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Science Fair Central's Tips for Parents

LEUSD Judging Rubric updated 2015

    JPL's video series "How to do a Science Fair Project"

     What happens to one thing if you change something else while you keep all of the other conditions the same? All of a sudden you're a scientist! That's the heart of all research, and a science project is just another name for research. One thing to keep in mind: science projects are not the same as science demonstrations. The idea behind a science project is to learn something new--through an experiment. You might guess the result beforehand, but you won't know for sure what will happen until you try out the experiment.

     A demonstration is different. For example: it's fun to show that vinegar and baking soda together cause a reaction. And if the reaction occurs like a volcano, you really do see the reaction explode. But that's all it is--a demonstration. No new information is discovered. You know exactly what the reaction is going to be. That is why it is not appropriate to do a demonstration project for the science fair at the middle school level.

Parts of a Science Project

While your science project may be simpler than a scientist's, it still needs to follow the same basic steps that make up the Scientific Method Process:

1. Develop an Initial Observation:

You notice something, and wonder why it happens. You see something and wonder what causes it. You ask questions about what you have observed. The first step is to write down what you have noticed.

Criteria for Making Observations:

• Uses qualitative characteristics with as many senses as appropriate

• Uses appropriate tools to make quantitative measurements (metrics only)

• Based on facts, not opinions or inference

  • Makes reference to known scales

    • Examples: Moh's Hardness, texture, color, temperature, pH…

• Uses precise language and appropriate vocabulary related to content and grade level

• Describes several characteristics/properties

  • Examples: size, shape, etc…

2. Develop a Testable Question:

Choosing your project

     Your problem question must be able to be tested through experimentation. The question should come out of your observations as something that sparked your interest or curiosity. A discrepant event if you will.

Exactly what do you hope to figure out? What is the “WHAT IF” question? For example: “ What is the affect of _______ on ______?” You should be able to write the research question in a simple sentence. In fact, keep the whole project simple. This is important to the scientific process: the simpler the experiment, the easier it is to keep “all other conditions” the same and change only one thing. That's how you can be sure that the thing you are changing is actually causing any difference you measure.

Criteria for Testable Questions:

• Uses something from your “What I will change” group

• Uses something from your “What I will measure” group

• A broad question that is something to investigate

3. Do Research on Your Subject:

     You need to do some studying before you start. Sources of information include school and public libraries, professionals in the specific fields of study, and the Internet. Find out what is already known about the topic you have chosen.

     Also, once you have some background, you might consider writing, telephoning or e-mailing a scientist who works in the field you've chosen for your project. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that they have resources available to the public that you could use for your project. This would be very useful to you, since you will be expected to include 3 to 5 pages of research in your scientific method project notebook.

     A record of where you have found your information is also required within your notebook. Be sure to include all of your references. Copies of these items are also often helpful. You can place them in the back of this section.

However, do not copy from your resources word for word! Your report should be in your own words. These resources are only to be used as references not as your report. Sometimes it is helpful to list a reference and then follow it with a brief summarizing paragraph about what you have learned from it.

     Your language arts teachers have already taught you how to write a summarizing paragraph as well has how to construct a reference page. Use that information for this portion of your project.

4. Develop a Hypothesis Statement:

     “Hypothesis” can be loosely translated as “What do you expect to happen in your experiment?” It is more than an “educated guess” as it must be testable using controls and variables. The hypothesis should be stated in a cause and effect statement, using the “if/then” syntax.

     Suppose your research question is: “What happens to plants if I change the types of water that I give them?” The hypothesis might be something like: “If I change the type of water given to plants to include water taken from Lake Elsinore, the tap water at my school and Arrowhead purified drinking water, then, I think that the plants that were given water from Lake Elsinore will grow faster than those given the tap water and that the plants that were given Arrowhead purified water will grow the slowest of them all.”

     It is important to word your hypothesis correctly, For example, you shouldn't simply say: “lake water is better for plants.” That is because the term “better” cannot be measured. It is an opinion. You must decide on a hypothesis that can be proven in a measurable way. For example, "higher temperatures will make the seeds sprout faster because..."

     Also, it is perfectly fine for your experiment to disprove your hypothesis. If something unexpected happens during your experiment, the project doesn't need to be trashed. You just discovered something new and showed that what we expect is not always what we get.

Variable & Hypothesis Worksheet

Criteria for Making a Hypothesis Statement:

• Refers to the problem/question asked in the observation/investigation

• Must be testable

• Is stated in the syntax of “if/then”

• Expresses a cause and effect relationship between the variables

• (The effect of the changed/manipulated “independent” variable on the measured/responding “dependent” variable

5. Develop a Procedure:

     A procedure is the detailed steps of the experiment. The procedure must be clear, with little or no interpretation of what to do next. The procedure should include the list of materials and how they were used. It should also be detailed enough for another scientist to be able to follow the procedure and complete the experiment without having to ask for help or direction.

     The procedure is how you plan to do things, in short, how you are going to conduct your experiment. An experiment can only have one variable. That means you can only change one condition. For example: within the plant growing experiment that was discussed earlier, only the types of water that are given to the plants can be changed. The types of soil, light, temperature, or plant foods cannot be changed in any of them. They must all be treated the same way at all times. If there is more than one variable (or thing changed), the experiment becomes flawed. It can be hard to figure out what other conditions must stay the same. But if may help to think if through before you start your experiment.

