All about completing a Fair Project. By: The Whole Faculty Science Group

What is a Science Project? A science fair project is a project that is one that ask a question and has an experiment to attempt to answer the question. A science fair is NOT a simply a project that is on a science topic such as plants, animals, health, etc.

What are the parts of a Science Project? A project board with the steps of the scientific method. An abstract. A Report A model or display (if applicable)

Parts of the Scientific Method Purpose Hypothesis Experiment (Procedure, Research) Analysis Conclusion

What is the Purpose? What is your goal? What idea are you trying to test? What is the scientific question you are trying to answer? Ex. Can a plant live more days without sun or light?

What is the Hypothesis? Tell how you think your project can demonstrate your purpose. Make a prediction regarding the outcome of your experiment. State the results you are predicting in measurable terms. Ex. I think that plants can live without water longer than without sunlight.

What is the Procedure? Give a detailed explanation of how the experiment will be performed to test your hypothesis. Be clear about the variables (elements of the experiment that change to test your hypothesis) versus your controls (elements of the experiment that do not change). Be very specific about how you will measure results to prove or disprove your hypothesis. You should include a regular timetable for measuring results or observing the projects (i.e. every hour, every day, every week). Your procedure should be like a recipe -- Another person should be able to perform your experiment following your procedure. Test this with a friend or parent to be sure you have not forgotten anything.

What is the Materials? List all materials and equipment that were used. Your list of materials should include all of the ingredients of the procedure recipe. Make sure you list all the materials used in the Procedure.

What is the Research & Data? Keep a detailed journal of observations, data and/or results. They can be data measurements and written notes about what you are sensing (hearing, seeing, or touching) about your experiment. Photograph your project results or phases of the project if appropriate to help your analysis and possibly to demonstrate your experiment on your exhibit board. You can include graphs showing information like growth, increase, decrease, etc. Include some of the background information you read and researched before you began your experiment.

What is the Analysis? Explain your observations, data and/or results. This is a summary of what your data has shown you. List the main points of what you've learned. Why did the results occur? What did your experiment prove? Was your hypothesis correct? Did your experiment prove or disprove your hypothesis? Should be explained thoroughly

What is the Conclusion? A summary of your interpretation of the data and results of the experiment. You should restate the hypothesis and whether you found the hypothesis to be true or false. You should also comment on how the results of the experiment satisfied your original purpose. Answer your problem/purpose statement. What does it all add up to? What is the value of your project? What further study do you recommend given the results of your experiment? What would be the next question to ask? If you repeated this project, what would you change?

What is the Research Paper? The research paper is the main body of the Science project. Title Page Table of Contents   Question and Hypothesis: The question that you are trying to answer with your experiment. Be sure to clearly state your hypothesis at the end. Review of Literature: Background information that reflects the knowledge you have acquired, through your research, on the topic your of your experiment. You should be providing the reader with useful background information for your project. Materials and Procedure (Research Plan): This is essentially your research plan. You should be certain to include a list of all materials that were used in your experiment and how they were used. It is best to present your procedure in steps and to include as much detail as possible about measurements and techniques in each step. Results: A precise recap of what you found out in your experiment, focusing on your observations and data, leaving all interpretation for the Conclusion section. Conclusion: A summary of your interpretation of the data and results of the experiment. You should restate the hypothesis and whether you found the hypothesis to be true or false. You should also comment on how the results of the experiment satisfied your original purpose. Reference List / Bibliography Table and Figures: Include tables, charts, and photographs that further help explain your experiment and results. It tells in the Scientific Method all steps followed and results of the experiment.

Title Page (1st page of Research ) EXAMPLE Your title page should have your title of the project in the middle of the page and also centered in the middle. Under the title it should have the division, all children at our school will be in the Elementary Division. Then what category the project goes in. Botany (plants), Zoology (animals), Physics What drink stains your teeth the most? 12/14/06 Elementary Division Chemistry

Table of Contents (2nd page of Research) The Table of Contents page needs to be titled Table of Contents. This page should be numbered 2 at the bottom. It should tell what is found on each page of the research paper. The Body of Research will have information about the topic the experiment is on and all the parts of the Scientific Method (purpose, hypothesis, procedure, materials, results, analysis, conclusion) Table of Contents Section Page Title Page ……………......................1 Table of Contents …….................... 2 Body of Research ………………… 3-6 Abstract ………………..................... 7 Bibliography .................................... 8 Table and Figures............................ 9 Bibliography..................................... 10 2

Body of Research (3rd page of Research) The Body of Research papers contains all of the research about your topic from Encyclopedias, Books, Internet, Magazine/Newspaper Articles, and Interviews from experts. The Body of Research also includes all the steps in the scientific method. Also, unlike the Abstract, this can include all details about your experiments (problems, additional ideas for next time, etc.) Make sure you number the bottom of each page. Title Purpose Hypothesis Procedure Research Experiment IV. Results V. Conclusion 3

What is the Abstract? An abstract gives the essence of the project in a brief but complete form — it should not exceed 250 words. Judges and the public should have a fairly accurate idea of the project after reading the abstract. Your abstract should be about 3 paragraphs. It should briefly go through all the steps in the scientific method without opinions or extra elaborations.

Parts of your Abstract Purpose of the Experiment An introductory statement of the reason for investigating the topic of the project. A statement of the problem or hypothesis being studied. Procedures Used A summarization of the key points and an overview of how the investigation was conducted. An abstract does not give details about the materials used unless it greatly influenced the procedure or had to be developed to do the investigation. An abstract should only include procedures done by the student. Work done by a mentor (such as surgical procedures) or work done prior to student involvement must not be included. Observation/Data/Results This section should provide key results that lead directly to the conclusions you have drawn. It should not give too many details about the results nor include tables or graphs. Conclusions Conclusions from the investigation should be described briefly. The summary paragraph should reflect on the process and possibly state some applications and extensions of the investigation.

Bibliography (The last page of your Research Paper) You must have used at least 5 sources research cited. These resources cannot be all the same. Some of the resources are: Magazine/Newspapers Articles Encyclopedias Books Internet Interviews from experts on topic

What should you consider when doing a Science Fair Project? You must be able to perform the experiment using the scientific method. Make sure the equipment you will need to do the experiment is available. Consider whether you'll have enough time to complete the experiment. Demonstrations and models--while good learning tools--are not experiments. For example, a model showing how the human heart works in not appropriate for the science fair.

Steps to a Successful Science Fair Project Become familiar with the scientific method. Select a topic that interests YOU. Your topic should be stated in the form of a question, which you'll answer through experimentation. For example, "What effect does the size of a hole in a parachute have on its rate of descent?" Research your topic and form a hypothesis (guess the answer to your question). Design an experiment to answer your question. Fill out all the required forms BEFORE you start your experiment. Conduct your experiment and record the results. Interpret the data. Put the results in charts and graphs. Draw a conclusion about your hypothesis. Make a display and write a short report. Practice your presentation to the judges. Come to the science fair and have fun!

Some websites that might help http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/ http://school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/scifairstudio/handbook/scientificmethod.html http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/fair/ideasframe.htm http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/sciencefairs/ http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/SciProjIntro.html

Thanks for coming & Good Luck Scientist!