Topic
1. Select a topic that can be answered only by experimenting.
2. Write your topic as a question to be investigated.
Example: Which diaper will absorb the most liquid?
Selecting a topic
1. Help in finding a topic:
a. Read in science books, magazines, newspapers, or on-line sources.
b. Talk to your teacher, family, and friends.
c. Visit professional people, museums, and zoos.
2. Select a topic you know nothing about. Something new may arouse your curiosity.
3. Select a topic that you know something about but you want to investigate further.
4. Select a topic that genuinely interests you.
Purpose (Required for PK, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd Grade only)
Write one to three sentences that explains why you are doing this investigation. The purpose can be stated like this: “The purpose of this project is…”. If your purpose is well worded, you will have little difficulty writing a title for your project.
Research
Now you need to find out about your topic. You need background information before you move on to your next step, the hypothesis. What other research or experimentation is out there? Will this influence your experiment? You can find information about your topic in books, online, asking a professional, etc. As you gather your information, make sure to take notes so that you can use these notes to write your paper and create your bibliography.
PreK-2nd: students are required to have 3 sources of information along with some background information about what you learned.
3rd-4th-5th: students are required to have three resources cited along with a report (about three paragraphs) about what they learned.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a prediction about what will happen as a result of your experiment.
Example: I think Brand X diapers will absorb the most liquid because they are thicker.
Materials
List all materials used in your investigation. Include what, how much, and what kinds of materials you used. Keep in mind quantities are important. Be sure to use only METRIC units!
Variables
There are three types of variables:
1. Manipulated Variable-This is the ONE thing that you will change in your experiment. For example, if you are testing which diaper will hold the most liquid, the brand of diaper is the only variable that you would change.
2. Responding Variable-This is the thing that changes as a result of the manipulated variable. For example, if you are testing the diapers, the responding variable would be the amount of liquid absorbed.
3. Controlled Variable-These variables are also called controls. These are all of the things in your experiment that you will keep the same. Controls in the diaper experiment include size of diaper, the amount of liquid poured into the diaper, the temperature of the liquid, and the amount of time the diaper set before measuring absorption.
Only 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will need to include their variables on their display.
Procedure
Your step-by-step directions are like a recipe. Anyone who reads them should be able to duplicate your investigation and get the same results.
Be sure to follow the procedure the exact same way for each of the trials. You must conduct at least 3 trials or test at least 10 people (see FAQs). Make sure to measure and record your results accurately.
Take pictures as you go. You will only be able to present using your display or digital presentation so pictures are a BIG help when explaining your experiment.
Data/Log
Data refers to information gathered during your investigation. The data collected during the course of your investigation needs to be quantifiable (measurable). All measurements in your investigation must be made in metric units. Remember you must have a minimum of three trials or ten people. Writing in a notebook is the most convenient way to keep a log. Be sure to record the date and/or time of each entry in your log. Your log should include:
1. A list of all the materials you use.
2. Notes on all the preparations you made prior to starting your investigation.
3. Information about the resources you used (books, people, libraries, museums, universities, etc.)
4. Detailed day-by-day notes on the progress of your project.
a. What you are actually doing.
b. Problems you have with your investigation.
c. Things you would change if you were doing this investigation again.
5. Data that you gather from your investigations (notes, tables, charts, graphs).
Making a Graph
Showcase your data through tables and graph. Graphs must include titles and labels.
Pie Graphs are good to use if you are showing percentages of groups. Remember all the pieces need to add up to 100 %. This type of graph is great if you are doing surveys.
Bar Graphs are good to use if you are comparing amounts of things because the bars show those amounts in an easy to read way.
Line Graphs are good to use if you are showing how changes occurred in your experiments over time.
Results
Write a paragraph/statement describing the results of your experiment, according to the data.
Example: The data I collected in my experiment showed the control plant which received no fertilizer grew 10.3 cm on average over a 1 week period. The data also showed Plant Fertilizer A grew 13.6 cm on average. Lastly, the data showed that Fertilizer B grew the most with an average of 15 cm of growth.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should explain what happened. It should include:
1. A statement of support or non-support of your hypothesis.
2. Description of any problems or unusual events that occurred during your investigation.
3. What you would do differently next time.
4. A real-life connection.
5. Tell us what you learned from doing the experiment.
Research
The research paper is a very important part of your research. Students in grades PK, Kinder, 1st, and 2nd are only required to write a few sentences of background information. Students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade are required to write at least 3 paragraphs for their research paper. All students are required to list their sources (minimum 3). List alphabetically all books, articles, people, web-sites, or other sources used for researching and writing your paper.