Cajon Park

Junior High

Science Fair

Project Guide

Science Fair Project Timeline

Due date

1. Choosing your project Writing your question _______

(Begin your research now!)

2. Hypothesis _______

3. Review of Literature _______

4. List of Materials & Procedures (Begin Experimentation Now!) _______

5. Initial Data Check _______

6. Data Tables & Graphs _______

7. Written Results _______

8. Conclusion _______

9. Introduction & Abstract _______

10. Science Fair Report & _______Display Board

Student Guide to a Successful Science Fair Project

Welcome to Cajon Park Junior High’s annual Science Fair! This is your chance to engage in hands-on experimentation and see a science project through from start to completion. You have the opportunity to experience the success and sometimes failure that scientists do while trying to discover or explain things that affect our lives.

You are encouraged to choose your Science Fair project wisely. Choose something understandable and of interest to you in order to make it a positive experience. Science that affects your daily life will be meaningful to you.

An excellent website that can guide you through the entire process and give examples of work is http://www.sciencebuddies.com.

You will be following the guidelines of the Scientific Method as you conduct your experiment. Remember to follow them as they will keep you on track of what you are to accomplish throughout your project.

Scientific MethodStep 1: Question or Problem to be investigatedStep 2: HypothesisStep 3: List of Materials & Procedures

(Experimentation)Step 4: Data, Graphs & Written Results (Analysis)Step 5: Conclusion & Recommendations

This guide will explain, in detail, how to write the pieces of your project and how to organize your binder and display board. Please utilize this resource.

Once you have selected a project and formulated a scientific question (Step 1 of the Scientific Method), you are ready to research your topic. This is a time consuming process, please keep our time line in mind and leave enough time to run your experiment.

Please be aware that the research portion of your Science Fair Project should be 5-10 or more pages in length (typed and double spaced).

All Internet sources that you use must be printed out. This hard copy must be included in your binder.

5 or more sources must be used to do your research. At least one of them must be a print resource (book, encyclopedia, journal article).

This project is worth 20% of your second trimester grade! Keep in mind that you will still have homework during this time period from all of your other classes, science included. Do not procrastinate -- get started immediately and work steadily throughout the process!

Your project will be entered in the Science Fair to be held in January. Winners will move on to the Santee School District’s Science Fair and have the opportunity to move on to the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair competition.

Please make note of some of the projects that are discouraged or forbidden by the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair. I encourage you not to choose topics of this nature, as it is difficult to obtain objective data from them.

Survey projects Effect of music, colored light, talking or tobacco on plants Mold, bacteria or fungus growth Tests with illogical variables (i.e., feeding alcohol to plants) Effect of exercise, music, video games, light etc. on blood pressure Experiments with purely subjective measures (opinions or likes/dislikes) Reaction times Battery life Popcorn volume tests Taste comparisons Smell tests, color, etc. to improve test scores Flight tests Ball bounce tests with poor measurement techniques Consumer testing, Product comparisons Projects with small sample sizes or limited number of test runs Anything in violation of animal regulations

See the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair website for a more complete list: www.gsdsef.org

Please note that in order for your experiment to show reliable data and results, an adequate number of test trials must be completed. I require at least 10 test trials per group tested, and the San Diego Greater Science and Engineering Fair requires at least 20 test trials per group. Remember, you will have a control group and at least 1 experimental group.

Your entire Science Fair project will be displayed in two ways: a comprehensive

report binder and a display board. All writing should be typed or word-processed on a computer with an acceptable font in size 12 to 14. Acceptable fonts are Times New Roman, Arial, Book Antiqua, Century, Tahoma, or something comparable. You may use a larger font for headings and on the pieces of information that go on your display board.

All work must be typed. Handwritten work will not be accepted.

I expect all work to be proofread and spell-checked before it is handed in. Do not rely on spell-check by itself, as it can recognize words that are spelled incorrectly but will not correct improper word choice.

Grammar and sentence structure must be correct. Sentences must be complete and make sense. They must have a subject and verb with details added. Capitalization must be correct, and your work must be properly placed into paragraphs. Have other people proofread your report and help you edit it.

The use of first person: This is a formal, scientific report that presents facts, research and experimental results. There is very little opinion in scientific reports. For this reason, scientists avoid the use of first or second person nouns or pronouns (I, my, me, us, we, our, you, your, etc.). Use the third person when writing many portions of your report. The third person refers to the subject you are writing about (i.e., the plant, the fertilizer, some rocks, etc.).

PlagiarismBe aware that you must conduct your own research and write your own scientific report. You may not copy another person’s words or ideas without giving them credit. This is considered plagiarism and is grounds for being disqualified from the Science Fair and will result in a loss of points for the Review of Literature section of the report.

