Science project success guide: designing and conducting experiments

Science World, Sept 27, 2002

Resources

Sure-to-Win Science Fair Projects by Joe Rhatigan and Heather Smith, Lark Books, 2001

Janice VanCleave's Guide to More of the Best Science Fair Projects by Janice Pratt VanCleave, John Wiley, 2000

100 First-Prize Make-It-Yourself Science Fair Projects by Glen Vecchione, Sterling Publications, 1999

The Complete Handbook of Science Fair Projects by Julianne B. Bochinski, John Wiley, 1996

Scientific American Great Science Fair Projects, by Marc Rosner (ed.), John Wiley, 2000

Science Fairs: Ideas and Activities by Andrew Haslam, World Book, 2000

Strategies for Winning Science Fair Projects by Joyce Henderson and Heather Tomasello, John Wiley, 2001

Internet Resources

KidsSpace@The Internet Public Library Your Science Fair Project Resource Guide: www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/projectguide/

The Ultimate Science Fair Resource: www.scifair.org

CyberFair www.isd77.k12.mn.us/resources/cf/welcome.html

School Science Fairs Homepage www.stemnet.nf.ca/~jbarron/scifair.html

Discovery Channel School: Science Fair Central school.discovery.com/sciencefaircentral/

The Science Club www.halcyon.com/sciclub/

Educational Resources Information Center The Clearinghouse For Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education Science Fair Companion www.ericse.org/scifair.html

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair www.sciserv.org/isef/resindex.asp

Section A

Directions: Answer in Complete sentences.

Define hypothesis. Then come up with three research questions and a hypothesis to go with each one (e.g., Does wearing sneakers make you run faster than wearing dress shoes? Hypothesis: sneakers make you run faster than dress shoes.)

Section B Directions: Match the word(s) in the left column with the correct phrase at the right.

-- 1. trials                 a. standard for comparison in an
                                experiment

-- 2. variables              b. details in an experiment that don't
                                change from trial to trial

-- 3. constants              c. step-by-step approach to conducting
                                scientific studies

-- 4. dependent variable     d. characteristics or details in an
                                experiment that change or could be
                                changed

-- 5. independent variable   e. variable that responds to a change in
                                the independent variable

-- 6. control                f. repeated tests in an experiment

-- 7. scientific method      g. variable you change or adjust on
                                purpose

Section A: A hypothesis is an educated guess of what the results to a research question might be. (Also, a hypothesis is an educated guess of how changing the independent variable Will affect the dependent variable.) The three research questions and hypotheses will vary. But here's an example: Research question--Does wearing sneakers make you run faster than wearing dress shoes: Hypothesis--Sneakers make a person run faster.

Section B: 1. f 2. d 3. b 4. e 5. g 6. a 7. c