Science Fair Packet

East Lee Middle School Science Fair

NotetoParents
Allstudentsarerequiredtocompleteasciencefairprojectathome.Theywillbedisplayedand
presentedinindividualclassrooms.Thepurposeofthisscienceprojectistoencourageyourchild
tolearnaboutsciencemethodology,researchprotocols,andpresentationofinformation.It
encouragesstudentsnotonlytothinklikeyoungscientists,butalsotodevelopskillsinwriting,
oralpresentation,creativethinking,andproblemsolving.Beawarethatnotallprojectsfromeach
classwillbehonoredbybeingdisplayedattheschoolwidesciencefair.

Pleasefeelfreetoassistyourchildhowever,theworkshouldreflectyourstudentsabilities.We
askthatyoureviewandapproveyourstudentsprogress.InitialProgressBelow.

NotetoStudents
Youareresponsibleforturningineachpartontheappropriateduedate.U
tilizetheideasin
yourpacket.Ifyouhaveanyquestions,askyourteacher.G
oodluck!Wecantwaittoseeallof
youramazingprojects.

Deadlines

Dates

ParentsInitials TeachersInitials

ScienceFairpacketsenthome:

Observation/Idea/Topicdue:

Researchdue:

Hypothesisdue:

InitialPlan/Designwithaparent
signatureisdue:

FinalProjectdue:

Projectswillbebriefedinclasson:

4/20/2017

ScienceFairwillbeheldon:

Name__________________________________DUE:

Project Outline

STEP 1: ASK a QUESTION or MAKE an OBSERVATION:

Explainwhyyouaredoingthisinvestigationorexperiment.Thiswillbeyourpurposeor
statement.Youcanuseoneofthefollowingmodelquestions:
Howdoes_______affect________?(Ex:Howdoeswatertemperatureaffectplantgrowth?)
Whatistheeffectof_______on________?(Ex:Whatistheeffectoffencesonwindspeed?)
What__________is___________?(Ex:Whatbrandofpapertowelsisthemostabsorbent?)

MY PURPOSE/Statement IS:

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Step 2: RESEARCH
After researching, I now know:
1. Gatherinformationfromatleast23sources.Listyoursourcesbelow.Someexamples
are:yourgrandma,aparticularwebsite,oracertainbookormagazine.

2.Write2paragraphs(atleast45sentenceseach)onwhatyoulearnedfromyour
researchaboutyourtopic.Thisresearchisdonebeforeyoustartyourexperiment.

Source1______________________________________________________________
Source2______________________________________________________________
Source3______________________________________________________________

WhatIlearned(2paragraphs,45sentences)
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Name__________________________________DUE:

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STEP 3: CONSTRUCT YOUR HYPOTHESIS

Ahypothesisstateswhatyout hinkisgoingtohappenwhenyouinvestigateaquestion.
Whenyoutestyourhypothesis,youshouldhavenumberstoproveordisproveyour
theory.Ifyoucannotdrawnumbersfromyourtest,thenrethinkyourhypothesis.
(Measureable)
Forexample:

Ifcoldwaterinsteadoftapwaterisgiventoplants,thentheywillgrowless.
(Youcanrecordthetemperatureandmeasuretheirgrowthinnumbers.Thinkgraph.)
Iffencesareintheway,t henthewindspeedwillbeless.
(Youcanmeasurethefenceheights,windspeeds,andamountofreduction.)
IfItestdifferenttypesofwhiteglue,t henIthinkElmerswillbethestrongest.
(Youcanrecordtheweightthateachglueheld.)
Bountybrandpapertowelsareabetterbuybecausetheyarestrongerandmoreabsorbent
thanFoodLionspapertowels.
(Youcanweightheamountofmassthatthepapertowelsheld.)

