Science Fair Projects Part 2

Data/Log Book Data refers to information gathered during your investigation. List all materials used Notes on all preparations you made prior to starting your investigation Information about the resources you use (books, people, libraries,etc) Detailed day by day notes on the progress of your project Any drawings that you feel might explain your work Data that you gather from your investigation (notes, tables, charts, graphs) Be sure that you date each entry in your log

Labeling AVERAGING Experimental Group B Control Group A DATES DATES 7/2 7/4 7/6 7/8 A1 2 4 5 7 A2 3 8 9 A3 A4 TOTAL 10 16 22 26 AVG 2.5 4.0 5.5 6.5 7/2 7/4 7/6 7/8 B1 1 3 4 6 B2 2 8 B3 7 B4 TOTAL 16 24 30 AVG 7.5 PLANTS/HEIGHT (cm) PLANTS/WEIGHT (cm)

Graphs There are two main types of graphs. BAR GRAPH A BAR GRAPH IS USED TO DISPLAY DATA THAT DOES NOT OCCUR IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER LINE GRAPH A LINE GRAPH IS USED TO DISPLAY DATA THAT OCCURS IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER

MAKING A GRAPH TITLE Dependent variable Y (Vertical axis) Independent Variable X (Horizontal Axis) Title: the title is a short description of the data being displayed should include dependent and independent variables Horizontal Axis (x)- The Independent Variable (Manipulated Variable) what you changed on purpose is displayed on the horizontal axis Vertical Axis (y): The dependent variable ( Responding Variable) what happened as a result of what you changed is displayed on the vertical axis

Graph/Spacing Plan your graph so that your data will be evenly distributed across the horizontal and vertical axes.

Conclusions Your conclusions should include: Statement of support or non-support of the original hypothesis The results of this project ________ the original hypothesis. Description of any problems or unusual events that occurred during your investigation. What would you do differently next time. Revised hypothesis (if data did not support your original hypothesis)

Writing a Conclusion Before you write your conclusions, carefully examine all your data (graphs, charts, tables). Ask yourself these questions: Did you get the results you expected to get? If not, how were the results different? Were there any unexpected problems or occurrences that may have affected the results of your investigation? Do you think you collected sufficient data? (Were there enough trials? Samples?) Do I need to revise my original hypothesis? (If you write a revised hypothesis, DO NOT use it to replace your original hypothesis for this project!)

Conclusions Questions: Do all brands of paper towels absorb the same amount of water? Hypothesis: The cheaper the paper towel the less water it will absorb. Conclusion: The data collected does not support the original hypothesis. The cheapest paper towel (generic) did not absorb the least amount of water. The higher priced paper towel (Brawny) did not absorb the most. The revised hypothesis is the price of the paper towels does not affect the amount of water absorbed.

Absorbency of Paper Towels

PROJECT BOARD SET UP TITLE OF PROJECT ABSTRACT METHODS MATERIALS PROCEDURES DATA TABLE #1 INTRODUCTION RESULTS CONCLUSIONS PURPOSE