For Students Possible science projects with Astro-E2 How to enter the competition Proposal format How to write a proposal What happens if we pick your proposal Grading sheet Resources   For Teachers Teaching standards (Grades 9-12) Classroom standards Science content standards for students (Grades 9-12)

How to write a proposal A proposal is an argument you make to convince someone to let you do something. Scientists write proposals to convince the government or other agencies that give them money to do their research. In addition to writing proposals for money, astronomers write proposals to convince the owners of telescopes to let them observe objects in space. Astronomers build their argument with information about what they want to observe and why it is important to do so. When astronomers write proposals, they include answers to the following questions. Your proposal should also contain this information. What is currently known about the type of object you want to study? When preparing for the competition, you are asked to choose a type of object (e.g. a black hole) and then research that type. Begin your proposal with a summary of what you found. It doesn't have to be long but make sure your summary is thorough.  What isn't known about the type of your object? Scientists don't know everything. While you researched your type of object, you probably came up with questions that scientists have not yet answered. Talk about those questions. Discuss what science doesn't know and how filling in those gaps would help form a clearer picture of your object's type. Justifying your questions may seem difficult, but remember you don't have to make a big discovery with your observations. What object do you want to study? This is a question we will partly answer for you. You decide the type of object you want to study and we will provide you with the name of an object. Find what you can on the object we will have given you and tell us why you think it is important. If you don't know why this object is important or how studying it will answer the questions you have, then talk to us and we'll help you figure things out. Remember, the most important thing about your object might be that it is a typical example of its type. What is your hypothesis? State your hypothesis, i.e., the answer you think you will find after the observation. Include what you hope to see in the data that would prove your hypothesis. Why use the Astro-E2? Tell us why you want to use the Astro-E2 satellite to make your observations. Talk about the information that each satellite's instruments can gather and how that information can help answer your questions. You don't have to discuss or use all the instruments on the Astro-E2, but you do need to use and discuss the XRS microcalorimeter. What are your references? List all of the books and articles you read when you were researching your object and writing your proposal. Be sure to include sources for all of the information you had to look up. You can use any reference format you want. Continue to What happens if we pick your proposal? Return to Proposal format Return to Home Page

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