MY hypothesis IS:

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Name__________________________________DUE:

STEP 4: LIST YOUR MATERIALS

Materials:Makealistofeverythingyouneedtocompleteyourexperiment

the materials I need are:

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STEP 5: DESIGN YOUR TEST Procedure:

Thisislikearecipe.Ittellshowyoudidtheexperiment.Yourdirectionsshouldbeclear,
precise,andgiveninthecorrectordersothatanyoneelsecoulddoyourexperiment.When
designingtheexperiment,thinkofonevariablethatyouwillchangeortest.Allothervariables
needtobeheldconstant,tomakeafairtest.Y
oushouldtestyourhypothesisthreetimes
toensurethevalidityofyourresults(threetrials).

Exampleofprocedureontestingpapertowelstrength:
Thefirsttestyouwilla ccomplishisthestrengthtest.Followtheinstructionsb elowcarefully.
1. Calibrateyourtriplebalancescale.
2. Removeo nesheetfromtheBountyroll.Don otu seo neo fthefirstthreesheetso fa b rand
newrolld uetotheg lueo ntheroll.Onlyu seo nesheetwithn op erforatede dgesinthe
middle.
3. Pour6 0mLo fwaterintoa g raduatedcylinder.
4. Placeyourp lastictubo nthetable.
5. Havetwop eopleh oldthep apertowela te achcornerfiveincheso verthep lastictubsothat
thetubcancatchthewaterthatwillb ep oured.
6. Slowlyp ourthee ntirecontentso fwatero ntothecentero fthep apertowel.
7. Begina ddingweight(pennies,marbles,e tc.)o nea ta timetothemiddleo fthep apertowel.
Theweightd oesn oth avetob estacked.
8. Continuea ddingweightu ntile ventuallythemasso fweightd ropsthroughthep apertowel
intothetubb elow.
9. Transfertheweighttothetriplebalancescalea ndd eterminethemass.
10. Recordthemassthatyoup lacedo nthetowelinTable1 .
11. Repeatthep rocedurewiththeBountyp apertoweltwomoretimes.
12. Nowrepeate ntirep rocesswiththeFoodL ionb randa ndrecordyourd atainTable1 .

Name__________________________________DUE:

Table1 .
Trial

MassthatBountyBrandHeld

MassthatFoodLionBrandHeld

MY Procedure is:
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STEP 6: EXPERIMENT and DATA COLLECTION

Observeanychangesthatoccurduringyourexperiment.Recordyourobservationsinyourdaily
log.Resultsshouldhavenumbersinordertoanalyzeyourdatalater.Followyourstepsclosely.
Youmusthaveatleast3trials(repeatthesameexactexperimentfromstarttofinishatleast3
times).Compareyourresultsduringyouranalysis.Takephotostodocumentyourprocess.

Ifyouarecomparingbrands,youwillneedachartthatlookslikethis:
Variable being tested

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Variable 1

Variable 2

Variable 3

Name__________________________________DUE:

STEP 7: ANALYZE YOUR DATA & DRAW CONCLUSIONS

Afterperformingyourtrialsandrecordingyourdata:
1. Displayyourdatainagraph(piechart,bargraph)toshowresults.
2. Explainthedata/numbersandwhattheymean.
3. Drawconclusionsaboutthedata:Howdidyourexperimentanswerthequestion/problem?
4. Didyouhaveerrorsthatcouldaccountforoutliers?Perhapsyouusedwarmwateronthe
lasttworunsbyaccident?
5. Revisityourhypothesis.Didyourhypothesisholdtrue?

Apartialexampleofananalysiswouldbe: Afterreviewingthedatacharts,theBountypaper
towelsheldtwiceasmuchmassastheFoodLionbrand.TheBountybrandaveraged515grams
moreandtoreonlyatthecornerswhereas,theFoodLionpapertowelsfailedinthecenter.The
dataconfirmsthattheBountybrandpapertowelsareabetterbuybecausetheyarestronger.

STEP 8: COMMUNICATE RESULTS

Communicateyourfindingstotherestoftheworld!

pROJECT BOARD:Useastandardprojectdisplayboard(TriBoard),whichare
availableatWalmart,TheDollarTree,etc.Placetheinformationontheboardaccordingly:

I have reviewed my childs work and approve he/she is ready to present.

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Parent/ Guardian Signature