Controlling Your Science Fair Project

What needs to be controlled? Project: The Effect of Drinking Orange Juice on Test Performance Procedure: Give students orange juice, then have them take a math test. Controls?

What needs to be controlled? Project: The Effect of Drinking Orange Juice on Test Performance Procedure: Give students orange juice, then have them take a math test. Controls: - Hydration (some have water instead, some have nothing) - Amount of orange juice (Same amount? Based on weight?) - Amount of time between juice and test must be same - Test difficulty must be the same - Must take into account/control the math abilities of the student

What needs to be controlled? Project: Does talking on a cell phone decrease reaction time? Procedure: Have participants talk to someone in another room on a cell phone. Test their reaction time by having them try to grab a ruler when you drop it. Controls?

What needs to be controlled? Project: Does talking on a cell phone decrease reaction time? Procedure: Have participants talk to someone in another room on a cell phone. Test their reaction time by having them try to grab a ruler when you drop it. Controls: - Take into account/control physical abilities (do they play sports?) - Hands-free or hands-on cell phone? Try both! Keep track of which one you are testing. - Control person talking to participants (make all conversations equally distracting or intense) - Test every person the same number of times - Complete all trials for a subject within same session

What needs to be controlled? Project: Are people able to distinguish a real smile from a fake smile? Procedure: Show participants images you created of people fake-smiling and real-smiling. Give participants a test with these pictures, and see how many they identify correctly. Controls?

What needs to be controlled? Project: Are people able to distinguish a real smile from a fake smile? Procedure: Show participants images you created of people fake-smiling and real-smiling. Give participants a test with these pictures, and see how many they identify correctly. Controls: - Give all participants the same test - Give all participants the same instructions/information - Ensure all participants have good vision - Make sure the test you make is accurate, or use an available test to eliminate your personal bias