Preparing%20for%20the%20Science%20Fair

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Preparing for the Science Fair

• A Guide for Students and Parents

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What Do I Have to Do?

• You are required to do the following
• Choose a topic
• Develop a research or focus question
• Complete a research paper about your topic and/or
  research question
• Write a hypothesis that answers your focus
  question
• Design and perform a controlled scientific
  experiment to test your hypothesis
• Collect data while doing the experiment
• Analyze the results of your experiment through
  the use of photographs, charts, tables, and
  graphs
• Write an abstract that summarizes your
  experiment, results, and conclusion
• Create an attractive display of your work

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When is this due?

• Because the project will broken down into several
  steps, there will be several due dates
• Your topic and focus question will be grades
  given during 1st Quarter.
• The research paper and abstract are major grades
  for the project that will be given during 2nd
  Quarter.
• The display board will be turned in and graded in
  January (3rd Quarter)

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So How Do I Get Started?

• The absolute hardest part of doing a Science Fair
  project is to figure out what your topic will be.
• We will go through several activities to help you
  come up with a topic to do your project on this
  year.
• Just remember, if you pick a good topic this
  year, you can add on to this project next year.
  Youll be a step ahead of everyone else!

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Where Do Ideas Come From?

• Observations
• Be aware of things around you. You may find a
  topic right in front of you.
• Your Interests
• Sports
• Music
• Art
• Photography
• Your Curiosity
• What is it that you what to know more about?

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NARROWING YOUR TOPIC

• To narrow your topic, you must look for
  relationships within your topic area.
• For example, in the area of plants there are
  relationships between plants and water, plants
  and sunlight, plants and fertilizer, and plants
  and temperature. All of these relationships are
  testable because one affects the other.

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Relationships Practice

• Lets practice finding relationships. Remember
  you are looking for things that have an affect on
  another.
• Write these topics on the Get to the Point
  worksheet.
• For each topic, write down as many relationships
  that you can think of for your topics. Remember,
  you are looking for things that have an affect on
  another.
• Example If your topic was bugs, then what are
  some things that can affect bugs?

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Need Help?

• If you need help finding relationships, ask me,
  or ask your neighbors to help you out. You cannot
  be afraid to ask for help!

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Asking a Question

• Once you have identified the relationships
  involved with your topics, it is time to create
  questions about those relationships.
• The question you write should point out a cause
  and effect, which will be the purpose of your
  experiment.
• For example, if the relationship between plants
  and fertilizers is chosen, this question could be
  asked, Will fertilizer x or fertilizer y
  cause petunias to grow taller?
• Your research questions should be written as a
  question that cannot be answered with yes or
  no.

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Writing Research Questions

• On your Get to the Point worksheet, write 1-2
  possible research questions for each topic.
• Make sure these questions go along with the
  relationships that you have written.
• Again, if you need help, ask ?.

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Research Question

• Look over your list of research questions.
• Cross out any that you cannot reasonably test.
• On the Research Questions worksheet, write down
  your top two choices of questions to investigate.

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Purpose of a Science Fair Project

• The purpose of a science fair project is
• to give you a chance to explore the
• world on your on, just as a scientist
• would.
• It represents your solution to a question or
  problem.

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Scientific Method

• All science fair projects must follow the
  scientific method.
• The steps of the scientific method are
• Ask a question
• Develop a hypothesis
• Test the hypothesis (Experiment)
• Analyze data from the experiment
• Form a conclusion
• Communicate the results

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General Tips

• Follow the schedule given to you closely.
• Make sure things are ready before they are due.
• Dont wait until the last minute.
• Be creative with the title of your project.
• Dont be afraid to ask for help! Your teachers
  are more than willing to help you with your
  project.
• Have Fun!

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Time to Look for Information

• Now that you have a topic and a focus question,
  you need to find out as much about your topic as
  you can. This will help to determine your
  hypothesis, the answer to the focus question.

