Science Fair Scientific Process 3rd 4th and 5th graders

Step 1: Problem Statement Which battery lasts the longest? What kind of music do plants like best? Which kind of detergent gets out ketchup spots? Are thicker rubber bands stronger? Does the texture of a colored surface affect the rate at which it absorbs or releases heat? Does adding coils of wire to an electromagnet increase its strengths? The first step is to identify your problem. You can do this in question form. Your question should explain what it is you are trying to discover. You can use this question as the title of your science project.

Start a Journal. Use a composition book to take notes. Explain why you chose this topic. Write everything that you learn or observe in this journal.

Step 2: Collect Background Information Spend time researching your topic. Make sure you take good notes. Your background research will help you understand your experiment. Now research your experiment.

Step 3: Form a Hypothesis To create a hypothesis, you need to make an educated guess what your experiments results will be. It should be written using “If/Then” in your statement. If this is done, “Then” this should happen.

Step 4: Design an Experiment Write your experiment in your journal. Materials: List all your materials in a column. Controls: Every experiment should have a control group with no changes added. You use the data from this group to compare your results. List the parts of your experiment that you will use as your controls. Procedures: List the steps of your experiment in the exact order you will perform them. Be clear and concise. Variables: This is anything that is changed in order to solve your problem. List your variables.

Step 5: Perform Your Experiment Make sure you measure carefully. You should perform your experiment at least 3 times. You can change the variables and perform your experiment again. Observe your experiment closely. The more tests are repeated, the more accurate your results will be.

Step 6: Observe, Record, and Analyze Your Data Write your observations in your journal. Write all the data that you have gathered. Use graphs, charts, and photographs to show your data.

Step 7: Results Using your data and observations tell your findings. Give only the facts to back up your results.

Step 8: Conclusions and Applications Tell whether your results proved or disproved your hypothesis. Explain any problems that happened during your experiment that may have affected the results. All other findings should also be placed in this section. Explain what you would do next time. At the end of your conclusion, tell how your project could be applied to real life situations.

Write an abstract which is a short summary about your project. Step 9: Abstract Write an abstract which is a short summary about your project. Include: Your question, something you learned from your research, your hypothesis, your experiment, results, and if you proved or disproved your hypothesis.

Step 10: Project Display Board Title: Make your title bold to stand out. Create a colorful presentation with headings, graphs, charts, and pictures. Label everything so that the judges can understand each item. Organize your information starting with the left side of your project board. Problem Title Results Hypothesis Materials & Steps Abstract Data Conclusions

Step 11: Notebook Print everything from your board and put it in a notebook or folder. Be sure to bring your display board, notebook, and journal to the science fair.

YOUR NAME SHOULD ONLY APPEAR ON THE BACK

Following The Scientific Method Created by Mrs. Martin Designed by Amy Martin Following The Scientific Method