2012 Coriell Science FairStudent Guide For

Basic Fair Information & Basic Project Elements(Revision A-090711)

Who is Eligible to Participate

1. Students in 6th through 12th grades• Individual Projects

• Grades 9, 10, 11 & 12 participate separately at each grade level• Grades 6, 7 & 8 participate together as a single 6th-8th grade level

• Team Projects• Teams are limited to 2-3 students/team• Students in grade 6,7 & 8 participate as a single 6th-8th team level• Students in grades 9,10,11 & 12 participate as a single 9th-12th team level

2. Attend school in Burlington, Camden or Gloucester Co., New Jersey

3. Regular or Home-school students

4. If your school does not participate:Students with adult sponsors may participate

5. If your school or organization has a science fair:Your school or organization decides who may participate

How to Participate1. Download ISEF Rules and Forms from Coriell Web

http://www.coriell.org/education/science-fair/

2. Read and understand the rules and requirements and paperwork thoroughly before beginning: See “Forms and Rules.ppt” for info on required supervision and forms

3. ALL projects must be approved by a parent/guardian (Approval Form 1B) BEFOREstarting and ALL projects involving physical, biological, and chemical risks, human participants or vertebrate animals must ALSO be approved BEFORE starting by an SRC

By Coriell Scientific Review Committee (SRC) OR& also if appropriate by a Regulated Institute or Industry SRC

4. Plan a project & submit with ISEF forms and Research Plan*, & Coriell StudentContact Form: Send COPIES, Keep ORIGINALS)

A: To CoriellG Butler, Coriell Inst. 403 Haddon Ave, Camden 08103Email gbutler@coriell .org or sciencefair@coriell.orgFax (856) 964-0254 attn Science Fair

B: If done at a Regulated Institute/Industry (RI/I), to the RI/I AND** to Coriell **If done at RI/I (including work in summer), Coriell can approve or reject defacto

• The research plan is a “what I plan to do and how I plan to do it” document written before work starts and submitted with paperwork for approval and risk assessment in contrast to the abstract which is a “what I did and what happened” document which is submitted after the project is done.

5. Coriell or Regulated Inst SRC reviews projects and emails back:Approved (You may then begin project)Revisions Required (You must resubmit corrected paperwork ) Coriell will determine, based on type of correction if you:

May NOT begin work before resubmitting May begin work before resubmitting

If revised paperwork is approved you may beginIf work was done or will be done and approved at a Regulated Institute,

Coriell must also approve or acknowledge that approval

6. Do the research

7. Register: If you decide to come to Fair, submit Registration form to Coriell between Feb 1 and Feb 19 (form will be posted on web late Jan.)

• Submit abstract with registration form if project is complete

• If project is not complete by registration deadline:• Send registration form before Feb 19 and• Send abstract before March 12, or bring to set-up day (March 16)• Both abstracts and registrations forms are required to enter Fair

8. Set up is Friday March 16, Fair day is Saturday March 17

How to Participate: Continued

Competition Categories

Behavioral & SocialBiochemistryBotanyChemistryComputersConsumer Science (6th-8th grade only)Earth & SpaceEngineeringEnvironmentalMath Medicine & HealthMicrobiology PhysicsZoology

Teams 6th-8th and Teams 9th-12th (2-3 student /team limit)

Five Basic Steps in Doing a Project

1. Plan the experiment and obtain approval2. Do the experiment and keep a daily journal3. Write a report4. Make an abstract (summary paragraph)5. Create a presentation board

MAKE A HYPOTHESISAn educated guess of what will happen

Should be reasonable, but not necessarily correct

Crystals will be larger when evaporation is slower. (Hypothesis of Positive action)

Red classroom wall color will make student test scores lower.

(Hypothesis of Negative action)

Soil temperature will not affect plant growth.

(Hypothesis of No action)

Choosing a Topic

“What is the effect of __A__ variable

subject

units

on __B__

measured by __C__

Students fill in the ABCD blanks from lists

when __D__ is constant

MEASURE SOMETHING

Examples of variables to be measured

Irrigation / droughtMore mass / less massAngle of launchSunlight / darkColor of lightpHTemperatureType of substrate

Kinds of measurements

Length / heightColor changeSpeed / velocityTemperatureTimeMassOpinions on surveysVolume

Use numbers if possible

Constants

Are things that stay the same because:

You hold them constant so that only one variable is tested at a time:In this example if plant growth differences due to light or water etc.

are being measured, keep all the plants the same kind

Or Constants can also be physically invariant like:Light speed = 650 million mphLiquid Nitrogen is -196 C

Variables

0

1

4

Manipulated (Independent): weight on car

Observed (Dependent): distance traveled

Are things you manipulate (Independent)And things that change in response (Dependent)

Controls

Are things to which you compare your results

Negative Control (untreated): In comparing which toothpaste works best it is:

Brushing your teeth with water

Positive Control (treated with something known to work very well): In determining which color light makes plants grow better it is:

Sunlight

“N”: Repeated Measurements

N is the number of times you test something

N should be 3 or more.

Conclusions drawn from only one trial are usually incorrect.

Why Repeat Experiments?

