Locate a news article less than 9 months old describing some phenomenon that pertains to the scientific method (on any topic, not necessarily biology or the "natural" sciences). From the description contained in this article, identify TWO models of different kinds (physical, abstract) and fill in our model template for each of these models, as given below. If you cannot easily find two different types of model in the same article, you may choose a different article for the second model.
Detailed instructions for the "ideal" homework assignment follows, which should be followed as closely as possible when filling in the writeable pdf assignment form. For each feature of the model template, the type of answer that is expected is indicated. Also see the homework guidelines, but especially note that
i) your work needs to be typed responses in the Homework1 writeable pdf form
ii) the article(s) must be less than 9 months old
iii) upload the article along with your filled pdf form on your BbLearn account for this class
Name: Type your name in the field.
Article: Give the link. If no link is active, upload a scan, pdf or html file of it. We want to be sure we have access to the article, so a little redundancy does not hurt. In the next field the title, source, and date of the article on the pdf.
Describe the goal for which the model is being used. This can be confusing because there are often many angles that you can approach the information in an article, and the goal may depend on the angle. It may be helpful if you also explain WHOSE goal it is. Remember that you are trying to develop a thread between a goal, a model, its use and its limitations. Any consistent thread works. For example, in testing condoms, the goal (of the government mandating the test) is to evaluate condom integrity for sex.
But consider an advertisement you see in a magazine as your model. The goal of the advertiser might be to discover ways of improving product sales. You would then fill out the model as the ad, its use (by the advertiser) is to gets sales, and its limitations could be any way in which it misses out on sales. You can thread all of those together from the advertiser’s goal. But consider instead that you are the one looking at (using) the advertisement. Your goal might be to gain some useful information (e.g., learn about a sale that is described). The ad is once again the model, but its use now ties to your goal – get information of interest to you. And the limitations also now change because of the different goal: for example, the ad might omit some important qualification, or it might present a more favorable view than is reality. You can again develop a consistent thread from goal to model to limitations, but it is a different thread that stems from a different goal. You ONLY NEED to develop one of these threads (for an abstract model, one for a physical model).
To help you develop this thread, you should specify WHOSE goal it is that you are identifying and applying (the template asks for this). It can otherwise be very confusing.
If both of your models are used for the same goal, you only need to list the goal once. However, you need to fill in the rest of the template for two models (of different types), as follows. In general, the goal should not refer to the model.
In one sentence or less, state the model you are identifying. For example, if the model is a hypothesis, then simply state the hypothesis. Or, if you have chosen a physical model, then just write what it is (e.g., mice, map, DNA, ...).
A one-word answer. Simply write "abstract" or "physical".
Explain what the model is used as or is used to predict or to explain. In the step above, you identified what the model IS; here you should explain what it is a model OF. For example, rats may be a model of humans (or, more specifically, cancers in rats fed saccharine may be used as a model of the cancer in humans fed saccharine). A computer simulation of global warming is a model of the process of global warming. The hypothesis, "Latex condoms prevent the spread of HIV", is a statement that explains how to avoid infection by HIV. The equation E = mc2 may be used as an abstract model of the physical relationship between energy and matter. The application or use of a model does not mean that the model is particularly good or bad at this purpose, only that it is intended to have this purpose. The use of the model should fit closely with the goal.
|
Model |
of What? |
|
"Latex condoms prevent the spread of HIV" (a statement or hypothesis) |
ways to avoid contracting HIV; or ways to advise people to avoid contracting HIV (depending on the goal) |
|
A laboratory rat |
humans |
|
10,000 cancer patients in the U.S. |
all U.S. citizens with cancer |
|
A computer simulation of global warming |
the process of global warming |
|
E = mc2 |
the relationship between energy and matter |
|
a correlation between teen pregnancy rates and high school sex education course content in Texas in 2004 |
a model of factors possibly influencing teen pregnancy rates (sex education), also a model of teen pregnancy rates and sex education in previous years and in future years |
|
the car you test drive at the car lot |
model of the car you would buy |
|
Newspaper headline |
model of content of the article |
Identify one major limitation of the model (a way in which the model is false). This limitation should either be given in the article or be your suggestion, but you should identify an important limitation as opposed to a trivial one. Note that we are asking for limitations of the model you identified as that model is used for the goal you identified. Limitations of a model are usually not limitations of the study described in your article. Here are some good examples:
“The model (10,000 cancer patients used in the smoking study) were not representative of all humans because they were all male. Women may respond differently than men to cigarette smoke."
"The computer simulation used to predict future global warming patterns ignores the effects of future volcano eruptions, which can have a profound effect"
Recognizing limitations of an abstract model, such as a hypothesis, may be more challenging than identifying limitations of a physical model. With a physical model, such as a mouse as a model of humans, the limitations are obvious because we can SEE the difference. But an abstract model is more difficult to grasp as a model, and its possible limitations are especially difficult to contemplate when the abstract model is being tested and might even be rejected by that test (in which case it has major limitations but you don't necessarily know them yet). For this case, the easiest solution is to imagine that the model is not rejected; then merely consider limitations that apply even though the model otherwise seems OK.
Now fill in the same template for a second model from the same article. This model should be a different type than the first. Thus, if the first was an abstract model, the second should be physical. Again, if you need to use a second article for this model, that is OK, but include the links to both.
Homework: Guidelines and other Assignments