Assignment 3 - Radiation
All work will be due on January 15th at 11:59 pm HOL time. No work submitted after this date will receive points.
Each assignment will consist of different options to pick from. You can pick whichever combination of options you like, up to a total of 60 points worth of work. The first 30 points will be your homework and the second 30 points will be your extra credit. If you accidentally send in more than 60 points worth of work, only the first 60 points worth will be marked.
All assignments should be sent to hol.spacemedicine@gmail.com
The subject of emails should be Space Medicine - Assignment # - HOL Name
Example: Space Medicine - Assignment 2 - Bella Coupland
Attachments will not be opened.
Please include your HOL name and House in the body of your email.
Should you rely on assistive technology or have any other needs that should be taken into account, please contact me and we can discuss other options for certain parts of the assignments.
Option 1 - Jigsaw Puzzle (10 points)
Please complete the following jigsaw puzzle. Take a screenshot of the completed puzzle, including the number of pieces and the time it took you to complete it. Upload this to an image hosting site, such as Postimages.org and send me the link. Do not send your image as an attachment as it will NOT be opened.
Aurora from the Space Station Jigsaw
Option 2 - Fill in the Blanks (10 points)
Please fill in the blanks. Each statement is worth 2 points each.
1. A person on the Earth's surface is protected from space radiation by _______ and _______.
2. Our sun regularly emits bursts of energy and _______, which are called ________.
3. Galactic Cosmic Rays travel at nearly the speed of ______.
4. The NASA radiation limit for an astronaut changes depending on their ______ and ______.
5. One strategy to protect future astronauts may be to cover their habitats in thick layers of _______ or ______.
Option 3 - True or False (10 points)
Please tell me if each of the following statements are true or false. If they are false, please tell me the correct answer. Each statement is worth 2 points each.
1. Hydrogenated boron nitride nanotubes are tiny tubes made up of boron, nitrogen, hydrogen and helium.
2. The current NASA radiation limit for astronauts is 1 Sievert per year.
3. Astronauts on the International Space Station shelter from solar storms in the station areas with the thickest walls.
4. Astronauts are more likely to develop cataracts than someone who has not been to space.
5. The more mutations a human body gets, the lower the risk of developing cancer and other degenerative diseases.
Option 4 - Experiment (15 points)
In this experiment we're going to use sound waves as a simple example of how small amounts of mistakes over time can lead to big changes in the clarity of information.
For this experiment you will need two audio recording devices that also have speakers (such as two smartphones). If you do not have access to two recording devices, a web-browser based alternative is provided below.
Smartphone/voice recorder method:
1. Open up the voice recording function on each smart phone. Begin recording this sentence (or a sentence of your choice) on the first phone. "Blueberry muffins are the best flavor of muffin in the world and no other flavor can match their deliciousness"
2. Save this recording and begin the voice recording function on the second phone.
3. Playback the recording from the other phone so that it gets recorded onto the alternative phone.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you can either no longer understand the sentence OR you have repeated at least 10 times.
Web browser method:
1. Visit https://voicechanger.io/ and either record a sentence using your computer microphone or upload a small audio file of your choice.
2. Play back the audio by clicking on the 'astronaut audio filter', which is the 37th option to choose from.
3. Right click play button and 'save audio to computer'.
4. Return to the top of the page and click 'load new audio clip'
5. Upload the audio file that you just saved.
6. Repeat step 2-5 until you can either no longer understand the sentence OR you have repeated at least 10 times.
Please answer the following questions once you have finished the experiment:
1. Which method did you use?
2. How many times did you repeat the experiment?
3. Was it easier or harder to understand the sentence at the end of the experiment?
4. In this lesson, we talked about how DNA carries information for our body cells. How do you think this sound experiment might be similar to how radiation affects DNA?
Option 5 - Haiku (5 points)
Please write a Haiku about a solar storm heading towards an astronaut in space. A Haiku is a three line poem that has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the next line, and 5 syllables in the last line.
Option 6 - Research Essay (15 points)
As we learnt in this lesson, the only option for current astronauts when a solar storm is approaching is to seek shelter. How exactly do forecast space weather and solar storms? How do we know if they're heading towards Earth? How much time do astronauts usually have to seek shelter before they hit? How long do they have to stay in the shelter for? Can you think of any other ways we might be able to improve our space weather forecasting?
Please answer as many of those questions as you can, and add any other information about space weather that you think is interesting. Minimum 150 words. You are welcome to research additional information but please write down the sources that you used.
Option 7 - Graphic (10 points)
A solar storm is headed towards Earth! Our satellites have also detected many Galactic Cosmic Rays hitting Earth, too! Please create a graphic that shows what an astronaut might be seeing during this event. You are welcome to use images from NASA etc, but the final piece must be your own work.
Upload your image to a hosting site, such as Postimages.org and send me the link. Do not send your image as an attachment as it will NOT be opened.
Option 8 - Short Answer (10 points)
Please answer the following questions. Each question is worth 2 points each.
1. What kinds of damage can radiation do to DNA?
2. What effect can Galactic Cosmic Rays have on eyeballs?
3. What are the names of the Van Allen radiation belts, and where are they located?
4. How long is our sun's solar cycle?
5. A dose of 1 Sievert of radiation corresponds to how much % increased risk of developing cancer within a lifetime?
Option 9 - Description (10 points)
You've been asked by a space architectural company to help them design a habitat for Mars that will protect astronauts from radiation. Describe what building materials you will use, the shape of the building, where each material will be placed, how thick each material will be, and anything else you think is relevant. Minimum 75 words. You are welcome to use additional sources of information, and please write down any sources that you used.
Option 10 - Opinion/Reasoning (10 points)
Write an argument either agreeing or disagreeing with the statement below. Your job is to convince me that your opinion is correct, using logic, passion and reasoning. Minimum 100 words. You are welcome to use additional sources of information, and please write down any sources that you used.
"We shouldn't worry about protecting astronauts from radiation as the risks are so low."