If you reference an author’s work or ideas you must cite the author in the body of your text and in the bibliography, at the end of your research paper.For example: Dr. Smith states that “Antibiotic over-use is the main cause of bacterial resistance in cases of ear infections.” OrOveruse of antibiotics has been shown to be the reason that bacteria are becoming resistant to treatment. (Dr. Smith, 2002)

**All rough draft work and research must be recorded in your spiral notebook. This will ensure that all work is available anytime throughout the project and that nothing gets lost. This spiral notebook is required to be in your science fair binder when you turn it in.

The typed report must be in a 3-ring binder (I recommend a 2 inch, or larger, binder). A nice way to present the material is to put each part of the report in a tabbed section of the binder. Some people like to put each page in a plastic page protector (use extra wide binder tabs if you do this). Your spiral notebook and printed Internet sources will be put in the back of this binder.

Contents of your Science Fair Binder

To be presented in this orderPlease type each heading at the top of each page in your final draft.

Title Page Choose a title that describes the effect or thing you are investigating. It should be short and relate directly to your research project. It must grab the attention of the reader. Your name, school, grade, city, state, and zip code must be printed under the title. This goes inside your binder. If you use a view binder, print another copy of your title page, but omit your name, school, etc.

AbstractThis is a 3 paragraph summary of your project and is written after your experiment is completed and all data is analyzed. First person is acceptable.Paragraph 1: Describe your question or problem you are investigating. State your hypothesis.Paragraph 2: Briefly summarize how you conducted your experiment and the results you obtained. Do not restate your entire procedure list!Paragraph 3: Explain what you learned from your Review of Literature research and how it helped you with your experiment. It may have influenced how you designed the experiment or helped you understand the results you got.

AcknowledgementsThis is the place to thank those people who helped you with your project. You may use first person.

Table of ContentsList the parts of your report and the page number they start on (from this point on forward). The Abstract will be page i and the Acknowledgements will be page ii. The table of contents page is created after your report is finished and edited. Only then can you accurately document the page numbers of each page of your report. Page numbers should be typed on the right side of the Table of Contents. (see the example printed in this book) Each page of typed text must have its page number at the bottom.

IntroductionThis section is 3 paragraphs. You may use first person.Paragraph 1: Introduce the question or problem you are investigating and explain why you chose it. Paragraph 2: What did you learn from your Review of Literature research? This is the place to explain some of the science behind your project. You may add interesting facts.Paragraph 3: How might your experiment be helpful to the world or someone? Could it improve the production of a product? Could it provide a cost savings for a consumer? Think globally.

Question

(Step 1 of the scientific method) State your question or problem that you will be investigating in your project. Use third person.

Hypothesis(Step 2 of the scientific method) This is where you state what you believe the outcome of your experiment will be. Remember to use third person. You may also state the reason you believe your outcome will occur. For example: The plants fed fertilizer will grow 20% taller than plants fed drinking water. Giving nutrients to a plant should provide a balanced diet, which will increase a plant’s ability to produce food and cause it to grow taller. Some hypotheses are written in the form of an If---Then statement. For example: If plants are fed fertilizer, then they will grow 20% taller than plants fed drinking water. Use the format that fits best with your question.

Review of LiteratureYou will be using the research notes you have been taking to write a report about your subject matter and what other scientists have discovered about your subject. This section of your science fair report must be a minimum of 5-10 pages, and must cite the work of all authors you have quoted or taken ideas from. See the portion of this guide on Plagiarism. A bibliography, at the end of your entire report, will give the full citing of each publication. Keep track of your sources and all notes in your spiral notebook. This is written in 3 rd person.

List of Materials(Step 3 of the Scientific Method) List everything that you will use in your experimentation. Each ingredient should be on a new line. Include tools used (measuring cups, thermometers, etc.) as well as supplies (baking soda, fertilizer, etc.). Remember, scientists replicate experiments and would need to know the exact materials needed to run yours. Specify if the amounts are for one trial or the entire experiment.

Procedures(Step 3 continued) This is the most important piece of your science report. You must list the exact steps needed to carry out your experiment. Each step should be numbered and on a new line. Be very specific in telling what to do and what to observe. (Remember – Operational Definitions!) On the bottom of this page, list the manipulated (independent), responding (dependent), and control variables. Written in 3 rd person.

Data Data tables and/or data logs need to be included in your report. Be sure they are neat and easy to read. Label your columns and rows so the data is easy to understand. Include units of measurement. Title your table and explain what any measurements represent, ie. ‘time in minutes’. Quantitative and Qualitative observations are recorded here. All original data must be kept in your spiral notebook, which will be included in your final report binder. Data must be in metric measurements.

