Science Fair

Science Fair Format Everybody chooses a topic and develops the Experimental Design (due in October) Students who wish to participate in the WHS Science Fair can continue Those students will conduct the actual experiments with the help of the Science Department 35 students who do well at the WHS Fair can continue to the County Science Fair

Why You Should Be Happy If you aren't interested in Science Fair: – You are done by mid-October. – (But you will have to turn in a rigorous experimental design!) If you are interested in Science Fair: – You'll have a lot more support from the Science Department (advice, equipment, etc.) – You'll probably have a much better final product In 2011, students received over $4000 in prizes at the Regional Fair

Timeline SepMarFebJanDecNovOct WHS Sci Fair Pick a topic, begin research Start longer-term experiments Turn in Powerpoint. Turn in SRC/IRB papers Experimental Design (Student) Experimentation (Student & Advisers) Revision (Student, Adv., Judges) Regional Sci Fair Deadline for interest in VJAS

Rubric (Excerpt) 4321 Problem/ Hypothesis o Problem is new and meaningful. o Hypothesis is clearly stated in the “If… Then” format. o Problem is not stated. o Hypothesis is not stated. Research o Research is thorough, specific, has 5 or more defined relevant terms. o Contains ideas supporting or rejecting your hypothesis. o Research has no specifics and no examples. o No ideas are explained. Experimental Design o Variables have been identified (IV & DV), with 4 levels of IV. o Multiple DV, o Missing two or more of the variables or the controls. o Constants are missing or minimal Materials and Procedure o Procedure is detailed, appropriate, and thorough. o Steps of procedure are numbered, listed and sequential o Procedure is inadequate. o A few steps of procedure are listed. Anticipated Results o Full range of foreseeable results has been considered o Impact of potential results on hypothesis has been discussed. o No potential results have been evaluated for consistency with hypothesis.

What You Need To Do Design an experiment – Choose a topic – Research the topic to develop a reasonable hypothesis – Design the experiment – Outline the design in a Powerpoint presentation Powerpoint (and SRC/IRB forms) due October 24 If your experiment will take a long time, you may actually start the experiment before Oct. 24