Year 10: Term 2: Global Spheres and Cycles

According to the QCAA Syllabus glossary, a Claim is an assertion made without any accompanying evidence to support it.

YOUR CLAIM: Biofuels are better for the environment than fossil fuels 

NOTE: Biofuels are those fuels that contain energy and are derived from plants or biomass. They include Ethanol (an alcohol), Biodiesel (an oil) and Biojetfuels. First-generation Ethanol feedstock includes food crops (like corn), crop waste (sugar cane), while second-generation feedstock, which is more sustainable, includes algae and lignocellulosics (woody plants and grasses). Biodiesel feedstock includes vegetable oils and animal fats, and more recently, more sustainable waste fats, oils and greases.

Biofuels

Biofuels UK: Types of Biofuels 

National Geographic: Biofuels, Explained 

Student Energy: Biofuels

Burning fossil fuels is causing the Earth to get warmer

Fossil fuel extraction could be contributing to climate change by heating Earth from within

Causes of global warming

Burning all fossil fuels would scorch Earth: study

Greenhouse effect

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Birtles Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

1. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.

2.  Use a Boolean command - put double inverted commas around phrases to limit and improve your results eg "energy drinks cardiovascular problems children". 

3. Use a Google domain command eg site:edu OR site:gov to limit results to a CERTAIN DOMAIN such as education or government eg biodiesel site:edu

4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3-4 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

Choose the sources you wish to evaluate. Save this document to your tablet, complete the evaluation of the sources (one per page) and print out to attach to the back of your assignment.

Scroll down to p. 4

ONESearch (on the left) will search through all these databases plus more, but sometimes it's simpler to just search one database at a time, so try these individual databases.

Check the quality of your websites using these criteria (adapted from QUT Library):

Currency: Timeliness of the information

• When was the information published, posted or last updated?

• Is the information current for your topic and field of study? How recent does it have to be? Can older sources work just as well?

Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs

• Is the information appropriate for a senior secondary course?

• Is this an adequately in-depth examination or a quick summary of the topic?

• Who's the intended audience? Is it the general public, a student, a researcher or industry?

• Is the level of information too basic or too advanced for your needs?

Authority: Source of the information

• Is the author/authoring body (individual person, or institution, or organisation) established and reputable?

• Are their qualifications, credentials, expertise, experience, educational background and previous work (if any) relevant and do they add credibility to the source?

• Has the piece been published by a well-known and respected publisher or organisation?

• Do references to other sources support the writing ie is a Reference List provided?

Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the information

• Where does the information come from, and is it supported by evidence?

• Does it have a Reference List or Bibliography so you can easily find and verify the sources used?

• Are there any spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: Reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written?

• Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial?

• Is the viewpoint of the author's affiliation/ sponsors reflected in the message or content?

• Does the author acknowledge alternative versions of the issues or facts?

Purpose: Reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written?

• Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial?