Transcript of Science Fair Secrets Working on a science project can be an exciting adventure! You will get to...
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- Science Fair Secrets
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- Working on a science project can be an exciting adventure! You
will get to explore new ideas, new equipment, new techniques, and
learn about the principles of science. But, like all adventures, to
be successful takes time, planning, research, preparation, and some
hard work.
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- How do I get started?
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- Choosing a Topic and Title
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- Be sure that the project chosen is an experiment and NOT a
demonstration. An experiment is a problem that is explored through
the scientific method: Formulating a question Determining and
following a procedure Collecting and analyzing data Forming a
conclusion
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- Choosing a Topic and Title Models and demonstrations are NOT
scientific experiments!
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- Also avoid choosing CONSUMER PROJECTS! Example: A Coke vs.
Pepsi Project Surveying 20 people to see if they prefer Coke or
Pepsi would NOT be a good science fair project because it has no
scientific importance.
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- How to make a consumer project scientifically relevant A way to
make the Coke vs. Pepsi idea into a good project might be to
determine if the caffeine found in Coke or Pepsi has a greater
effect on the blood pressure of a sample of 20 people. This project
would have scientific (medical) importance!
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- Choosing a Topic and Title How should I frame my question? Pick
a topic that: Will be interesting. You will be able to complete in
the required time.
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- Choose a title that reflects your topic and is in the form a
question Example: How does caffeine affect the growth of a plant?
How much methane do different types of food scraps produce? How
does the roughness of a surface affect a snails average speed? Does
salt or sugar affect water evaporation? Does a magnetic field
affect the germination process?
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- Explaining the Purpose Use 1-3 sentences to describe what you
want to find out. Begin with: The purpose of this project is The
purpose of this study is The purpose of this experiment is to
determine the effect of ____ on _____.
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- For example: The purpose of this study is to determine which
soda, Coke or Pepsi, has the greatest effect on a persons blood
pressure. The purpose of this project is to find out if a pea plant
will grow taller when given caffeine rather than water.
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- Background & Research Research should be designed to get
background information about your topic, before you begin your
experiment. Try to use various sources for your research. Suggested
sources: Books Magazines Newspapers Internet
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- Formulating a Hypothesis A hypothesis is a prediction, or
scientific guess, stating what you think will be the answer to your
problem/question. It may be written as an If, then statement. If I
__________ then I think _____ if represents the independent
variable, while then represents the dependent variable.
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- For example: If blood pressure is measured after Coke and Pepsi
are consumed, then those subjects who drink Coke would have a
higher blood pressure than those who drink Pepsi. If I pour 100ml
of coffee on four pea plants and pour 100ml of water on another
four pea plants, then I think the plants with coffee will grow
taller because caffeine will stimulate the plants.
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- Independent variable The variable you are changing Dependent
variable The variable you observe for changes Controlled variables
(aka Constants) Things that remain the same throughout the
experiment Designing an Experiment
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- You must design an experiment that only tests one independent
variable. All other variables must be controlled.variables 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.
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- 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. Procedure Provide a detailed list of
instructions so that others can repeat your experiment. These
instructions should be numbered.
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- Materials Next, you need to list all materials that will be
used to conduct the experiment. 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.
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- Do your experiment.
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- Collecting & Displaying Data Data should be collected as
you perform the experiment Data should be displayed on your board
in the form of tables, graphs, and/or charts All tables, graphs,
and charts should be clearly labeled and include a title Photos
should also be included, if available.
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- Include photographs of your experiment
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- Results Using your data write a few sentences how your
experiment turned out. There is no interpretation or analysis. For
example: The people in my study who drank Pepsi had a higher blood
pressure than those who drank Coke. From reading my charts and
graphs, I know that Plant Group #1 grew an average of 40cm with
100mL of coffee. Plant Group #2 grew an average of 20cm with 100mL
of water. The Plant Group that was given coffee grew 20cm more on
the average than the Plant Group that was given water.
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- Drawing Conclusions Here is where you answer your research
question. Did the data you collected support your hypothesis?
Explain why the data did or did not support your hypothesis. How
could you modify your experiment to get more useful data and get
more conclusive results?
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- Conclusion My hypothesis 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.
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- Make your Board
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- Use the entire board! Be creative with your display! Not so
good Good
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- Helpful Resources Science Fair Web Pages
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/index_A.htm Best site for help
through out project!
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/fair.html This is a good site
explaining the parts of a science fair project.
http://sciencefair.math.iit.edu/ A web site for children to use in
setting up their science fair project
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/ ?pID=fair
A great site! It has info for parents, teachers, and students. It
has project ideas, research tools, and tip sheets for all kinds of
projects.
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- Bringing It Together Keys for success: Make a time-line and
stick to it. Parental support Organization