1. Science Fair! Due date January 13 th Science fair is January 26 th 5:30- 7:30 pm

2. www.sciencebuddies.org Computer lab Use the Topic wizard to help you find an interesting science fair project After using the topic wizard, be sure to check out the Science Fair Project Guide science fair project guide

3. Grading Each student will turn project results on a display board. Grading will be based on the inclusion and correct presentation of the following items on the display board: (next slide please)

4. Title/Testable Question Missing 0 points The student asks a question that is not testable or does not make sense 1 point The student asks a question that is testable, but it is not specific or quantifiable 2 points The student asks a question that is testable and measured quantitatively 3 points Hypothesis Missing 0 points The student has a hypothesis, but it does not answer the “testable question” 1 point The student has a hypothesis that answers “the question”, but it is not quantitatively measurable 2points The student has a hypothesis that is quantitatively measurable and answers “the question” 3 points Materials Missing 0 points The materials used for the project is not listed 1 point Some, but not ALL materials used for the project are listed 2 points ALL the materials used for the project are listed 3 points Procedure Missing 0 points The audience is not able to reproduce the project 1 point The audience is able to reproduce the project somewhat, but only with help 2 points The audience is able to follow the direction and reproduce the project himself 3 points Data/Table/Graph/ Chart Missing 0 points The data tables/graphs are qualitative or incomplete 1 point Uses qualitative data tables/graphs but are not complete 2 points data tables/graphs are quantitative and answers “The Question”. Tables and charts include appropriate titles and labels. 3 points Data Analysis/ Conclusion Missing 0 points The student explains what happened, but not WHY it happened 1 point The student attempts to explain WHY but does not connect their data with their explanation 2 points Student clearly interprets results through logical discussion of results. The student uses data to explain WHY! 3 points Visuals/Pictures (photos must be original) Missing 0 points Has pictures, but does not represent the process of the experiment 1 point Has pictures that represent the process of the experiment but does not have captions 2 points The pictures represent the process of the experiment (construction, experimentation, results) and has captions 3 points Organization/ Neatness Missing 0 points The project is a mess. Sections are not labeled and out of order 1 point Most of the parts of the display are labeled and somewhat easy to follow 2 points All parts of the display are labeled and it is easy to follow 3 points Bibliography Missing 0 points Has less than 3 sources and not in correct format. 1 point Has less than 3 sources or not in correct format. 2 points Has at least 3 sources that are in correct format. 3 points Abstract Missing 0 points Has an abstract that does not accurately reflect the research and has many spelling, grammar and punctuation errors 1 point Has an abstract but does not accurately summarize the research. Contains some minor grammar, spelling, punctuation errors 2 points Display contains an abstract of the research done. It is complete, has correct grammar, spelling and punctuation 3 points

5. What Makes a Good Science Experiment? For a Good Science Experiment, You Should Answer "Yes" to Every Question Did you take detailed notes about your observations and record them in your laboratory notebook? Yes / No Did you collect your data using a data table?Yes / No Were you consistent, careful, and accurate when you made your measurements? Yes / No Were you careful to insure that your controlled variables remained constant so as not to affect your results? Yes / No If you ran into any unexpected problems, did you adjust your experimental procedure accordingly? Yes / No

6. Designing an Experiment What makes a fair test? It is important for an experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.

7. For example, let's imagine that we want to measure which is the fastest toy car to coast down a sloping ramp. If we gently release the first car, but give the second car a push start, did we do a fair test of which car was fastest? No! We gave the second car an unfair advantage by pushing it to start. That's not a fair test! The only thing that should change between the two tests is the car; we should start them down the ramp in exactly the same way.

8. Let's pretend we're doing an experiment to see if fertilizer makes a plant grow to be larger than a plant that doesn't receive fertilizer. We put seeds of the same kind in three pots with fertilizer and rich soil. But, we run out of soil so we put the seeds without fertilizer in three pots filled with sand. We put all six pots in the same location and water each one with the same amount of water every other day. The plants with soil and fertilizer grow to be much larger than the ones grown in sand without fertilizer. Is that a fair test of whether fertilizer makes a plant grow to be larger? No! We changed two things (type of soil and fertilizer) so we have no idea whether the plants with fertilizer grew to be larger because of the fertilizer or whether the other plants were stunted by being grown in sand. It wasn't a fair test! All of the plants should have been in the same kind of soil.

9. Conducting a fair test is one of the most important ingredients of doing good, scientifically valuable experiments. To insure that your experiment is a fair test, you must change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same. Scientists call the changing factors in an experiment variables.

10. Let’s do a fair test! Reaction Time How fast do you react? Can you catch the dropped “bat?” In order for this to be a fair test, what factors must stay the same?

11. Reaction time graph results 0.18.16.14.12.1.08.06.04.02