Trial 1

(N=1)Potatoes 8

days to rot

Tomatoes 4 days to rot

Incorrect Conclusion

Tomatoes

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

(N=3)Potatoes 8 6 4 6

days to rot

Tomatoes 4 16 10 10

days to rot

Better Conclusion

Potatoes

Example of wrong conclusions due to not repeating experiments

Which Rots Faster: Potatoes or Tomatoes ?

If N=1 its incorrectly: Tomatoes, If N = 3 its correctly: Potatoes

Tables, Graphs, and Photo TipsYour data shown in tables, graphs, and photos communicate the most about your project to the judges!

A judge should be able to look at only your data (tables, graphs, and photos), your abstract your title and understand the project without reading anything else

Common Table, Graph and Photograph Flaws

Absent TitleUnlabeled Axes (Axis titles or units of measurement missing)Absent LegendsAbsent credits for who took photos or source

Helpful Graph ComponentsN= Standard Error bars (statistics)

Example of a Good Graph

Effect of UV Filters on Plant Growth

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

0 7 14

No Filter (+ Ctrl)

UV A Filter

UV B Filter

Dark (- Ctrl)

Pla

nt M

ass

(Gm

)

Time (Days)

N = 6

The AbstractWhen you have completed your project, write an abstract telling what you did and what happened.

Keep it Short (250 words or less)

Purpose : Why you did the experiment Procedure : How you did the experiment Result: What you found out Conclusions: What you learned from the experiment

Where to Put Abstracts:

Send one copy to Coriell: (Put your project title, full name and school on this copy only).

Attach one copy to you poster (upper left corner preferred)(Do NOT put your last name or school on this copy)

Make an additional dozen copies (also without last name or school)to place by your poster for judges to take to the deliberation session.

The PosterTitle

Abstract (250 words)

Introduction& Background

MethodsDiagrams

Data Graphs, Photos

Results

Discussion & Conclusions

Log BookReport Loose Abstracts for Judges (12)

Materials & Methods

Format in same order as a scientific paper

Judges have 5-10 min to read.

Include diagrams & flow charts in methods

Use 14-16 Point font to make it easy to read quickly

Keep it short and to the point

In discussionInclude:

Significance of results

What you would doIf it didn’t work

What you would do if you could continuethe experiment

Science Fair Display Rules

Size limits: (30 inches deep, 4 feet wide, 9 feet tall from floor)

No liquids (except water integral to a sealed apparatus)

No sharps (no knives, scalpels, needles, glass, nails, etc.)

Do not have anything or parts of anything that is or has ever been alive: Use Photos.

Examples:No plants, animals, seeds, bones, teeth, bacterial or cell cultures, worms, fish, insects, etc.

No human or animal foodNo chemicals or drugsNo flames No photographs of surgeriesNo awards, medals, endorsements or advertisements

The Interview• Judges interview students after viewing projects with the students absent• Each student will be interviewed by at least two judges, often simultaneously• Students can also be interviewed by additional special awards judges• Be prepared to do the following:

– Give a brief overview of you project and answer questions» What made you select the problem – What was the background?» What was your hypothesis?» What kinds of methods did you use?» What results did you get?» What problems did you encounter, and how did you solve them?» What conclusions did you draw. Why are your results important to advancing science, medicine or engineering?» What would you do next if you continued the project and / or had additional resources?

– Offer a copy of your abstract for the judges to take back to the deliberation session

• What the judges are looking for?– Originality and Creativity

» Contribution to basic or applied research or advancement or improvement of design or technology

– Scientific Thought» Positive and negative controls, recognizing and controlling variables, repeats, appropriate methods

– Thoroughness» Understanding, recognizing limitations, considering what could be done next, sufficient data, reasonable interpretations

– Clarity of Communication» Clear statement of hypothesis, well-labeled clear graphs, charts, diagrams, descriptions of methods

– Skill» Good experimental design, analysis of data, problem solving skills, age-appropriateness, appropriate level of mentor involvement

Advancement• Who Qualifies for Advancement to DVSF:

– 1st and 2nd Place winners in each category for each grade 9th-12th

– 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners for each category in the 6-8th grade group– 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners for (9th-12th ) teams (9-12 is one level)– 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners for (6th-8th ) teams (6-8 is one level)

• What do I have to do if I am qualified to advance?– Coriell informs you that you are qualified at the awards ceremony– Coriell sends you paperwork to DVSF in advance if you qualified– You simply show up at DVSF

• Delaware Valley Science Fair (DVSF):– Dates: Tuesday April 3rd to Thursday April 5th, 2012– Location: Oaks, PA– More Information: http://www.drexel.edu/dvsf/

• International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)– DVSF advances it’s top 13 projects to ISEF– Location and Dates: Pittsburgh, PA, Sunday May 13 - Friday May 18, 2012– More Information: http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/

Got Questions?

• Contact Dr. Gary Butler, Coriell Institute Science Fair

– (856) 757-9716– gbutler@coriell.org

Help with ISEF Forms

Please download and review the PowerPoint or pdf:

2012 Forms and Rules GuideGuide for Successful Completion of ISEF Forms (And Getting Approval without

Correction and Resubmission)

Posted on Coriell’s Web:

http://www.coriell.org/education/science-fair/

For assisting teachers, parents and students in understanding the ISEF rules and forms and for preparation of ISEF paperwork, improving their chances of

getting approval for Coriell’s Fair, and ensuring paperwork is in order if the project is selected for advancement to DVSF or ISEF