Science Fair Project Science Fair Project Kick

							Science Fair Project




     Kick-Off
   Agreement of Understanding
• You MUST complete a science fair project in
  order to pass Science in the third quarter.
• The research paper will be graded and part of
  your written communication grade.
• You must stick to the timeline set out by your
  teacher so you can finish on time.
• No late projects will be accepted into the fair!
Timeline for Science Fair Project
                                    Timeline
Date Due January 8                    Brainstorming

Date Due    January 15 _              Question

Date Due January 22                   Prediction


Date Du    January 29                 1st Draft of Research Paper

Date Due __February 5___              Variables

Date Due __February 10___             Materials

Date Due __February __12_             Procedures

Date Due __March 16_                  Data Collection Tool

Date Due __March 20____               Results

Date Due _March _23                   Conclusion

Date Due April 6        ______        STEM Fair Display Checklist
Date Due April 6                      STEM Fair board is due in school
Date Due April 7        ______        Putting up of STEM Fair Board

This year’s Science Fair will be on April 8,
 Getting Started
Choosing a Topic
        • Interesting to you !
        • Something you have a
          question about that is
          related to science
        • Can answer question
          only through an
          experiment
 Guidelines for choosing a topic
• Only THIRD graders can do consumer
  projects
• No Projects involving VERTEBRATES
• No Models
• No Bacteria Projects
• No Molds Project
CONSUMER SCIENCE IS FOR
   THIRD GRADE ONLY
                          • What paper towel
                            soaks up the most
                            water?
                          • What diaper absorbs
                            the most liquid?
                          • Which ketchup is
                            thicker?


 Consumer science is testing a product or comparing it
       to another brand of the same product.
     Vertebrates are FISH
Don’t experiment
on me!
    Vertebrates are REPTILES
Like……
• Snakes
• Lizards
• Turtles




                   Don’t
               Experiment on
                    us!
Vertebrates are AMPHIBIANS
                           Don’t
                         Experiment
                           on us!




   Like FROGS and SALAMANDERS
Vertebrates are
                Don’t
   BIRDS Experiment on
                 us!
Vertebrates are MAMMALS
                 SUCH AS-
                 • Rabbits
                 • Dogs
                 • Cats
                 • Hamsters
                 • Gerbils
                 • AND …………..
  NO EXPERIMENTS ON US!
    PEOPLE ARE MAMMALS
            TOO!
• Do not do experiments
  on people like making
  them taste something,
  exercise and check
  heart rate or breathing
  or even asking survey
  questions                   Don’t
                            experiment
                              on us!
Models do not allow you to
       collect data
             Such as
             • Volcanoes
             Or
             • The Solar System
  I can do all kinds of things for
            my topic in
• Biology

• Physical Science

• Earth/Space Science

• Chemistry
 Topics I can do- Invertebrates



WORMS              INSECTS



    MOLLUSKS
Where do I get ideas for my
          topic?
   •   School library
   •   Public library
   •   Internet
   •   Observing the world around me
       You may check the following
                websites
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/



http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

http://www.scifair.org/
       Experiment
         Night

• Conduct an experiment
  from start to finish with
  your parents
• Get ideas for your own
  project
 Things you must include in your
            project
• Display board with all   • Research Paper (4-6
  parts of scientific        grade)
  method

• Journal
 Display of the Science Fair
Title
          Project      Procedures



Question

                                         Written
Hypothesis
                                         Explanation*


  Variables                                Conclusion

     Materials
                         Data Chart*
                                       Graph*
* All parts of the Results.
                Research Paper
•   Title Page
•   Acknowledgements
•   Question
•   Background research
    – Write down questions
      that you want to know
      about your topic that
      you can be answered
      by looking in a book.   Two examples of research
• Sources/Bibliography        papers written by students
                              are included in the journal.
Science Fair Projects are due in
          school by
         April 6,2010




 No LATE projects will be entered into the fair !
                                                           Student
                                                           Journal




  Take a look at the Table of Contents to see all of the
  information included in the student journal.


You must maintain this journal during the entire science
fair project and turn it in with the display. There will
be no available replacement should you loose your
journal.
            Science Fair is on
             April 08,2009
• Each student will be
  interviewed and
  scored by a judge
• Students at each grade
  level will be awarded
  first, second and third
  place
• Kids for Science
  county competition for
  grades 4-6 winners
County Stem Fair will be on
     May 14-15,2010
 Any Questions



???????
Scientific Experiments Follow
            Rules.
• An
  experimenter
  changes one
  factor and
  observes or
  measures what
  happens.
                                27
 Scientific Method -
Controls and Variables




                         28
  The Control Variable
• The experimenter makes a
  special effort to keep other
  factors constant so that
  they will not effect the
  outcome.
• Those factors are called
  control variables.             29
What is the Purpose of a
        Control?

