Suggestions for a successful Science Project:

A. Computer Disk or Flash Drive to save paper. (The research paper and everything on the tri-fold must be typed.) 

B. Designated work area for duration of the project.

C. Tri-Fold display board (purchase at Hobby Lobby or Michaels)

Science Fair Due Dates (To be announced)

Project Topic Due September 4, 2009

Project Proposal Due October 5, 2009

Research Paper Rough Draft Due October 23 2009

Tri-Fold/Final Copy Research Paper November 12, 2009             

Science Fair November 13, 2009

RESEARCH PAPER

       TWO PAGE Typed double spaced (12or14 font)

        Bibliography    (4-Sources two are books)

        Title Page         (Name, Date, and Title of Report)

Report needs to be in terms that the student understands because it is his/her work not parent work. Project must follow the Scientific Method.

For example:

                               Evaporation

       Research needs to explain what evaporation is, what happens during this process, and must give complete information. Use words or terms that you as the student understand.

 

DO NOT COPY FROM A BOOK!!!!!! THAT IS STEALING ANOTHER PERSON'S WORK!!!!!!

Steps to Prepare a Science Fair Project

1. Select a Topic
See the Ideas List and What Makes a Good Project?. Remember a Science Fair Project is a test you do to find an answer to a question, not just showing what you know about something.

2. Gather Background Information
Gather information about your topic from books, magazines, the Internet, people and companies.
Keep notes about where you got your info

3. Scientific Method
State the Purpose of your experiment - What are you trying to find out?
Select a variable (something you will change/vary) that will help you find your answer.
State your Hypothesis - your guess about what the answer will be.
Decide on and describe how you will change the thing you selected.
Decide on and describe how you will measure your results.

4. Run Controlled Experiment and Record Data
Do the experiment as described above.
Keep notes in one place. Write down everything you can think of, you might need it later.

5. Graphs and Charts
What happened? Answer that question, then put the results in graphs and charts.

6. Construct an Exhibit or Display
It has to be neat, but it does NOT have to be typed.
Make it fun, but be sure people can understand what you did.
Show that you used the Scientific Method.

7. Write a short Report
Tell the story of your project - tell what you did and exactly how you did it.
Include a page that shows where you gathered background information. It can be 2 pages.

8. Practice Presentation to Judges
Practice explaining your project to someone (parent, friend, grandparent, etc.) This will help you be calm on Science Fair Day. The judges are very nice and will be interested in what you did and what you learned.

The Scientific Method

The following is a review of the Scientific Method with some key questions and directions on how to design and conduct an experiment.

Problem/Purpose

• What is your goal?
• What idea are you trying to test?
• What is the scientific question you are trying to answer?

Hypothesis

• Explain how you think your project can demonstrate your purpose.
• Make a prediction regarding the outcome of your experiment.
• State the results you are predicting in measurable terms.

Procedure

• Give a detailed explanation of how you will conduct the experiment to test your hypothesis.
• Be clear about the variables (elements of the experiment that change to test your hypothesis) versus your controls (elements of the experiment that do not change).
• Be very specific about how you will measure results to prove or disprove your hypothesis. You should include a regular timetable for measuring results or observing the projects (for example, every hour, every day, every week).
• Your procedure should be like a recipe - Another person should be able to perform your experiment following your procedure. Test this with a friend or parent to be sure you have not forgotten anything.

Materials

• List all materials and equipment that were used.
• Your list of materials should include all of the ingredients of the procedure recipe.

Observations/Data/Results

• Keep a detailed journal of observations, data, and results. Your journal should contain data measurements and written notes about what you are sensing (hearing, seeing, or touching) about your experiment.
• If appropriate, photograph your project results or phases of the project to help your analysis and possibly to demonstrate your experiment on your exhibit board.

Analysis

• Explain your observations, data, and results. This is a summary of what your data has shown you.
• List the main points that you have learned.
• Why did the results occur? What did your experiment prove?
• Was your hypothesis correct? Did your experiment prove or disprove your hypothesis? This should be explained thoroughly.

Conclusion

• Answer your problem/purpose statement.
• What does it all add up to? What is the value of your project?
• What further study do you recommend given the results of your experiment? What would be the next question to ask?
• If you repeated this project, what would you change?

