Considering the BIG Question:

How dependent is your life on coal?

Your Minequest Team Plan

You've discovered information about coal and processed that information into ideas to share with others. Now it's time to apply your discoveries to solve a problem. Print the Minequest Problem Solving Matrix for the next task or your teacher will provide one for you.

Task #6: Imagine that our supply of coal was reduced and we didn’t have enough for all the ways we use it in today’s world. How would you allocate this reduced supply of coal to the many uses of this mineral? Would you select the MOST important uses for ALL of the coal? What ARE the most important uses? Would you completely STOP the coal supply to less important products? What other options can you think of to get the best use of the coal for our lives? With your team, develop solutions for this problem using the problem solving matrix.

Follow these steps to complete this task.

Step 1: In your groups, think about the questions above and then develop at least four solutions to the problem of a reduced supply of coal. Think of solutions that could be used in the real world and when you do, talk about the consequences of your solutions on companies, people, the environment, and the state. Make notes on your ideas and the consequences.

Step 2: Now that you have solutions, develop three to five criteria. Criteria are standards you will use to judge your solutions and identify the one solution that would do the most good and the least harm to people, companies, the environment, and the state. To give you an example, one of your criteria might be, “How would the miners be affected?” If one of your solutions resulted in miners losing their jobs, you might give that solution a low score on the matrix below because it would harm the miners. If miners would get higher salaries as a result of one of your solutions, you might give the solution a higher score because the miners would benefit. Your score might be very different if only a few miners are affected. Think deeply now and develop your criteria.

Step 3: In the cells labeled criteria 1-5, write a short description of each of your criteria. Be sure that you have a full description of each criterion on another page. In the cells under the heading “Solutions,” write a brief descriptive phrase for the solutions you have developed. Be sure your solutions are also fully described on another page.

Step 4: Using a scale of 1-10, with ten being the best rating and one being the poorest rating, rate each solution according to each criterion across the row. You may use the same rating score more than once across the row, but don’t give everything the same score because then you’re not thinking and evaluating. It is quite possible that one solution might rate eights and nines across the criteria and another solution might not rate higher than a five on any criteria. Another solution may have both very high and very low ratings. When all the cells are filled with numbers reflecting your ratings, total the rows across for each solution. The solution with the highest total is your best solution because it will do the most good and least harm.

Task #7: From the matrix above, select any two separate scores. Identify the scores you choose by the cell they are in such as Solution 3, Criterion 5. Explain what you were thinking when you gave these two ratings.

Task #8: Explain how the highest rated solution assures that the majority of individuals or groups involved are affected in a positive manner or neutral manner. Explain how the consequences for some parties might be negative yet necessary. Can you modify the solution so that the consequences to most parties are equitable in that each party will have some positive consequences and some consequences that are negative?

Last but not least ...

What insights, surprises, or connections have you discovered about coal and the role it plays in our world?

Task #9: Visit the Minequest Lobby and join a conversation to share your discoveries.

MOVING ON ...

Check to see that you have turned in any work that your teacher requires for evaluation or to earn a class grade.

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