Science Fair
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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
Final paper
Display board
Oral presentation
Abstract
Safety sheet
Test subject
endorsements
Cover sheet
Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Purpose and
hypothesis
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
Aerospace science
Astronomy
Behavioral science
Biochemistry
Botany
Chemistry
Computer science
Consumer science
Earth science
Electronics
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!
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
Use the checklist to keep track of due
dates for all parts of your project
Keep ALL related papers in your Science
Fair folder
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.
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
Why are you doing this project?
What are you trying to find out?
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:
› 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
Purpose: short paragraph answering
questions:
› Why are you doing this project?
› What do you hope to learn from this project?
Hypothesis: short paragraph answering
questions:
› What results do you expect?
› Why do you think you will get these results?
Due
Friday, 11/12
All good projects require background
research
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:
› History of your topic/materials you will use
› Composition of materials you will use
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
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!
Encyclopedias
Books
Company websites and distributions
Google scholar
Scientific journals
News articles
Interviews with professionals
Provides a background on your topic for
people that might not be familiar with it
Use what you learn for your hypothesis
(educated guess – this is your education)
Helps your design your experiment
Minimum of 3 questions that you will be
trying to answer in your research
Think about the examples we discussed
in class
Due Wednesday, 11/17
You have your topic, and you know the
question you’re trying to answer
You made a prediction (your hypothesis)
Now, it’s time to set up your experiment
so you can test your hypothesis
Variables
Variables are the parts of your
experiment that you are changing
Reliable experiments test how changing
one variable affects another variable
2 types of variables: independent and
dependent
Variables
Independent variable: the variable you
are changing in the experiment
Dependent variable: the variable that
changes as a result of what you did to
the independent variable (the result)
Constants
Constants are factors that do not
change in the experiment
Example
Project: Which laundry detergent
removes marker best?
What are the independent variables,
dependent variables, and constants in
this experiment?
Laundry detergent example
Independent variable: laundry
detergent brand
Dependent variable: amount of stain left
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
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.)
Set up a control experiment
Run one test where the independent
variable is missing so you have
something to compare the results to
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
› 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
› Free throw example
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!
No matter how well you plan, accidents
happen – use common sense!
Be more cautious than you would be in
your daily activities
› Laundry detergent example – wear goggles
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
Materials list
› Include all materials needed
› List amounts of each material
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
____”
Due Friday, 11/19
Safety concerns to consider:
› Electrical shock
› Infection
› Sanitary conditions
› Chemicals
› Fire
› Eye injury
› No harm caused to living test subjects