in APA format. NOTE: Our e-textbook and lecture materials are considered sources, and APA has a special setup for e-textbooks that is a bit different from hard copies – so be aware when working with the Rasmussen APA guide http://guides.rasmussen.edu/apa. (3 points total)

Written Assignment Requirements

1. Written Assignments are due Sundays 11:59pm CST.
2. Use the Written Assignment Questions provided – these allow us to focus on main concepts for this weeks work utilizing the prompt above.
3. Your main sources should be our course textbook and online material, as they contain everything you need.
4. Respond fully to each question, in complete sentences, everything spelt correctly and in your own words.
5. Must include sources used to complete the assignment by utilizing APA format intext citations in every question response and an APA formatted reference list at the end of the assignment.
   1. More information and guidelines on APA are provided in the Rasmussen APA guide http://guides.rasmussen.edu/apa.
6. Want to quote from a source?
   1. In the case that you want to quote something from a source, make sure to put quotations “” around the source material COPIED WORD FOR WORD from the source, then put an intext citation after the quoted material in APA format and lastly, include the source in an APA formatted reference list. 
   2. If you do not have all three components of APA quoting for COPIED WORD FOR WORD material from a source, then the post can be considered a form of PLAGARISM and can get an automatic ZERO.
   3. Quotations cannot be longer than one or two lines per response, and the quotations must be within the context of your own words, as these written assignments are supposed to be you explaining what you have read and researched.