Science Fair Packet

SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

Dear Parents,
Here at Hampton Cove Middle the 7th & 8th graders will participate in an “in-house” Science Fair. This project will be incorporated into the students’ first, second and third nine weeks grade for the year.
A Science Fair project uses the scientific method to solve a problem. This project is an independent study assignment involving experimentation on a topic of individual interest. The educational benefits to the student who completes a project includes developing skills in writing, oral presentation, creative thinking and problem solving.
Each student will be given instructions and handouts during class for the various steps of his/her project. Most of the work will be completed at home, and students will receive a time line noting due dates for each part of the project. Hopefully, this close supervision will help your child develop good time management skills and will ultimately result in a quality project.
Your child may need you to monitor his/her progress and provide encouragement. Your support is the key to a successful project, but please do not allow your involvement to extend any further in order to assure equity and promote student learning! Also, be aware that a prize-winning project can be completed for under $10.00.
This packet highlights due dates of each component, expectations for each student and some helpful hints for providing encouragement. Please take time to read this information carefully. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for your support,
Ms. Stafford (jstafford@hsv.k12.al.us)
Ms. Powell (kpowell@hsv.k12.al.us)
Mrs. Davis (cdavis@hsv.k12.al.us)

SCIENCE FAIR CHECKLIST

Student:_________________________________Period:________

Project Title:___________________________________________
COMPONENTS DUE DATE GRADE PARENT INITIALS

TOPIC,TITLE,
PUPOSE/PROBLEM/QUESTION, HYPOTHESIS, VARIABLES
November 5, 2009

MATERIALS, PROCEDURE
LOGBOOK CHECK
November 12, 2009

RESEARCH
REFERENCES
November 19, 2009

DRAFT OF REPORT
DATA/RESULTS REVIEW

December 3, 2009

LAYOUT OF DISPLAY DRAFT
LOGBOOK CHECK
December 10, 2009

ABSTRACT DRAFT
December 17, 2009

PROJECT DUE
(REPORT, BOARD, ABSTRACT)
January 8, 2010

Timetable

This timetable should help students organize time and effort before the local fair.
Date of the local science fair January 14, 2010
Date to begin working on the project October 19, 2009
Date project is due January 08, 2010

DATE: November 5, 2009_
DUE: TOPIC,TITLE, PUPOSE/PROBLEM/QUESTION, HYPOTHESIS,
VARIABLES
• Log book should have all your brainstorming ideas plus the entire above due components. Write down everything you do, think, and observe about your topic and experimentation. Date each entry. Pen only and do not write on back of paper
DATE: November 12, 2009
DUE: MATERIALS, PROCEDURE, LOGBOOK CHECK
• You will hand in a list of materials and a step by step procedure of the experiment.
DATE: November 19, 2009
DUE: RESEARCH/REFERENCE
• Write, call, and email for additional information and/or help from business firms, government agencies, and universities. Use the library, internet, and other science people to gather information and data about your experiment. Record all in log book
• Organize all of your references in proper format (citation machine)
DATE: December 3, 2009
DUE: DRAFT OF REPORT/ DATA/RESULTS REVIEW
• Begin work on first draft of written report –THE FOLLOWING ARE TO BE COMPLETED ON THE DRAFT: Title page, table of content, Introduction, statement of problem/purpose, hypothesis, research, variables, material, and procedure. IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING COMPLETED PLEASE ADD TO DRAFT: result/data, conclusion, reference, and appendix.
DATE: December 10, 2009
DUE: LAYOUT OF DISPLAY DRAFT & LOGBOOK CHECK
• Draft display board construction and design. Drawn design of how your Tri-board will look.
DATE: December 17, 2009
DUE: ABSTRACT DRAFT
• Abstract will only contain: title, purpose/problem/question, Hypothesis, Variables, Summary of procedure, Summary of data & results and Conclusion.
DATE: January 8, 2010
DUE: PROJECT DUE (will not be accepted late)
PROJECT DUE AT SCHOOL TO BE GRADED: BRING ENTIRE PROJECT: DISPLAY BOARD, REPORT, AND LOGBOOK TO SCHOOL.

JUDGING DAY JANUARY 14, 2010

What goes in each section of my science fair project?

