for prof avril

SCI 100 Module Six Short Answer Guidelines and Rubric Why Ask Why?

Prompt: Stephen Hawking stated in A Brief History of Time (1988) that “a good theory is characterized by the fact that it makes a number of predictions that could in principle be disproved or falsified by observation.” In other words, to develop a good theory, you need to be able to test your predictions. Whether your prediction was correct or not, your results will likely lead to new questions. To get started on this assignment, first review these resources:

 10 Questions for Stephen Hawking (video interview) (4:47)

 Stephen Hawking (1942–2018): Toward a Complete Understanding of the Universe

 The 20 Big Questions in Science Then, answer the following questions:

1. How has Hawking's research contributed to the field of natural science?

2. What do you think drives a scientist like Stephen Hawking to ask "Why?"

3. How does science build on itself? In other words, how are scientists influenced by the work of those who came before them? Provide an example of a scientific discovery that built on the work of another scientist.

Your responses on this assignment will directly support your work on Project 3.

Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Submit your responses in a Microsoft Word document. The length of your responses to each question may vary. A good response will be about 1–2 paragraphs in total.

Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Contribution Explains how Hawking’s research has contributed to the field of natural science

Explains how Hawking’s research has contributed to the field of natural science, but explanation is lacking detail

Doesn’t explain how Hawking’s research has contributed to the field of natural science

30

Why Ask Why Discusses what drives a scientist like Stephen Hawking to ask why and uses evidence to support opinion

Discusses what drives a scientist like Stephen Hawking to ask why, but explanation is lacking detail or support

Doesn’t discuss what drives a scientist like Stephen Hawking to ask why

30

Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (75%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Influence Explains how science builds on itself over time and includes a relevant example of a scientific discovery that built on the work of another scientist

Explains how science builds on itself over time but response lacks clarity or is missing a relevant example

Doesn’t explain how science builds on itself over time

30

Communicates Clearly

Clearly communicates key ideas and thoughts in a short-answer response

Response needs clarification in order to support understanding of key ideas and thoughts

Key ideas or thoughts are not understandable

10

Total 100%