Science Experiment 

Science Experiment Guide

Choice #1 - Experiment and Observe 

Experience the thrill of answering a scientific inquiry (question) through experimentation.  Students should choose a question that can be answered with results from an experiment or investigation of their own design.  Discover the answer to that burning question you’ve had on your mind!

A Science Experiment should emphasize the positive experience of learning through experimenting by following the steps of the Scientific Methodology.

Scientific Methodology Steps (“I Have Einstein’s Rules Clear”)

Idea – Question

• Choose a topic you find interesting – a hobby, a sport, any part of your life

• Observe, research and think about …

  • How something works

  • How two things affect each other

  • What changes behavior

  • How an animal behaves

• Narrow the topic to a specific question with one variable (thing) that changes.

  • Do not use yes/no questions.

• Decide what you will measure after you change the variable.

• Use the SPAM (Simple, Practical, Answerable, Measurable) model

Possible questions include:

How does __________________________ affect ________________________?

humidity growth of mold

type of soil water retention

weather humans’ mood

air pressure basketball bounce

time of day temperature

What is the effect of ________________________ on ______________________?

temperature size of a balloon

detergent germination of seeds

earthworms plant growth

saliva sense of taste

Hypothesis 

A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things will work.   Think about how or why something happens, then predict what your experiment will show.  A typical format is: “If     [I do this]    , then     [this]    will happen.

For older students, we encourage you to take it one step further and add what reasoning you base your hypothesis on.

i.e. “If     [I do this]    , then     [this]    will happen because    [reason]   .

It’s OK, if your hypothesis is different from your actual result.

Experiment 

Design an investigation to test your hypothesis.  It is important to conduct a test with only one variable (factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types).

• Materials

  • What items and tools/equipment do you need to conduct your experiment?

• Procedure

  • What are the steps used to obtain data to answer the question?  Make sure your steps are detailed enough so someone else can recreate your experiment exactly as you intended. 

  • Remember to make everything the same except for the one thing you are changing so you can measure if the change makes a difference.  For example, if you are measuring the number of times your cat plays with the big ball compared to how many times he plays with the little ball, both balls should be the same in bounciness, color, and smell.  Therefore, the only difference is the size. 

  • Plan ahead and use time wisely, especially if the experiment is to be conducted over a period of time.

Results – Collect and Present Data

• Record data and extra observations.

• Show data in a way that shows how things are related.  

• Display your data clearly, to show the answer to your question.  What type of graph or chart would be best?

Conclusion – Analyze and interpret results 

• Explain how you came up with your question and hypothesis.

• Review your results.  What conclusion do your results lead you to?

• Use scientific facts and your observations to explain what happened.  (i.e. Answer the “Why” questions.)

• Think about the design and process you used and answer the following:

• What changes could be made to the design to make it an even better experiment?

• What further experiments could you do to take your thinking further?

• What other questions did this experiment make you ask?

• How can your findings be applied to real life?

Science Experiment Project Display Board

Once you have completed your experiment, you will create a project display board to communicate your work to others. See example below!