• Controls are NOT being
  tested
• Controls are used for
  COMPARISON

                           31
      Other Variables
• The factor that is changed is
  known as the independent
  variable.
• The factor that is measured or
  observed is called the dependent
  variable.

                                     32
   Example of Controls &
        Variables
• For example, suppose you want to
  figure out the fastest route to walk
  home from school. You will try
  several different routes and time
  how long it takes you to get home by
  each one.
• Since you are only interested in
  finding a route that is fastest for
  you, you will do the walking yourself.
                                      33
What are the Variables in
   Your Experiment?

• Varying the route is the
  independent variable
• The time it takes is the
  dependent variable
• Keeping the same walker
  throughout makes the walker a
  control variable.               34
One more thing… it is best
to make several trials with
each independent variable.


                          35
Activity on Variables
Control - A part of the experiment that
is not being tested and is used for
comparison.
Variable - Any part of an experiment
that can vary.
Independent Variable - The part of the
experiment that is manipulated or
changed by the scientists or person
performing the experiment.
Dependent Variable - The part of the
experiment that is affected by the
independent variable.
Krusty Krab Breath Mints
1. Which people are in the control group? The people who received
the mint without the secret ingredient
(Group B) would be the control group.
2. What is the independent variable? Secret ingredient in the breath
mint
3. What is the dependent variable? Amount of breath odor (or bad
breath)
4. What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be? The breath mint with the
secret ingredient appears to reduce the
amount of breath odor more than half the time, but it is not 100%
effective.
5. What is another name for the fake breath mint that the people in
Group B received?Regular breath mint
6. Why do you think 10 people in group B reported fresher breath?
This may be due to the placebo effect.
A placebo, as used in research, is an inactive
substance or procedure used as a control in an
experiment. The placebo effect is the
measurable, observable, or felt improvement in
health not attributable to an actual treatment.
Sponge Bob Clean Pants
6. What was the problem? SpongeBob’s
pants were not clean.
7. What is the independent variable? Laundry
soap
8. What is the dependent variable? Amount
of dirt left on the pants (or how clean the
pants were)
9. What should Sponge Bob’s conclusion be?
Clean-O laundry soap does not appear to be
effective in cleaning
                                        e
Squidward’s Symphony
10. What is the independent variabl? Instrument
11. What is the dependent variable? Number of jellyfish
12. What should Squidward’s conclusion be? The clarinet
did seem to attract a large number of jellyfish, but the
average number for the three trials also matched the
average for the guitar. The flute attracted the least
number of jellyfish, but the average for this category is
still larger than the control. Music seems to attract
jellyfish in greater numbers than when no music is
played. Squidward’s hypothesis that the clarinet attracts
larger numbers of jellyfish than other instruments is not
proven by this experiment alone.
13. Are the results reliable? Based on the
limited amount of information provided, it is
difficult to tell if Squidward’s results are
reliable. The description did not tell how long
each break was between trials. Did he
leave enough time for the jellyfish to “clear out”
of the area?
(NOTE: Accept other potential flaws that
students can support.)
Super Bubbles
14. What did the Super Bubble ads
claim? The ads claimed that the Super
Bubble solution would produce
bubbles that were twice as large as
those made with regular bubble soap.
15. What is the independent variable?
Type of bubble solution
16. What is the dependent variable? Size
(diameter) of the bubble
17. a. Calculate the average diameter for
each. Super Bubble = 15.1 cm
       Regular Soap = 11.5 cm
b. What should their conclusion be? The
Super Bubble solution did not seem to
produce bubbles that were twice as large as
those made with the regular soap. Although
the average for the Super Bubble solution
was larger than that for the regular soap, it
was not “twice as large” as the ads claimed.
In fact, only two of the ten trials had results
that would fit the ads claims.
18. Are the results reliable? Why or why
not? The description does not say who blew
the bubbles for each solution. There may be
differences in bubble sizes due to the
person blowing the bubble rather than the
bubble solution. They might have
considered having each person blow 5
bubbles with each solution.
(NOTE: Accept other potential flaws that
students can support.)
Reminders:
Make sure that the students are
answering the Science Problem of the
Week,we need the result in the 2nd
Quarter’s PMAPP

Sample Answers are in Appendix of
CFPG also the STEM Fair
information.
This is the end
 of the show.
 Thank you for
   watching!