Follow These Easy Steps to Complete a Great Science Fair Project
Use this checklist to make sure you've hit all points and have a winning project.
1. Choose a topic (Get it approved by Mr. B)
2) Get your materials.
Once your project is finished, you need to have the following three things:
-A completed Tri-Board
-Complete Data Notebook
-A finished Lab Report (Typed)
4) Start you experiment:
- Be sure to record all of your data in the lab notebook.
Example: Which diaper holds the most water – you should include how much water each diaper will hold in order to be able to draw a conclusion.
- Repeat your experiment several times. One time is not enough to get accurate results. In your data notebook, you should record data for several attempts at your experiment. Trial 1, Trial 2, Trial 3, etc.
- Draw a conclusion about your experiment
5) Write your lab report. Be sure to have the following sections in your report:
--Title Page
--Introduction (Include your background research here)
--Materials and Methods
--Results and Data
--Conclusion
6) Complete your tri-board
Put a summary of your data on your tri-board. Be sure to include pictures of your experiment if you have a camera.
7) You are now finished. Sit back and relax.
How to complete a lab report:
1) Title: The title should indicate what the laboratory report is about. it should be brief, start with a key word, and indicate the nature of the investigation.
2) Introduction / Purpose: In one paragraph, explain the objectives, or purpose of the investigation. In one clear sentence, state your hypothesis. You may also briefly summarize how the experiment was conducted, the findings of the experiment, and the conclusions of the experiment.
3) Materials: This is a complete list of everything you needed to complete your experiment.
4) Methods: This section is a detailed narrative describing the steps you completed during the lab. It is your procedure. Any random person should be able to read this section and duplicate your experiment. Write it as if you are writing instructions for someone else to complete the lab.
5) Results: In this part of the laboratory report, you organize and summarize the data generated by your experiment. You should discuss your data table in words. You should also include any graphs that you have created in this section.
Data Table: often times, a data table is used to represent the results of an experiment. Any numbers entered into the data table must be complete with units. Your table must also be labeled with a descriptive title.
Figures & Graphs: Graphs and figures must both be labeled with a descriptive title. Both axes on a graph must be labeled with specific units of measure. The independent variable should always be recorded on the X-axis. The dependent variable is recorded on the Y-axis.
6) Discussion / Analysis: In this section you must discuss and interpret the results of your investigation. It is important to reflect back on your hypothesis in this section - Can you support your hypothesis? Must you reject it? Also, use this section to discuss any mistakes you may have made while performing the experiment. If your data is "weird" try to figure out where you went wrong. Finally, suggest how the investigation might have been improved.
7) Conclusions: This section should be one good paragraph. It is the most important part of the report. For every report you must answer the following questions in the conclusion section:
- What does your data tell you about the experiment?
- What happened in the experiment?
- What did you learn from completing this experiment?
Data Notebook
This must be a composition notebook (Pages can not tear out)
Number the pages. Only write on and number the front side of pages.
You must write in blue or black ink.
The first page or two should be designated as your table of contents.
Date and time for each entry you put into the notebook should be present.
You will record all observations you make in the notebook.
You can print charts you create and put them in the notebook
If you make a mistake, draw a single line through it so it may still be read.