omment briefly on the implications of your result for the number of civilizations in the galaxy, and its consistency with the fact that we have no direct evidence of other civilizations.

Major assignment: You will write an essay about your own version of the Drake Equation, evaluate information from sources, uncertainties, and give meaning to your result.
In the reading of Module 5 you learned about the characteristics of our solar system and how we have searched for other solar systems. In this weeks reading you get to explore how this could relate to how many civilizations might currently be in our galaxy. The textbook reference on this topic is in the gray box near the end of section 30.4 (Links to an external site.) titled “The Drake Equation”.

Plagiarism:
You are expected to find and use reliable other sources with proper citation. Plagiarism (using someone elses’ work as your own) is taken very seriously and you can ask a librarian for assistance if you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism. It is better to not turn in an assignment then to submit one that gets sent to the Student Conduct office.
Description of Task:
After you’ve read about the Drake Equation, you will create your own version of it with your own values and write an essay about the Drake Equation with your calculated result of how many communicating intelligent civilizations may exist in our galaxy. Choose values for each term, and in each case give a scientifically reasoned explanation for your choice (with references where appropriate). Comment briefly on the implications of your result for the number of civilizations in the galaxy, and its consistency with the fact that we have no direct evidence of other civilizations. Comment on the largest sources of uncertainty in each of your values. Comment on how those uncertainties might change in the near future.
Your essay should be in the range of 2 to 3 pages (500-1000 words) and include the value you chose for each term in the equation with an explanation of each one, and the result when they are multiplied together. The length is not as important as the content and addressing all parts of the assignment and supporting your claims with evidence. Please review the rubric before the essay to understand how you will be evaluated.

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