33974986 unit 9 seminar tuesday

8/8/2019 33974986 Unit 9 Seminar Tuesday

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Seminar AgendaySearching for Patterns: NASAs SETI Project

yFinal Project Review

yQuestions & Answers


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Searching for Patterns:NASAs SETI Project


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On Columbus Day, 1992, NASA formally initiated a radioastronomy program called SETI (Search for ExtraterrestrialIntelligence). Less than a year later, Congress abruptly canceled the

program. Why? While there was and still is a debate over thelikelihood of finding intelligent extraterrestrial life, virtually allinformed parties agreed that the SETI program constituted

worthwhile, valid science. Yet, fervor over the federal budgetdeficit, lack of support from other scientists and aerospace

contractors and a significant history of unfounded associationswith nonscientific elements combined with bad timing in fall 1993to make the program an easy target to eliminate. Thus SETI was arelative anomaly in terms of a small, scientifically valid programthat was canceled for political expediency.

Stephen J. Garber


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y Since the revocation of NASA funding, SETIprograms have been run by private organizations:

y The SETI League, Inc. - an international grass-roots organization known by most forSETI@home

y The SETI Institute a private, non profitorganization continuing on with spaceexploration for intellectual life


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Searching for Patterns:SETI@home

y Free screen-saver program that sifts through data from theArecibo Observatory in search of extraterrestrial transmissions

y

Made available on-line for the general public on May 17, 1999y Whenever your computer is idle, the SETI@home screen saver

pops up and begins to analyze Arecibo data fetched from a webserver in Berkeley, CA.


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What do you think

scientists expectto find through

SETI andSETI@home?


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What do patterns have to do withSETI and extraterrestrial life?


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Why do you thinkNASA chose to

eliminate funding

for SETI in the 1990s?


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Do you believe

SETI and SETI@home

are worthwhile projects?

Why?


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What outcome(s) do you thinkwill result from

SETI and SETI@home?


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Final Project Review

Science Meets Real Lifey Part I: Scientific Method: apply the Scientific Method

to 2 real life scenarios

y Scenario 1:You arrive home late at night. You walkup to the front door, unlock it, and reach in to turnon the light switch located just inside the frontdoor. The light does not come on! Now what?

y

Scenario 2: Develop your own detailedproblem/observation and apply the scientificmethod to solve.


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Final Project ReviewScience Meets Real Life = make sure you use

references and material in coursey Part II: Why I Cannot Live With/Without Science: examine a typical day

in your life from the time you wake up, to the time you go to bed, anddescribe how science impacts you and your routine throughout the day

y Answer the following questions:

y Describe a typical day in your life from the time you wake up, untilthe time you go to bed. Describe how science impacts you and yourroutine throughout the day.

y How has science improved your quality of life and why?

y Are there any negative impacts that science has had? What are theyand why?

y Do you believe that you could survive without science? Why or whynot?

y How has this course impacted the way you view science?


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Final Project Review

Science Meets Real Life

y Both Parts I and II must be completed

y 1,500 word minimum

y

APA format requiredy No more than 10% of the paper should be quoted material

y Due at the end of Unit 9 on Tuesday

y Worth 250 points 25% of your Final Grade!

33974986 unit 9 seminar tuesday

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