DOING YOUR SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

Anytime you see the word write, you can either print or use cursive writing.

PART A: YOUR TOPIC

• CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC
  
• Get a logbook.
• Start your logbook by writing your question in it.
• Make a list of things that interest you.
• Think of five or six things you like to do, read about or watch on TV.
• Choose a topic that will work.
  
  Ask these questions:
  
1. Can I find enough information on this topic?
2. Does the experiment need anything special?
3. Do I have enough time to do the project?
   
• Make sure you can experiment with the thing you are interested in..
• Don't just make or build something.
• Write the topic in the form of a question or problem statement.
• What do you hope to learn by doing this project?

(Write in your logbook about everything you are doing.)

PART B: GETTING READY FOR YOUR EXPERIMENTS

1. GATHER INFORMATION
   
• Visit the Media Center at your school.
• Visit the public library or even a library at a college.
• Don't forget to use magazines, books and other library materials besides just encyclopedia.
• Ask the media specialist to help you select materials.
• Write what you find in your logbook.
• Make sure you write down the name of the book, who wrote it, who made the book, and the year it was printed.
• Talk with experts.
• Ask your parents, guardian or teacher to help you set up an interview with someone who knows about your topic.
• Write for information from companies or experts.

1. MAKE A HYPOTHESIS
   
• The hypothesis is my best guess based on what I know and read.
• It will be what will happen because of changes I make.
• The hypothesis should show that one thing will change another thing.
• This is called cause and effect.
  
  My hypothesis:
  
  I predict that ____________________________________________
  
  because ____________________________________________
  

(Write you hypothesis in your logbook.)

2. IDENTIFY YOUR VARIABLES
   
• Variables are all the things that can change in your experiment.
• Only change one thing at a time!
• Find out what causes something to happen.
• You don't need to find a cause if you are just looking at something or counting something.
• What happens when you change the cause and the effect.
  
• The cause is the independent or manipulated variable.
• The effect is the dependent or responding variable.
  
• The only thing you change is the independent or manipulated variable.

• What happens is the dependent or responding variable.
  
  Example:


Baby Crying + Bottle of Milk = Quiet, happy baby


QUESTION + INDEPENDENT VARIABLE = DEPENDENT VARIABLE

or, in other words

PROBLEM + MANIPULATED VARIABLE = RESPONDING VARIABLE

What things might affect my experiments?
(These are my VARIABLES)


1. _____________________________

2. _____________________________

3. _____________________________

4. _____________________________

5. _____________________________

PLAN A CONTROL EXPERIMENT

What is a CONTROL?

• How will you know if what you change is really causing the result?
• When you do the CONTROL experiment, MAKE NO CHANGES.

This is the CONTROL experiment:




Baby Crying + NO Bottle of Milk = Baby still crying

QUESTION OR PROBLEM + NO CHANGE IN ANYTHING = CONTROL

• If you have a project where you are just looking at something, you don't need a control.
• If you have a project where you are just counting something, you don't need a control.

1. PLANNING AHEAD
   
• List your materials and equipment.
• Include how much, how many and what size.

(Write your list of materials in your logbook.)

• List the steps in your experiment.
  
• Number the steps.
• Keep the steps in the correct order.

(Write your steps in your logbook.)

PART C: DO THE EXPERIMENT

• Do the experiment at least THREE times.
• Follow the steps you made.
• Write down everything you do each time.
• Write down everything you see each time.
• Write down everything that happens, no matter how silly.
• If you measure things, use metric system units such as centimeters, grams, or liters.
• Collect your data every day.
• Write down the time and date in your logbook.
• You can include drawings and photos of what is happening.
• Don't worry about a logbook that is not neat!
• Don't ever erase mistakes in your logbook!
• You may put a single line through your mistakes.

(Write everything you do in your logbook.)

PART D: PUT THE RESULTS IN ORDER

• Put what you found from your experiments in a chart.
• If you can, make graphs from what happened in your experiments.
• DO YOU SEE A PATTERN?

(Write any pattern down in your logbook.)

• It is OK if what happens is not the same as what you expected.

PART E: FINISHING

Figuring it all out

• Think about everything that happened.
• Did the things that happened go along with what you expected?
• Were there any surprised in what happened?
• It is important that you try to find the reasons.
• Scientists call this the CONCLUSION.

CONCLUSION: My results agree with my hypothesis because ...

or

CONCLUSION: My results do not agree with my hypothesis because ...

(Write your conclusion in your logbook.)

Continue to Page 3

© 2001 by Bob Gelinas
Last Revision - 8/23/98