Transcript Science Fair

Come up with a scientific question that
you want to answer
 Research facts related to your question
 Design and conduct an experiment to
answer your question
 Come to a conclusion
 Present your results
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Final paper
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Display board
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Oral presentation
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Abstract
Safety sheet
Test subject
endorsements
Cover sheet
Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Purpose and
hypothesis
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Review of literature
(research)
Material list
Procedure
Results (including
charts and graphs)
Conclusion
Works cited
 Take
your time! It may not seem like
it but this is one of the most
important steps of the process.
 Pick something that interests you
 Topic should fit one of the listed
scientific categories
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Aerospace science
Astronomy
Behavioral science
Biochemistry
Botany
Chemistry
Computer science
Consumer science
Earth science
Electronics
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Engineering
Environmental
science
Health science
Materials science
Mathematics
Microbiology
Physics
Zoology
You are trying to answer a scientific
question, not just following directions
from a science book
 You must be able to design an
experiment
 You must be able to research facts
related to your topic
 Be creative and original, but be realistic
 The simplest ideas can make the best
projects if done well!
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Check out the books available in the
classroom
 Look at the IJAS website (www.ijas.org)
and other science websites
 Talk to friends and family
 Think about an everyday problem you
may be curious about and if there might
be a scientific way to find an answer
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Use the checklist to keep track of due
dates for all parts of your project
 Keep ALL related papers in your Science
Fair folder
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Do
not lose your Science
Fair folder!!!
Come up with 3 possible topics and write
1-2 sentences for each explaining why
you might want to do a project on this
topic.
 Due Friday, 10/29.
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I will meet with you briefly next week to
discuss your topic options. Final topic
choices are due Friday, 11/5.
Due Friday, 11/5: your final topic choice
 Should be thinking about how you are
going to go about exploring this topic
 Make sure the topic is more than just
research
 Make sure that you can measure results
in whatever you plan on testing
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Why are you doing this project?
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What are you trying to find out?
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What do you hope to learn from this
project?
A hypothesis is your prediction as to what
is going to happen
 Now it’s time to start thinking of more
specifics:
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› What sort of an experiment are you going to
do?
› Are you going to be using people as test
subjects? If so, your project must be safe to
test on people.
How are you going to measure results in
your experiment?
 Your hypothesis is a guess of what sorts of
results you think you are going to get
and a brief explanation of why you
expect these results
 Must be an educated guess with logical
reasoning behind it
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Purpose: short paragraph answering
questions:
› Why are you doing this project?
› What do you hope to learn from this project?
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Hypothesis: short paragraph answering
questions:
› What results do you expect?
› Why do you think you will get these results?
 Due
Friday, 11/12
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All good projects require background
research
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In order to do your experiment, you need
to find out as much as you can about
what you’ll be testing beforehand
Research varies greatly depending on
your topic
 Research will make up your Review of
Literature: factual information on your
topic
 Possible areas to research:
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› History of your topic/materials you will use
› Composition of materials you will use
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Possible areas to research related to this
topic:
› How the senses work (specifically taste and
vision)
› How the human eye works
› Color
› Why people can see color differently
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Possible areas to research related to this
topic:
› History of batteries
› How batteries are made
› Various materials used to make batteries
› Types of batteries available
› Uses of batteries
› Companies that make batteries
All information must be factual – this is
not the part of the project to share your
opinion
 Use a variety of sources – minimum of 5
 All sources must represent scientific
findings – Wikipedia is not a valid source!
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Encyclopedias
 Books
 Company websites and distributions
 Google scholar
 Scientific journals
 News articles
 Interviews with professionals
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Provides a background on your topic for
people that might not be familiar with it
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Use what you learn for your hypothesis
(educated guess – this is your education)
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Helps your design your experiment
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Minimum of 3 questions that you will be
trying to answer in your research
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Think about the examples we discussed
in class
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Due Wednesday, 11/17
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You have your topic, and you know the
question you’re trying to answer
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You made a prediction (your hypothesis)
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Now, it’s time to set up your experiment
so you can test your hypothesis
Variables
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Variables are the parts of your
experiment that you are changing
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Reliable experiments test how changing
one variable affects another variable
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2 types of variables: independent and
dependent
Variables
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Independent variable: the variable you
are changing in the experiment
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Dependent variable: the variable that
changes as a result of what you did to
the independent variable (the result)
Constants
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Constants are factors that do not
change in the experiment
Example
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Project: Which laundry detergent
removes marker best?
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What are the independent variables,
dependent variables, and constants in
this experiment?
Laundry detergent example
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Independent variable: laundry
detergent brand
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Dependent variable: amount of stain left
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Constants: amount of detergent used,
water temperature, fabric, size of stain
before washing, washing machine used
Controlling Other Factors
Your experiment should be testing one
main variable
 You may alter other factors, but you
should keep conditions as constant as
possible
 Main idea: you want to be comparing
apples to apples, not apples to oranges
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Laundry detergent example
It would not be good scientific practice if
you tested a different stain on each
detergent
 The variable should be only the
detergent, otherwise you’re changing
the results
 Test each variable under the same
conditions (same washing machine,
fabric, stains, water temperature, etc.)
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Set up a control experiment
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Run one test where the independent
variable is missing so you have
something to compare the results to
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Laundry detergent example: have one
test where you don’t use any laundry
detergent on the stain
As you are designing your experiment,
remember that you want to have
measurable results to answer your
scientific question
 You must have some way to measure
the results of your dependent variable
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› Can create your own scales, comparisons,
surveys, etc. if necessary
To get the most accurate results,
scientists often perform experiments
multiple times under various conditions
 The more times you perform an
experiment, the more confident you can
be that your results are accurate
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› Free throw example
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Use your best judgment
The first safety precaution you are each
taking is planning your experiment out
before you conduct it
 Anticipate any possible dangers or
safety hazards and take precautions to
prevent them
 Always think before you act!
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No matter how well you plan, accidents
happen – use common sense!
 Be more cautious than you would be in
your daily activities
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› Laundry detergent example – wear goggles
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To thoroughly design your experiment,
before you conduct the experiment you
must…
› Make a list of all materials needed
› Write out a step-by-step procedure that you
intend to follow
 If your procedure changes as the experiment
begins due to problems you couldn’t foresee,
that’s okay
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Materials list
› Include all materials needed
› List amounts of each material
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Procedure
› Step-by-step plan of what you will do
› If steps are being repeated and only one
detail is being changed, you can say
“repeat steps #1-5 but use ____ instead of
____”
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Due Friday, 11/19
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Safety concerns to consider:
› Electrical shock
› Infection
› Sanitary conditions
› Chemicals
› Fire
› Eye injury
› No harm caused to living test subjects