2. Question Students must choose a question that is testable and measureable. For example: Are biodegradable bags really biodegradable or do they break down and loose strength after being exposed to outdoor elements? ALL PROJECTS NEED TO INCLUDE EXPERIMENTATION, projects based only on research will not be accepted. NO MODELS

3. Lab Notebook Students are required to keep a lab notebook during the science fair Must be bound, NO SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS Each science teacher will review expectations with students about what should be inside. Expect all data collected as well as observations. Must be turned in with project

4. Set up Students should have a control group and an experimental group. The control group does not have an independent variable, and there are three trials with this group. Experimental group is the group that is testing the independent variable. There should be three trials with this group Sample- Control: 3 trials with biodegradable trash bags that were not exposed to the elements outside Experimental: 3 trials with a bag claiming to be biodegradable that was exposed to the elements.

5. Variables Projects must include 3 variables: Changed variable (independent variable) Measured variable (dependent variable) Constant variables (unchanging)

6. Independent Variable What makes the experiment different. This is the part you are testing. From sample project: Trash bags claiming to be biodegradable.

7. Dependent variable What can be measured, recorded, and used to report data? From sample project: The amount of weight the trash bag can hold before it rips.

8. Constant Variables Ideally this would be everything else about the project. From sample project: the length of time the bags are left outside the weather & amount of sunlight they are exposed to the setup used to test the strength of the bags.

9. Background Research Students should research the topic and expected results for their project. They will be responsible for writing a research report in language arts that relates to their science fair project. This report will also be graded for science and part of their science fair grade. They can turn the same paper in for both classes. For sample project: A discussion of what makes a bag biodegradable and the length of time it takes various materials to decompose.

10. Hypothesis This is an EDUCATED guess about what they believe should happen. This should be based on their research and they should be able to state why they believe they will get a particular result. Sample Hypothesis: If a biodegradable trash bag is exposed to the elements, then the strength of the bag should decrease by 20% because as bags decompose, the plastic loses its strength.

11. Materials Students and parents are responsible for acquiring all materials. Please keep this in mind when students choose their project. We are unable to loan out lab equipment as it may be needed in the classroom while your child is working on their project at home.

12. Procedure This should be written by your student, not copied from a website. Each step needs to be numbered and explained clearly. It may be easier to break the procedure into parts: 1. Set up of experiment 2. Measuring of experiment 3. Evaluation of data

13. Data Observations: write down what you are doing each day. There should be a minimum of 3 trials for each variable. Sample: There should be at least 3 strips from each bag.

14. Data (continued) Students need to have NUMBERS. There should be something measured in their experiment that they can record and display in NUMBERS. If necessary, they may create a scale with numbers to help quantify their data. All measurements should be made using the metric system. Students should be organizing information into a data table in their notebook.

15. Pacing Students will be given approximately 3 months from start to finish to complete the project The project has been broken into smaller assignments so that students will receive feedback throughout rather than only at the end. This is also to help students work over the entire three months rather than leaving everything until the end. If an assignment is turned in late, it will affect their overall project grade. If you are struggling, come to tutoring for help. Questions regarding individual Science Fair projects will not be answered in class.

16. Grade The project is 10% of the final grade. Each part is mandatory. Participation and attendance at the school Science Fair on Saturday, December 7 th, is required.

17. SYNOPSIS CLUB Students must attend SYNOPSIS club to ensure they have a mentor teacher. As a school, we have the ability to send approximately 4o projects to the Synopsis Regional Science Fair. Additional work may be required if you choose to participate in Synopsis.

18. SYNOPSIS CLUB Club is held Mondays, 3-4 pm, in Room A with Mr. Kent and Ms. Ehly. Students must sign up and attend weekly club. Cost is $15 due to SYNOPSIS when the application is submitted. If students stop attending the club, we may choose to drop their projects from the competition. All SYNOPSIS entries require a teacher mentor, the only way to get a mentor is to come to the club.