Transcript STEM Fair Projects - Round Lake Middle School

STEM Fair Projects
Project Proposal
Pick a project that:
• Will be interesting.
• You will be able to complete in the required
time.
( See handout for timeline.)
Project Idea
• Choose a project idea that interests you and is not just a demonstration.
Example: I am interested in researching factors that affect plant growth.
Specifically, I would like to see if caffeine has a positive or negative
affect on plants.
• Write 1 to 3 sentences describing what you want to find out in this
project.
Example: The purpose of this project is to find out if a pea plant will grow
taller when given caffeine rather than water.
Question
• The question is what is being tested in your
project.
• Example: How does caffeine affect the
growth of plants?
Research
• Research should be designed to get background
information about your topic, before you begin
your experiment.
• Find a minimum of three sources for your research.
• Find information on the experiment and the variables.
• Suggested sources:
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Books
Magazines
Internet
Hypothesis
Make your guess
✹Use your research to make an educated guess about
how you think your experiment will turn out.
✹Use the “ If I __________ then I think
_____”format
Example: If I pour 100ml of coffee on four pea plants and pour
100ml of water in another four pea plants, then I think the
plants with coffee will grow taller because caffeine will
stimulate the plants.
Hypothesis (cont.)
• Include your independent and dependent
variables, and control.
• Independent variable: The variable that is changed
by the scientist.
• Dependent variable: The variable that responds to
changes in the independent variable.
• Control: Variable that should remain constant
Materials
❑Make a complete list of everything
you will use in your experiment.
❑Tell how many and how much of
each object used.
❑Use metric measures only.
Procedure
• Design your experiment
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Design your experiment so that they only test for one thing.
• Make sure that you do the same things to all groups of objects being
tested.
Example: If you are testing plants:
• Use the same seeds.
• Plant all of them with the same soil.
• Put them all in the same amount of light for the same amount of
time.
• The only thing that should be different about the plants is that one
received coffee and the other water.
Procedure
• To increase the validity of your experiment
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Make sure to keep a control group.
Keep in mind sample size.
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The more objects in your sample the more valid your
experiment.
Use multiple trials. (At least three.)
Procedure
• Write down step-by-step directions on how
to do your experiment.
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Do not leave anything out!
Example Procedure
1.
Get 8 pea plants ( 100 cm tall).
2.
Place 4 pea plants on each tray.
3.
Label one set of plants “Caffeine”.
4.
Label the second set “Water”.
5.
Pour 100ml of coffee( with caffeine ) onto the soil of each
plant twice a week.
6.
Pour 100ml of water onto the soil of each plant twice a
week.
7.
Measure each plant with a metric ruler
8.
Record data in record book.
Drawing
•Create a drawing of how you will set up your
project.
•This will help you visualize what you need and
what has been left out.
Data Collection
• Keep detailed notes and information on the
data you collect.
• If your project is an experiment that will take
place over an extended period of time, check
on in regularly and record your observations.
• The more data you have, the better your
results will be.
Data Analysis
• Display data using charts, tables, and graphs.
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Choose the correct graphs for your data.
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Bar-comparison
Pie-percentage
Line-change/time
• Show any calculations.
• Answer any questions.
Conclusion
• Conclusion is a paragraph.
• Write down why you think your experiment turned
out the way it did, include if your hypothesis was
supported or not.
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Be sure to use the term “ My hypothesis was/was not supported.
Do not say I was right/wrong.
Even when your hypothesis was not supported you gain information
about your topic.
Use scientific reasoning for conclusion.
Conclusion
• Example:
One of many factors that can affect plant growth is
caffeine. In this experiment, the affect of caffeine on pea
plants was tested over a two week period. My hypothesis
that the caffeine would increase the growth rate of the
plants was supported. The plants that were watered with
coffee ( caffeine ) grew taller than those that were given
water. Therefore, caffeine has a positive effect on the
growth of pea plants. This may be due the fact that
caffeine is a stimulant. The caffeine could have
stimulated the plant to grow.
Abstract
• A summary of your project with the things
you learned.
• Should be brief.
Parts of the Abstract
• Introduction. This is where you describe the purpose for doing your
science fair project or invention. Why should anyone care about the
work you did? You have to tell them why. Did you explain something
that should cause people to change the way they go about their daily
business? If you made an invention or developed a new procedure how
is it better, faster, or cheaper than what is already out there? Motivate
the reader to finish the abstract and read the entire paper or display
board.
• Problem Statement. Identify the problem you solved or the hypothesis
you investigated.
Parts of the Abstract (cont.)
• Procedures. What was your approach for investigating the problem?
Don't go into detail about materials unless they were critical to your
success. Do describe the most important variables if you have room.
• Results. What answer did you obtain? Be specific and use numbers to
describe your results. Do not use vague terms like "most" or "some."
• Conclusions. State what your science fair project or invention
contributes to the area you worked in. Did you meet your objectives? For
an engineering project state whether you met your design criteria.
Types of Projects
• STEM Projects
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Science
● How does caffeine affect plant growth?
Technology
● How have computer advancements impacted cancer research and
treatment?
Engineering
● How does weather affect how buildings are built?
Math
● What is the impact math has on architecture?
Make Your Board
• Start your information on the top left panel of
the board, move down the left panel, across
the middle panel, and from the top down on
the right panel.
• Place pictures of your experiment on your
board.
Make your Board
Helpful Resources
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http://www.sciencebuddies.org
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com
http://www.sciencefair-projects.org
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Teacher experiment books
Library books
Bringing It Together
Keys for success:
†Stick to the timeline.
†Tell your parents about the project NOW! (Not the
weekend before it is due.)
†Organization