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How to Research

• Once you have your topic and focus question, you
  need to think about where to find information
  about your topic, as well as your independent and
  dependent variables.
• Sources of information depending on your topic,
  you may find information in the following places
• People who are experts on your topic places that
  study your topic books magazines newspaper
  articles websites computer programs videos

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How to Research

• When you have identified sources of information,
  it is time to write down all important
  information that you find.
• Things to remember
• Always have paper on hand to write down notes
• Have change to make copies
• All notes need to be in your own words. DO NOT
  COPY STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE! IT IS AGAINST THE
  LAW!!

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How to Research

• To keep your research organized, only use one
  sheet of paper for each source.
• Keep all of your research and project information
  in a separate notebook.
• Before you write down the information about your
  topic, make sure to give credit to your source.

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Giving CreditInformation About Your Sources

• If you interview someone, tell their first and
  last name, their occupation, and the date of the
  interview.
• If you use any printed material, give the first
  and last name of the author the title of the
  work the volume or page number the publisher
  city of publication and the date of publication.
• If you use an Internet site, write down the title
  of the site, date of retrieval, and the web
  address.
• Encyclopedias typically have the same
  information. Therefore, you may use only one
  encyclopedia as a source of information. Choose
  the one that has the best and most information
  about your topic.
• If you use anything else as a source, ask your
  teacher how to give credit for that source.

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How Many Sources Do You Need?

• Just remember, the more information you get, the
  better your report will be.
• You should have at least 3 sources of
  information, only 1 can be an encyclopedia
  (including on-line and computer program
  encyclopedias).

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Writing Your Report

• Now you are ready to write a short report about
  your topic, the variables, and how they interact
  with each other.
• Put all the information together that you have
  collected.
• Besides, reporting the information that you have
  found, you need to explain why this information
  is important to other people.

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Writing Your Report

• This report should be at least 5 paragraphs long.
• Your report must include a title page and works
  cited page.
• This report should not contain the words I,
  me, or my.
• Make sure your report is neatly written or typed,
  contains no spelling errors, and is free of
  grammatical errors. Ask your teacher or another
  adult to check for you if you are not sure.

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Create Your Title Page

• Your title page should include the following
  information
• Do not put your name on the report. Your name and
  your teachers name will only be placed on the
  back of your display board.
• Title of Topic (Do not include the word title)
• Date (Just put the date. Example January 31,
  2010)
• School Name ( _____ Middle School)

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Create Your Works Cited

• The works cited is the list of sources that you
  used to write your report.
• The sources should be arranged in alphabetical
  order.
• Even if you only used one sentence from a source,
  you have to list that source in your bibliography.

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Put the Report Together

• When you are finished, your report needs to be in
  the following order
• Title Page
• Report (at least 5 paragraphs)
• Works Cited

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Ready to Experiment?(Not Just Yet!)

• Now that you have finished your initial report on
  your topic, you have enough information to answer
  the focus question you created earlier.
• Before you experiment, there are a few things
  that need to be done.

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Write Your Hypothesis

• Change your focus question to an if/then
  statement.
• Think about what you learned in your research to
  help you create the if/then statement.
• This is your hypothesis.
• You will now design an experiment to see if your
  hypothesis is correct.

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Hypothesis Practice

• EXAMPLE RESEARCH QUESTION
• What are the affects of colored light on plant
  growth?
• Now, change this to and if/then statement.
• If plants are given green light, they will
  produce taller plants.
• Now, practice with your research question.
• My question is __________________________________
  __?
• My hypothesis is
• ____________________________________ .

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Planning Your Experiment

• Think of your experiment like a recipe. You need
  times, sizes, amounts, and a series of steps to
  follow.
• You must also remember that your experiment
  should be testing only the variables that are in
  your hypothesis.

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Sample Experimental Procedure

• Materials Needed
• 8 pink impatiens in 6 pots, water, plant food,
  60 watt incandescent bulbs (2 each clear, red,
  green, blue) 8 lamps each attached to a timer
  metric ruler potting soil measuring cup
• For all Plants
• Each plant will be given the same amount of
  soil, food, and water as they are potted. Place
  each of the plants under a lamp in the same room.
  Each lamp should have a different colored bulb in
  it. The timer will need to be set so that all the
  lamps will be on for the same 12 hours each day.
  The plants will be given 12 ounces of water every
  other day at 500 p.m.

