 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 ( and other science websiteswww.ijas.org  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 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

 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 are factors that do not change in the experiment

 Project: Which laundry detergent removes marker best?  What are the independent variables, dependent variables, and constants in this experiment?

 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

 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

 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.)

 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