1. Chapter 5: Narrowing Your Question
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17

2. Introduction
You may need to narrow your topic down a bit to make it work as a science fair project.
Narrowing is the process you go through to get a workable science fair question that will have a clear answer.

3. Too Broad? Too Broad Better
These are some examples of questions that are too broad and haven’t been narrowed:
Too Broad
Better
Which types of fabrics are better filters for water pollutants?
Do kids who drink 1 or more sugary sodas per day have more cavities?
Is iron oxide found in various red dirt samples from different locations?
What causes water pollution?
What causes tooth decay?
What makes dirt red?

4. Narrowing Practice
How could you change these broad questions to be more specific and answerable with a science fair project?
Why do meteorites cause so much damage when they impact something?
Why are most plants green?
When are children most likely to eat candy?
How do animals learn to do things?
Why do earthquakes cause buildings to collapse?

5. Answers…
Your answers will be different, but these are some better narrowed down questions:
Is it velocity or weight of a flying object that causes the most damage upon impact?
Do green leaves or leaves of another color generate more sugar?
Are children likely to eat more candy while watching a movie, playing a video game or doing nothing?
Do fish remember things when presented with colored queues?
Do buildings constructed with triangular or prism shaped framework withstand earthquakes better?

6. Science Fair Question Survey!
Answer these questions about your science fair question. If you have a good science fair question, all the answers should be yes!
Do you like this topic enough to work on it for several weeks or months?
Can you find anything written about this topic or a closely related topic?
Can you measure any changes (variables) using a number quantity such as counting or change in weight for example. Can you make your own method of measuring if one is not easily available?
Can you design an experiment where you only change ONE thing at a time? That is the only fair way to test something to see if that ONE thing is responsible for the outcome.
Is your experiment safe?
Do you have all the materials you need to complete the experiment and it is affordable?

7. Science Fair Question Survey – Page 2!
Do you have enough time to repeat this experiment several times to be sure your results are accurate?
Does this question allow you to follow all the science fair rules?
Have you avoided all the science fair pitfalls from the beginning of Chapter 5?
Remember! - If you have a good science fair question, all the answers should be yes!
Repeat this survey for any other questions you’re considering.

8. Did you come up with a question?
Did any of your questions pass the survey test?
If you’ve picked a science fair question, make sure you record it in your science fair journal. Try to show the process you used to determine it was a good science fair question.

9. Brain Freeze? - Get Help from the Web
Still not sure what you want to do?
Here are some websites to check out. They are full of ideas. !!!Please try to use these places to get an idea but change it to make it your own!!!
You may use the ideas from this last website, but don’t buy the project!!
If it can be determined that a participant bought a premade science fair kit and just followed the instructions, they will be disqualified.
A science fair project should be original work.