     Also think about how long your experiment will take before you decide on your procedure. If you only have a few weeks to do your experiment, don't' decide on a procedure that will take months to carry out. Think about your “sample size.” How many plants will you test with each type of water? Allow a big enough sample (at least 3 in each) so you can have an average growth recorded for each group. Once you decide on a procedure, write it down step by step. That way you can prove what you did, and can follow the same procedure if you, or someone else, needs to repeat the experiment.

Criteria for Writing a Procedure:

• Includes detailed steps of the experiment. (Like game rules.)

• Written clearly, with little doubt of what to do next

• Includes the list of materials, amounts, and how they are to be used

• Should be able to be reproduced by anyone

• Outlines what observations should be made and what data should be collected

  • Defines the number of trials to be done. (Minimum of three.)

    • Increasing the number of trials, increases the validity of the results

• Includes and identifies the manipulated/changed (independent) and responding/measured (dependent) variables

6. Data Collection/Analysis:

     The key to good data collection and analysis is good observation. Measurements (metric only) need to be part of the data collection. The data should be represented in charts or tables that are clearly labeled and contain relevant information. IF variables are used in the experiment, a “T” chart is the chart of choice! The data collected should also be represented in a pictorial form through a graph. The graph can be a bar graph, pie graph or point (coordinate) graph. The graph should clearly show the relationship between the data.

In other words, your data should be in numbers, not just what you see in words. It can be amounts of water used, how long something is, the time something took, etc… If you are not taking any measurements, you are probably not doing a scientific method project.

     For example, say that some of your plants grew 1 centimeter the third day. Don't say that the plants “look bigger today than they did yesterday.” Words like “bigger” mean different things to different people, so reporting your results using only words can lead to confusion. You want to tell people exactly how much your plants grew. Keep all your results in your notebook.

Variables are referred to in a number of ways, yet is important to know and understand the differences between them.

A manipulated variable is also known as a changed or independent variable. That is because you are manipulating it or changing it and it is acting independently (on its own).

A responding variable is also known as a measured or dependent variable. That is because it is what you measure based on the changes that you have made. Additionally, it is dependent upon the changes that you made in the manipulated variable.

In short, the manipulated/changed/independent variable is the “cause” and the responding/measured/dependent variable is the “effect” of the project.

Criteria for Constructing a “T” Chart:

• The chart has a title that indicates the relationship between the variables.

• Labels are clearly written and accurately displayed

• Units of measurement (metric only) are clearly written and accurately displayed

• The manipulated/changed/independent variable is in the left column of the “T” chart

• The responding/measured/dependent variable is in the right column of the “T” chart

Criteria for Constructing a Graph:

• The correct graph is chosen to represent the date (example: line, bar, pie)

• Graph has a title that indicates the relationship between the variables

• Labels, interval scale, and units or measurement are clearly and accurately displayed on each axis

• Manipulated/changed (independent) variable is displayed on the x-axis

• Responding/measured (dependent) variable is displayed on the y-axis

• Data points are clearly and accurately displayed on the x and y axes

• If appropriate, a key is used to identify data on the graph

Hint: If you take your “T” chart and turn it onto it's left side (drop it to the left) the result will be the correct placement of the variables on the proper axes.

7. Develop Summary Statements:

     Summary statements should describe the data. Nothing that is not in the data can be included in a summary statement. This statement should also contain as much quantitative information as possible, identifying things like the average, mean, mode or range, as well as the data that seems to lie outside of what was expected. Put simply, the summary statements are based on evidence from the data.

Criteria for Writing Summary Statements:

• Answers the testable question with data.

• Summarizes what was done in the experiment

• Provides the range of data for highest and lowest values

• Describes the shape of the line; tells about the change between data points

• Summarizes the relationships between the variables

8. Develop a Conclusion:

     The conclusion is based on the summary statements. It should wrap up the cause and effect relationship, as well as discuss any unresolved questions, or error analysis of the data. The conclusion should answer the “Problem Question” or explain why it cannot be answered at this time.

The conclusion should also include a generalization or application to explain what happened or be able to apply it to a new area. Generalizations are usually made after repeated trials and are based on expectations from previous experiences. It can be hard to understand the difference between the summarizing statements of the results and a conclusion, but the two are very different.

     Results are the specific data collected during the experiment. These results are then made into summarizing statements. The conclusion is what you learned from doing the experiment, and what the results mean. You might also think of the conclusion as a short essay created out of the summarizing statements. In just a few sentences, you need to explain what happened in your experiment and whether, or not, it agreed with your hypothesis. Did your data (the measurements you took) support your hypothesis? If not, that's a result too! It doesn't mean that the experiment didn't work. It is still a valid experiment. You learned something didn't you?

Also, consider other possible explanations for your results. Did your treatment kill your plants or was it that you left them outside and some insects ate some of the leaves? You're not out to “prove” your hypothesis but to test it. Think more along the lines of “here is what I thought was going to happen and here is what actually happened.” Then go on to explain why you think things happened the way they did.

Criteria for Writing a Conclusion:

• Based on summary statements

• Supports or refutes the cause and effect relationship between the variables

• Discusses any unresolved question

• Includes error analysis of the data

• Answers the problem question or explains why it cannot be answered at this time

Hint: Teachers, and science fair judges, like to know that you are thinking beyond the project that you have just completed. It is always a good idea to include a closing paragraph about how you would do this project differently in the future if you were given the time to do so. Another item to include might be if this project brought up any other ideas for future projects. The “BIG IDEA” is that you are showing them how you think scientifically. J

9.  Assemble your notebook

10.  Assemble your display