Science Fair Projects Helpful Hints for Assisting Your Student October, 2015

Project Due Dates  Third, Fourth, Fifth Grade Projects are due: Tuesday, December 2, 2015  Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade Projects are due: Wednesday, December 9, 2015

What is the Scientific Process?! This is what it’s all about….

Question Sometimes called Problem/Purpose What do you want to find out? “Which starting gate will help the car go the farthest?”

Research Research the topic. Learn what you can so that you can make a strong hypothesis. Take notes in your journal! Ramps, gravity, speed

Hypothesis Based on your research, what do you think the answer to your question will be? “I hypothesize that Gate 2 will help my car go the farthest.”

Materials List all of the materials you will need. 1.Matchbox car 2.Box with 3 starting gates 3.Matchbox “roadway” 4.Measuring tape

Procedure 1.Cut 3 square openings in the box, each at a different height. 2.Place roadway in one starting gate. 3.Put car at top of opening and let it go down the roadway. 4.Measure where the car stops. 5.Repeat this three times. 6.Repeat steps 2-5 with each starting gate. A detailed description of what you will do. Step by step! Repeat the procedure three times.

Variables A variable is something that changes the results of the project. Plan for only one variable. Starting gate project – variable is the height of the starting gate. Keep other variables the same – surface, kind of car, way car is released.

Conduct Experiment  Observe carefully and record everything in a logbook.  Measure accurately.  Repeat the experiment several times if possible to see if the results are the same.  Record your results (data) in a chart or graph.

Photographs Photographs add a lot to the completed project and are a part of the documentation of the project.

Data/Graphs WHY?!  Data and graphs are the documentation of your work.  They explain the results of your procedures and give you the answer to your question.

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Conclusions What are the results of your experiment? How do they relate to your hypothesis? If they are not what you predicted, what did you learn from your experiment? “ My hypothesis was correct. Starting gate 2 helped my car go the farthest because of the pull of gravity.”

NOT a Science Project…! Volcanoes Solar System These are MODELS and do not follow the Scientific Process.

What we look for…  Originality  Neatness  All components of the scientific process  JOURNAL!  Charts and graphs  Eye-catching School System - RELEVANCE

What questions do you have? Take a look at some projects…