Thursday, January 2nd Please pick up a “winter break weather” data sheet from the front demo desk. Make sure to tape/staple this page into your weather notebook. Record today’s weather data into your Do-Now notebook. Have the Simpsons scientific method HW (from before break) out on your desk so I can check it.

Practicing Experimental Design & the Scientific Method Physical Science 8 2013-2014

Goal Imagine that you are designing an experimental investigation for a science fair. You will not actually have to carry out the experiment, however, you are going to go through the steps of planning the investigation. Think about some question or problem that interests you. If you are stumped, there are some suggestions on the back of this page. Then, fill out the following information as if you were going to complete the experiment/investigation.

PROJECT IDEAS (If you are stumped!) Life Sciences: How does temperature affect the water uptake of celery plants? Which parts of a bean seed are needed to grow a healthy bean plant? How does moisture affect the tunneling ability of ants? How does surface affect the travel rate of a caterpillar? What natural products are best at repelling insect pests (mosquitoes, flies, gnats)? How do different types of movement activity affect human heart rate? How does air moisture affect healing time of a stuffy nose? What conditions keep bread mold from growing on bread? How does the bacteria in the mouth of a human, dog, cat, or hamster compare?

PROJECT IDEAS (If you are stumped!) Consumer Science: Are natural sponges more absorbent than synthetic sponges? Are eco-friendly packing materials as effective as less eco-friendly materials when packing a breakable object? What strategies are best for increasing gas mileage? Which brand of paper towels is the strongest when wet? Earth/Space Science: Which method is best for melting icy pavement? Which structure of a model house is best at withstanding a model earthquake? What is the best way to clean or remove deposits from a copper penny (or other precious metal)? How do fins on a straw rocket affect its flight? Physical Science: Which detergent is best for removing stains? What conditions are best to prevent soda from losing carbonation? What conditions make for the fastest sailboat? What is the best way to remove wrinkles from fabric? How does temperature affect the drying time of paint?

The Plan

The Plan…continued

Evaluation You will be evaluated by your classmates, who will provide you with constructive criticism.