Section One: Question / Problem Statement and or Purpose Statement
The first section of the scientific method is the Question / Problem Statement. It is the question that you are trying to answer with your project, the reason for doing the experiment.
For example: “Which type of bread will grow mold the fastest?” This section only needs to be one sentence long.
Tips:
Make sure that your Problem Statement is only going to be testing one thing. For example, you would not want to be testing which type of bread will grow mold the fastest and which type will grow mold the slowest. That would be doing two experiments in one and could confuse your results.
Section Two: Hypothesis
The second section of the scientific method is the Hypothesis. It is a guess of what you think
will happen when you do your experiment, and it should be written as a cause and effect statement. You can include your labeled variables in your prediction. You need to include why you think what you do. For example, “If a plant gets more light (manipulated variable), then it will grow taller (responding variable) because plants need light to grow.
Tips:
Make sure that your hypothesis only predicts one outcome. Then, you will clearly know whether your hypothesis is right or not.
Section Three: Research
The third section of the scientific method is the Research. This is where you gather background
information on your topic and the materials that you are going to use. You will then use this background information to gain a better understanding of the science behind your project.
This section must have a list of resources from which you obtained the background information on your project. It will look like a bibliography.
Tips:
For example, if your project uses plants, you would want to do some reading on photosynthesis and
possibly the exchange of gases. Make sure to list all resources that you used for background knowledge. If you gained information from a person, you must list that as an interview, citing the date and time of the conversation, as well as the person’s expertise on your topic. For example, an exterminator would be a credible person to interview regarding the behavior of insects.
Section Four: Variables
The fourth section of the scientific method is the Variables. This is where you list the things that will remain the same and the things that will be different during the experiment.
This section must have three types of variables listed:
1) You must list the Controlled Variables. This is what you will make sure to keep the same. For example, if you are testing the effect of music on plant growth, your controlled variables would be the amount of sunlight, water, and temperature of the plants. You will want to keep all of these things the same so that the only difference between the plants is what you are testing for.
2) You must also list the Manipulated/Independent Variable. This is what you are changing to do
the experiment. When testing the effect of music on plant growth, the manipulated variable would be the type of music played to each plant.
3) You must also list the Responding/Dependent Variable. This is what you are measuring. It is the response to the manipulated variable. In the plant experiment, the responding variable would be the amount growth for each plant.
Tips:
This section should look something like this:
Controlled Variables = sunlight, water, temperature, location of plants, length of time exposed to music
Manipulated Variable = type of music played to plants
Responding Variable = amount that each plant has grown
Section Five: Materials / Procedure
The fifth section of the scientific method is the Materials / Procedure. This is where you outline exactly what you are going to be doing to see if your hypothesis is correct.
This section must include two parts: (1) a list of all materials needed to conduct your experiment and (2) a step-by-step procedure that you will follow to conduct your experiment.
Tips:
Make sure that your step-by-step procedure is detailed enough so that anyone could gather the materials from your list, follow your procedure, and get the same results that you did. Also, there are always safety concerns when conducting experiments. Make sure not to leave these out!
Section Six: Data / Result (analysis)
The sixth section of the scientific method is the Data / Result (Analysis). This is the record of what actually happened during the experiment. It is the results of the experiment.
This section must include three parts: (1) a graph or chart that displays your data, (2) pictures or
drawings of your experiment as it happened, and (3) a few paragraphs that explain what happened
during your experiment. (depends on the experiment whether you have graphs/charts or pictures/drawings. You WILL have a result (analysis)
Tips:
Make sure that your chart or graph is colorful and can easily be understood. It should paint a clear
picture of exactly what happened.
Section Seven: Conclusion / Summary
This is the last section of the scientific method. The Conclusion is where you decide if you will accept or reject your hypothesis, and explain what you have learned.
This section must include (1) restating your hypothesis and whether you accept or reject your hypothesis, (2) why was it right or wrong (remember if wrong you have to develop a new hypothesis test it) and (3) a few paragraphs that explain what you have learned, how other people can learn from your experiment, and how others can put your results to work in real situations.
Tips:
To decide whether you should accept or reject your hypothesis, you will need to compare it to your Data / Analysis section.
Section Eight: Abstract
When the research and experimentation is finished, you are REQUIRED to write an abstract. An abstract is a concise summary of the entire research project.
Rules for abstracts:
1) The abstract must be typed.
2) The abstract must be one page ONLY.
3) The following elements are to be in an abstract: Title, Purpose/Problem/Question, Hypothesis, Variables, Summary of procedure, Summary of data & results and Conclusion.
Helpful Hints
• Use past tense and third person.
• Use correct spelling and sentence structure.
• Try to avoid use of highly-specialized words or abbreviations.
• Restrict procedure to identification of method or type of process employed.
• State results, conclusions, or findings in clear, concise fashion

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