Group Presentations and Research Papers

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Group Presentations

On November 13^th  and November 20^th you will be giving group presentations. This will be one of the last assignments in the class and is 15% of your grade.

The following are some guidelines for the presentations.

1. You will mostly work in groups of two students, except for a couple of groups with three students.
2. The topic on which you will report should be on an area tied to the origin of the universe (and be clear in your presentation how it fits) and contain sufficient information not encountered in the course to date. You should work on a topic that you find interesting. Examples of topics areas:
   1. Inflationary Model
   2. Cosmic Background Radiation Experiments
   3. Black Hole Physics
   4. Physics of Time Machines
   5. Interesting Biographies (with direct impact)
   6. Alternative (Scientific) Models of the Universe
   7. String Theory
   8. Search for Dark Matter/Dark Energy
   9. Gravitational Radiation
   10. Gravitational Lensing
   11. Multiverses
   12. Other - MACHOs, WIMPs, MOND, LIGO, WMAP,
3. All topics need approval by the instructor. A written description of the intended project, project title and group members, needs to be provided by October 16^th. No two groups should work on the same aspect of any topic.
4. On October 30^th a progress report should be submitted outlining the progress made to date. It is meant to keep the groups on track. It should consist of an outline of what was researched, an draft outline of the presentation, and a bibliography. It will count for 10% of the presentation.
5. The presentations will be for groups of
   • 2 - 10 minutes long with an additional three minutes for questions from the audience.
   • 3 -15 minutes long with an additional four minutes for questions from the audience.
6. The presentations are meant to be factual and supported by research. 
7. PowerPoint or Open Office Impress may be used to create presentation. Any presentations should be tested on the classroom computer in advance of the presentation day to prevent technology problems. You should practice your presentation several times as a group beforehand so that it will be smooth and take up the allotted time.
8. The presentation will count 10% of your total grade. It will be graded on the following:
   1. Progress Report – 10%
   2. Research (accuracy, references, indication of time spent) – 20%
   3. Topic (relevance, depth, how well presented, interesting)  – 20%
   4. Presentation (layout, spelling errors, oral presentation, clarity) – 25%
   5. Creativity – 10%
   6. Individual Contributions (all group members must contribute!) – 10%
   7. Answers to Questions – 5%

Research Papers

Each member of the group will write an 8-10 page paper on some aspect of the topic chosen. This part is not a collaborative effort. It will count as 20% of your grade. The deadlines are

• November 6th Draft paper due.
• November 25th Final, Corrected papers due.

Guidelines

1. All work is to be typed in 12 pt format and double spaced.
2. Your name should be on all pages and the work should be titled in an appropriate way.
3. All pages should be stapled and NOT folded and on standard sized paper.
4. You are expected to write using good grammar and spelling. Your thoughts should be presented in full sentences and you are to group your thoughts into paragraphs.
5. You facts should be correct and you should reference all work that is not your own. You should use more than one source and at least one text source from the library. Do not simply cut and paste from the Internet! That is plagiarism and can earn you a 0 for this class.
6. Any personal thoughts should be supported with examples and logical thinking and only presented in a separate section, such as what I learned from this topic.
7. As for content, there should be a clear indication that you went beyond what was covered in your classes. There should be historical context (time, location, people), well-defined terms, pictures when useful, appropriate citations, and an understanding of the topic. There should be a clear indication that you put the effort into researching and writing on your topic.

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