User:Zachupe/sandbox

Wikipedia pages and citations
Gneiss
 * "Gneiss." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Sep. 2014. Web. 23 Sep. 2014.

Fencing Periodic Table
 * "Fencing." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Sep. 2014. Web. 23 Sep. 2014.
 * "Periodic table." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Sep. 2014. Web. 23 Sep. 2014.

Other Encyclopedia pages and citations
Gneiss Fencing Periodic table
 * "Gneiss." World of Earth Science. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Sep. 2014 .
 * "fencing." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2014. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Sep. 2014 .
 * "Periodic Table (Predicting the Structure and Properties of the Elements)." World of Earth Science. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 23 Sep. 2014 .

Research Methods
At first I was quite hesitant about this research project because choosing a random subject from and infinity of choices is pretty daunting. But once I sat down and started to think about it, the anxiety started to fade. I decided to chose subjects that I have an interest in and that I have some background knowledge in. I then looked for articles that would be interesting and have enough information to be usable. Many of the articles I found on wikipedia, I wasn't able to find on many other of the encyclopedias recommended to us, but I was able to find several of my subjects on the world encyclopedia page.

My first choice, gneiss, is a metamorphic rock that I studied quite a bit in the past, so I figured it would be a good choice. I was quite surprised to find that the wikipedia page on gneiss wasn't as long or as detailed as I expected it to be. The world encyclopedia, on the other hand, had much more information. The wikipedia article had no information on how gneiss is formed, whereas the world encyclopedia has a lot of information on that subject. Both pages had information on the composition of the rock, but the world encyclopedia, once again, is much more detailed.

Fencing, my second choice, is a sport that I used to play, so I thought it would be fun to add it here.On this subject, the wikipedia page has much more information that the world encyclopedia page has. The wikipedia page has info on all sorts, ranging from the history of the sport, to it's modern day use, to the equipment, to certain techniques use in bouts! All in all, it is quite detailed.

My last choice, the periodic table of elements, is a personal fascination of mine. I've used the periodic table in most of my classes in high school and at university, it is a very valuable tool of mine. I've always loved the way it was organised and the logic that formed it. At first glance it looks disorganized and a jumbled up mess, but upon closer inspection, it's amazing how the entire thing fits together in a logical way. It's almost magical. As expected, the wikipedia page is filled with information, showing all the different reasons why the table was formed the way it currently is. The wikipedia page also shows the history is the table, and many of the different tables that came before the current one. The world encyclopedia also has a fair bit of information, but it's not as much, or as detailed as the wikipedia page.

In conclusion, I've found that, in general, wikipedia contains more information about more areas about each subject, providing a good base to start your research. The world encyclopedia, on the other hand, contains less information about each subject, but what is in the article is much more directly linked to subject. The world encyclopedia provides a much more condensed version of the information.

Summary of Wikipedia article about gneiss
The Wikipedia article begins by giving the readers a quick summary of what a gneiss is and how to quickly identify it. The article then briefly mentions the etymology of the word, even though it states that it is only an assumption. The next category of the article talks about the composition of gneiss. The article describes several minerals hat do not make up of a gneiss' composition. The article also mentions that the composition of gneiss can change depending on it's geological location and with the minerals of which it is composed. The article then moves on to explain about gneiss banding, the defining feature of a gneiss. The article explains how the banding is formed, what minerals are needed, and under what conditions gneiss banding can occur. The last few paragraphs of this article demonstrate several different types of gneiss and where they can be found.

Summary of World of Earth Science article about gneiss
The World of Earth Science article begins by explaining what a gneiss is and how to quickly identify it. It describes gneiss banding and the mineral composition of the banding and of the gneiss itself. The article then proceeds to name and describe all four types of gneiss that can arise due to different mineral composition and the two types that arise from it's protolith, either igneous or sedimentary. This article then shows us another rock that is similar to gneiss, but has some small differences.

Compare and Contrast
At the start of both articles it clearly states how to pronounce the word "gneiss" which, if you've never encountered before, can be a little tricky to pronounce. The Wikipedia article then goes on to explain a little about the etymology of the word, something that the World of Earth Science article doesn't do.