 

Topic Research

Keep a Journal
Purchase a bound notebook to serve as your journal. This notebook should contain topic and project research. It should contain not only your original ideas but also ideas you get from printed sources or from people. It should also include descriptions of your exploratory and project experiments as well as diagrams, graphs, and written observations of all your results.

Every entry should be as neat as possible and dated. A neat, orderly journal provides a complete and accurate record of your project from start to finish, and it can be used to write your project report. It is also proof of the time you spent searching out the answers to the scientific mystery you undertook to solve. You will want to display the journal with your completed project.

Selecting a Topic
Obviously you want to get an A+ on your project, win awards at the science fair, and learn many new things about science. Some or all of these goals are possible, but to reach them you will have to spend a lot of time working on your project, so choose a topic that interests you. It is best to pick a topic and stick with it, but if you find after some work that your topic is not as interesting as you originally thought, stop and select another one. Because it takes time to develop a good project, it is unwise to repeatedly jump from one topic to another. You may in fact decide to stick with your original idea even if it is not as exciting as you had expected. You might just uncover some very interesting facts that you didn't know.

Remember that the objective of a science project is to learn more about science. Your project doesn't have to be highly complex to be successful. You can develop an excellent project that answers very basic and fundamental questions about an event or situation encountered on a daily basis. There are many easy ways of selecting a topic. The following are just a few of them.

Project Types: Two Basic Choices

Still struggling with an idea for your science fair project? It might seem like an overwhelming task, but consider that there are really just three basic kinds of science fair projects:

1. An Investigation
   Examples:
• How long does it take the heart to return to normal after exercise?
• What is the most electricity you can make with a magnet and a coil?
• How rapidly does a plant make starch?
2. Demonstration of a Scientific Principle
   Examples:
• Measuring lung capacity
• An oil-drop model of a splitting atom
• An electrical smoke trap

Now you might be thinking, "But how would you turn these ideas into a science fair project?" Just follow the scientific method you've learned about. We've taken one example from each type and shown how you can apply the scientific method to make it a science fair project.

 

1. An Investigation
Example: How long does it take the heart of an average eighth grader to return to normal after exercise?

Purpose: What exactly are you trying to figure out with your project? Make a statement, for example: To find out how long it takes the heart of an average eighth grader to return to normal after exercise.

Hypothesis: Based on what you know, try to make an answer for your question. Your hypothesis is your best guess. As you do your project, you will try to find out if your hypothesis is true. A hypothesis is a statement, such as: It takes an average eighth grader's heart five minutes to return to normal after exercise.

Procedure:

• Research: Collect information to help you answer your question. Use books, magazines, interviews, and TV. Try contacting experts, such as businesses, utilities, or government offices. You might contact a local sports doctor, a trainer at the YMCA, or the American Heart Association.
• Experiment: A hypothesis must be proved or disproved, so this is your chance to test it out. For example, using a sample of 10-20 eighth graders, measure their initial heart rates, their heart rates after running for 10 minutes, and then the time it takes their heart rates to return to normal.

Results: List the results from your experiment. Use a notebook, charts, or graphs to show the results or your heart rate tests. Make sure your results are clear, and give facts, not opinions.

Conclusion: What did your project teach you? What was the average time it takes an eighth grader's heart rate to return to normal after exercise? Even if your experiment proved that your hypothesis wasn't true, you've learned something.

2 Demonstration of a Scientific Principle
Example: Measuring lung capacity

Purpose: Focus on a specific thing you'd like to learn from your demonstration. For example, your purpose might be to find out if large lung capacity is an advantage during exercise.

Hypothesis:Explain what you think your project will demonstrate. For example: Students with the largest lung capacities can do the most exercise.

Procedure:

• Research: Search for information about lungs, their purpose, how they work, and their importance to exercise. In addition to books and the Internet, you might contact your local pulmonary specialist or the American Lung Association.
• Experiment: Test your hypothesis. Use students of similar size and strength, measure their lung capacity, and test their heart rates after the same amount of exercise.

Results: List the main points of what you've learned. What did your research and experiments prove?

Conclusion: What does all your data add up to? Was your hypothesis correct? What is the value of your project?