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Sample Experimental Procedure

• Measurement
• Each plants height will be measured after it is
  potted.
• Record the time when the measurement is made.
• Exactly 7 days later, measure the height (in
  centimeters) of each plant again.
• Repeat this procedure for 4 weeks

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Identify Your Variables

• Independent Variable you identified this
  earlier. It was the cause in your focus
  question.
• Dependent Variable you identified this earlier.
  It was the effect in your focus question.
• Constant Variables these are the things that
  will be kept the same to make sure that the test
  is fair.
• Control this is the part of the experiment that
  has an absence of the independent variable

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Identifying Variable Practice

• Sample hypothesis
• If exposed to green light, plants will grow
  taller.
• The independent variable is green light.
• You are in control of what color light the plant
  receives.
• The dependent variable is the height of the
  plants.
• This is the part that you are measuring.
• The constant variables are the amount of light,
  amount of soil, amount of water, type of plant,
  etc
• These are the things that must remain the same
  for both plants.
• The control set up will be a plant that is given
  white light (the light from a light bulb or the
  sun).
• You must have a control setup in order to have
  something to compare your experimental setup.

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Plan Your Procedure

• Be exact
• Write each direction on a new line.
• Dont forget to include how often measurements
  will be taken.
• Only use metric measurements
• Make sure you have 1 control set up and at least
  3 other experimental setups.
• In our example, a plant given white light is the
  control.
• The experimental setups will be the ones where
  you change the independent variable.
• In our example, one plant will be given green
  light. You may also have a plant given red light,
  and another given blue.
• Remember to repeat your experiment several times
  to get accurate results.
• In this example, instead of repeating the
  experiment, just use more than one plant for each
  setup.

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Materials

• Before you begin, make a list of all the
  materials needed to do the experiment, as well as
  those needed for the display.
• Obtain all necessary materials.
• If necessary, build any items needed for the
  experiment.
• Read your procedure again to make sure you have
  everything needed to begin the experiment. (Dont
  forget paper and a pencil to record measurements!)

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Begin Your Experiment

• Read your procedure again.
• Perform your experiment.
• Make sure to follow your procedure exactly.
• Do the experiment many times.
• Dont forgetdo not change anything about your
  constant variables. They have to remain the same
  throughout the experiment.

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Record Results

• While you are performing your experiment, you
  must record not only the measurements that your
  take, but also any observations that you make.
• In our example, measure how high the plants are
  before you start the experiment.
• These results will be recorded in your log book.
  Each time you take a measurement, you must record
  it in a log book.
• Take pictures as you do your experiment. Make
  sure, though, that your pictures do not include
  your face.
• Again, repeat your experiment several times.
• In our example, you should record measurements
  for at least 4 weeks.

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Data Tables

• Once you have completed your experiment, use your
  log book to create data tables for the
  measurements that you took.
• Your data tables should reflect what happened to
  your dependent variable when the independent
  variable was changed.

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Sample Data Table
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
White 1 15cm 16cm 16cm 16.5cm
White 2 20cm 21cm 21.5cm 22.3cm
Green 1 16cm 16cm 18cm 18.1cm
Green 2 15cm 15.5cm 17cm 19cm
Red 1 17cm 17cm 18.4cm 18.5cm
Red 2 16cm 16.1cm 16.5cm 17cm
Blue 1 20cm 20cm 23cm 23.5cm
Blue 2 21cm 22cm 22.3cm 22.8cm
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Charts and Graphs

• Now that you have your data organized into table
  form, you are ready to create a picture of your
  data.
• You need to take the information in your data
  table and create a chart or graph of the
  information.
• You need to have a copy of your graphs, charts,
  and data table for both your experiment write-up
  and your display board.
• Remember
• Circle (pie) Charts show percentages
• Bar Graphs compares items
• Line Graphs show how the dependent variable
  changed with the independent variable
• You need to have a copy of your graphs, charts,
  and data table for both your experiment write-up
  and your display board.

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Sample Graph
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Sample Graph
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Sample Graph
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Draw Your Conclusion

• Your conclusion should
• Tell what happened in the experiment
• Tell if your hypothesis was supported by the
  results
• Answer questions that came up during the
  experiment
• State any other information discovered during the
  experiment.