The next thing both of the articles do is explain the composition of gneiss. The Wikipedia article gives us several examples of minerals that can be found in gneiss, along with a few different ways to name gneiss depending on their composition such as; garnet gneiss, biotite gneiss, and albite gneiss. The World of Earth Science article also mentions several mineral components such as; garnet, biotite, horneblend, and mica

Both articles then mention the defining characteristic of gneiss: the banding. The wikipedia has a very detailed explanation of the banding. It explains the difference between the mafic and ferric components of the banding. The World of Earth Science article however, has very little information about the banding, only explaining that it comes from metamorphic pressure on the protolith.

The nest several paragraphs from both articles contain information on different types and categories of gneiss. The Wikipedia article gives us information on different types of gneiss, their composition and where they can be found. The types of gneiss that the Wikipedia article has information on are; lewisian gneiss, augen gneiss, archean and proterozoic gneiss, and henderson gneiss .The World of Earth Science article doesn't have information on different types of gneiss, but instead has information on different categories of gneiss that the types of gneiss in the Wikipedia article would go in. The categories in the article are; quazofeldspatic gneiss, pelitic gneiss, calcareous gneiss, and hornblende gneiss.

Both of the articles state that gneiss is a metamorphic rock, and therefore has a protolith. The articles also have information on the different types of gneiss that are possible based on their protolith. If the protolith was an igneous rock, the gneiss is called orthogneiss and if the protolith was a sedimentary rock, the gneiss is called paragneiss.

The World of Earth Science article also goes on to give an example of a similar rock to gneiss, the schist. While both are metamorphic rocks, the gneiss has more pronounced banding than the schist due to stronger metamorphic forces, mainly heat.

Contributors and References
There are many contributors and references on the Wikipedia article. The first is "Petrology : igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic", a book by Harvey Blatt. Harvey Blatt was professor of geology at University of Houston and Oklahoma and is currently professor of geology at the Hebrew university of Jerusalem. I believe this source to be authoritative. The next reference is "Geology and landscapes of Scotland" by Con Gillen. Con Gillen is currently the director of the Office of Lifelong learning at the University of Edinburgh. I also believe this is an authoritative source. The next source is "Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland", a book by Roger Crofts. Rojer Crofts is a man of many skills and has used those skills to d many great things. The last source on the Wikipedia article is "The Hebrides", a book by W.H. Murray. W. H. Murray was a Scottish mountaineer and writter.

The World of Earth Science article on gneiss comes directly from the book The World of Earth Science by K. Lee Lerner. K. Lee Lerner is an accomplished scientist that has written many books

Assessment
I believe that, while both the articles are not as complete as they could be, they are both great sources for basic research and reference. I noticed that the Wikipedia article has a couple of good, reputable sources and the article is well cited. The talk page has several contributors and most of the points that have been brought up have been resolved. What I did notice is that the list of types of gneiss that are included in the Wikipedia article is not conclusive. The gneiss that can be found in the Ottawa area is called Grenville gneiss because it was formed during the Grenville oroginy. There are several places in the Ottawa area such as; King's Head Mountain, Hog's Back Park, and __________. I've also noticed that the Wikipedia article does not clearly state what the general composition of gneiss. It describes in lots of detail about many different types of gneiss and their composition, but no information about the general composition of gneiss.

The World of Earth Science article is, surprisingly, not as detailed as the Wikipedia article. It does however, have a better source than the Wikipedia article, since it comes directly from a book written by a respected scientist. It really lacks specific details but has enough information for a basic research.

Resources
Blatt, Harvey and Tracy, Robert J. Petrology : igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic (2nd ed). W.H. Freeman, New York, 1996. Print.

Gillen, Con. The Geology of Scotland. Harpenden: Terra, 2003. Print.

McKirdy, Alan Gordon, John & Crofts, Roger.Land of Mountain and Flood: The Geology and Landforms of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. 2007. Print.

Murray, W. H. The Hebrides / W. H. Murray  Heinemann London  1966. Print.

Mohr, David W. “Gneiss.” AccessScience. McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.

M. R. W. Johnson and S. L. Harley, Orogenesis: The Making of Mountains, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2012

J. P. Rafferty (ed.), Rocks, Britannica Educational Publishing, New York, 2012

S. C. Kruckenberg et al., Flow of partially molten crust and the internal dynamics of a migmatite dome, Naxos, Greece, Tectonics, 30(3), 2011

E. W. Sawyer, Atlas of Migmatites: The Canadian Mineralogist, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2008

C. Zou et al., Unconventional Petroleum Geology, 1st ed., Elsevier, Waltham, MA, 2013