Science Fair Project
See Mr. Kassebaum or Ms. Green's sites for a list of due dates for the science fair this year.
A Complete Science Fair Research Report consists of these elements included in this specific order:
Abstract:
is a form with a concise summary of your work- gives a quick summary of your project- and consists of 3 paragraphs (purpose, procedure, & conclusion). It is single-spaced and 200 words or less. (Available in Computer lab)
Safety sheet:
is a form that identifies all safety hazards- if no safety hazards, then state No Safety Hazards on the form. (available in Computer lab).
Endorsement :
Is a form that is only needed when humans are used in your experiment(available in Computer lab)
Title Page:
is a separate piece of paper with title of project, name, grade, and date of science fair.
Table of Contents :
lists all components of the report- begin numbering pages with the acknowledgements
Acknowledgements:
give credit to the people who helped with your experiment, provided guidance, bought materials, etc.
Purpose & Hypothesis (on same page):
States the question you are investigating with your experiment (purpose) and what you think will happen (hypothesis)
Review of Literature:
this is a five paragraph (minimum) research paper on the topic of your project.
Do not have your name on the top of this paper since it is just one in a packet of your report. Be sure to cite all sources within the text of the paper. Consult your teacher for the format to be used to cite sources and the required length of this research paper.
Materials:
if pictures or drawings help to further explain materials, they may be included
Methods:
a step by step procedure for completing your experiment- don’t skip any steps! If you do it, write it down! If pictures or drawings help to further explain steps, they may be included- do not use pictures as filler!
Results:
should be organized in charts and/or graphs. A paragraph should follow each graph explaining what it shows, how to interpret or read it, and what can be concluded from each graph. All units of measurement must be in metric units.
Conclusion:
should begin by referring to the purpose, then the hypothesis, and finally state your conclusion- support your conclusion with the data/results gathered while performing your experiment.
Reference Page:
Must follow guidelines and be in ABC order- look in Sci Fair workbook for further information or use an online bibliography site like easybib.com. All sources must be non-editable(Wikipedia not acceptable) and reputable- look for sites with .edu .
A Complete Display
Should give complete explanation of your project- put project title on board- include all charts, graphs, pictures, photographs of you doing your experiment, etc. You need to display the abstract, safety sheet, and endorsement sheet, if applicable. Your display must be neat, organized and appealing to the eye with no spelling errors!!
Is your Review of Lit done and now you are ready to conduct your experiment?
1. Conduct your experiment following your written methods step by step. As you are conducting your experiment, if you realize you forgot a step or need more information, be sure to add it to the methods page.
2. Collect data. In regular intervals (daily, every hour, every minute, etc.) record measurements taken. BE SURE ALL MEASUREMENTS ARE IN METRIC UNITS and in an acceptable and known unit or measure or mathematical quantity. Do not make up your own measurement system.
3. Write down observations (what you see). In regular intervals (usually the same time you record measurements), write down the physical appearance and description of your project. Take pictures if you are able.
4. Complete your experiment.
5. Type the final draft of your materials and methods with any new information and exact measurements.
6. Construct and complete data charts along with graphs representing the data gathered during your experiment. Be sure to label! Along with each data table, write a short analysis of the data in paragraph form. This analysis summarizes the data only, and does not answer the hypothesis. A minimum of two different graphs are required for your results.
Helpful Hints:
If you need to convert from customary units to metric measurements, use a free online conversion site.
If you are working with plants, start very early and run the experiment twice in case a plant dies or gets eaten by your dog.
Write down everything! If you are wondering if I should write this or do I need to measure this, do it! You can always decide later if you need it or not.
Forms and Parent Information Letter:
If you don't have Microsoft Word to view the Science Fair Papers, you can download a free program that's like Word and opens Word files called OpenOffice. You can download it by going to OpenOffice.org
Here are the forms and letters sent home. They are in PDF form and require Adobe Reader to view. If you don't have it, you can download it by clicking here.
Click here to view the Note-Taking form.
Click here to view the Parent's Letter.
Click here to view the Purpose & Hypothesis sheet.
Click here to view the Research Topics sheet.
Click here to view the Science Fair workbook.