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Sample Conclusion

• In the experiment, the plants, on average, grew
  taller if they were given the blue light. I
  thought that the green light would cause taller
  growth. This surprised me because chlorophyll is
  green. I thought the green light would make it
  easier for the plants to do photosynthesis, which
  would make them grow taller.

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Writing an Abstract

• Now that your experiment is complete, the results
  analyzed, and a conclusion made, you must write
  an abstract that will be included in both the
  experiment write-up and the display.
• The abstract needs to answer the following
  questions
• What did you investigate?
• Why did you choose this topic?
• What was your hypothesis?
• How was your hypothesis supported by research?
• How did you test your hypothesis?
• What were your results?
• Did your results agree with your hypothesis?

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Writing Your Abstract

• The abstract is a summary of your entire project.
• It should be at least 200 words, but not more
  than 500. (Make sure it is ½ to 1 page in
  length).
• It is okay to use the word I in the abstract.

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Sample Abstract

• For my experiment, I chose to investigate how
  the color of light affects the growth of plants.
  I chose this topic because I like to garden, and
  I wanted to see if there was anything I could do
  to make my plants grow better. I thought that
  green light would make the plants grow taller. In
  my experiment, I tested 8 impatiens. My control
  setup was 2 plants that received white light. I
  had 4 experimental setups 2 with green light, 2
  with red light, and 2 with blue light. After
  doing my research, I found that blue light
  actually made the plants grow taller. The results
  for average growth were white, 1.9cm green,
  3.05cm red, 1.75cm and blue 3.15 cm. The
  results for the green and blue were very close.
  This makes me wonder if I ran the experiment long
  enough or if I used enough plants to get accurate
  results.

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Experimental Write-Up

• You now need to make a report about your
  experiment.
• Like the initial report, you need to type this,
  or write it neatly in pen.
• You need to put your write-up in the following
  order
• Title page (follow same rules as before)
• Abstract
• 3. Table of Contents (Label this)
• 4. Introduction (Label this) this tells why
  the topic was chosen and states its importance to
  other people
• 5. Research this is a copy of your research
  paper (make sure your name is not on this copy

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Experimental Write-Up

• 6. Focus Question
• 7. Hypothesis
• 8. Experimental Procedure
• 9. Identification of Variables
• 10. Materials List
• 11. Number of Setups
• 12. Description of Setups
• 13. Data Collection tell how data was collected
  as well as what data (measurements) were
  collected
• 14. Results
• 15. Conclusion
• 16. Pictures
• 17. Diagrams
• 18. Graphs/Charts of Data
• 19. Acknowledgements thank everyone who helped
  you with your experiment
• 20. Bibliography

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Prepare Your Display

• Your display should be neat, attractive,
  colorful, and well organized.
• Size Projects can be no larger than 30 inches
  (76 cm) deep 48 inches (122 cm) wide and 108
  inches (274 cm) high from the bottom to the top
  of the project.
• See handout for a sample of how to set up your
  display board.
• Important Sketch out your display before you
  actually put it together.
• Make sure everything is spelled correctly on your
  display!
• Your name and your teachers name should only be
  on the back of your display board. Please put
  this on a small piece of paper and attach it to
  the back of your display board.

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Project Display Set-Up
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Rules About the Display

• Items not allowed on display board
• Living organisms, including plants
• Preserved animals
• Human or animal food
• Plant materials (living or dead)
• Water
• Lab/household chemicals
• Controlled substances, including tobacco
• Hazardous devices
• Sharp items
• Flames

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Rules About the Display

• All displayed photos, whether taken by the
  student or family member, or taken from the
  internet or a book, must have a credit line.
  (Photo taken by/ Photo from)
• If the display requires electricity, you must
  supply a proper extension cord.
• All display items must be contained within the
  space of the display board.
• Nothing should hang to the floor or past the
  front of the display.

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Finished?

• Once your display is complete, double check to
  make sure you have everything ready to turn in.
• If your teacher allows you, turn it in as soon as
  you finish. Dont wait until the due date. Things
  can, and usually do happen, on the due date. Its
  better to be safe than sorry.

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Questions

• If you have any questions, please contact your
  Science teacher.