GraphsGraphs are generated from information in a data table or data log. Be sure to choose the proper type of graph to best display your information. Fully label the x-axis and y-axis, and title your graphs. Refer to your text book for more information on graphs. Each graph must have an explanation of what it shows. It can be put in with a textbox in Excel.

Photos / IllustrationsInclude photos of your materials and experiment. Please do not show yours or anyone else’s face in the photos as it is against science fair policy. You may include drawn or copied (with a citation) illustrations that demonstrate your topic.

Written ResultsA short paragraph or two describing, in words, what was observed in your experiment and the results achieved. This is where you report on your data collected. Give specific examples of some data, such as averages. You can report how measurements compared with each other. Do not explain why the results occurred, only what occurred. Use third person.

ConclusionThis is the portion of your report where you summarize your experiment. This section should be 3 paragraphs. You may use first person.

Paragraph 1 should be a brief description of the question/problem you were investigating and how you thought it would turn out. Briefly explain how you carried out the experiment and the results you got. You must state whether your hypothesis was supported or not supported.

In the 2nd paragraph you may discuss why you think the experiment turned out the way it did. You may refer back to what you learned from your research to support your opinions.

In the 3rd paragraph you may discuss whether you thought the experiment was successful, or not. You can make suggestions or recommendations of how to run it differently or how to extend the investigation.

BibliographyThis is a very important part of your report! If you do not cite your sources properly, you are at risk of receiving a failing grade. List all sources, in alphabetical order, according to the proper format. See the bibliography format requirements printed in this book.

(Example of the Table of Contents Page)

Table of Contents

Abstract …………………………………………………………………………….i

Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………..ii

Introduction …………………………………………………………………1

Question …………………………………………………………………….2

Hypothesis ………………………………………………………………….3

Review of Literature ………………………………………………………..4

List of Materials …………………………………………………………….9

Procedures …………………………………………………………………10

Data ………………………………………………………………………...12

Graphs ……………………………………………………………………...14

Photos / Illustrations ………………………………………………………..18

Written Results ……………………………………………………………..20

Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….21

Bibliography ………………………………………………………………..22

Bibliography Format

Books:Author (Last name, First name). Title. Place of Publication: Publisher name, Year of publication.

Example:Thompson, Emily. Helping Plants Grow. San Francisco: Scholastic, 2002.

Magazines:Author (Last name, First name). “Title of Article.” Magazine name date: page numbers.

Example:Smith, George. “The Effect of Erosion on Soil.” Scientific America Oct. 2001: 24-27.

Encyclopedias:Author (Last name, First name). “Title of Article.” Encyclopedia Name. Copyright date ed.

Example:Jefferson, Elizabeth. “Spiders in Nature.” Encyclopedia Brittanica. 1989 ed.

Electronic Encyclopedia:“Article Title.” Encyclopedia. Copyright date. CD Publisher.

Example:“Boiling Point of Water.” Microsoft Encarta. 2001. CD Microsoft.

Internet Website:Author (Last name, First name). “Title of Article.” Title of Website. Date last revised (day month year.). Sponsoring Institution. Date you accessed it (day month year). <URL address>.

Example:Perkins, David. “Liquids and Solids.” Properties of Matter. 5 May 2003. Princeton University. 27 Sept. 2003. < http://princeton.edu/matter/liquids.html>.

** Be sure to include proper punctuation in your bibliography. Pay attention to the above examples.

Science Fair Backboard

Part of your Science Fair project is the completion of the display backboard. This is your advertisement for your project. It attracts attention, but must be easy to read and professional. Your board must be neatly arranged and the information must flow in a logical pattern. You may get creative with computer graphics or use stick on letters for your titles. To make the information stand out, you may choose to mount your text on colored paper. Please use the same font for all text. The font should be larger than in your typed report, but not to exceed 18 - 20 for text. Titles may be in a larger and bold font.

These items must be included on your board:

These items are exactly the same as in the written report, possibly with a larger font size to accommodate the display board. You may format some pieces in landscape view to fit better on your board.

Photos / illustrations are a great way to make your display board interesting, and to show the audience the hard work put into your project. It is highly recommended to add pictures to your backboard. Be sure that there are no faces in the pictures!

TITLE

Abstract

Question Hypothesis

Photos

List ofMaterials

Procedures

Data Table &Graphs

WrittenResults

Conclusion

Introduction

Title Abstract Introduction Question Hypothesis List of Materials

Procedures Data Graphs Results Conclusion Photos/Illustrations

The drawing below is just one way to arrange your board. Use creativity, but it must flow in a logical order.

A great way to make your writing stand out is to back each piece of writing with colored paper. Create a color theme on your display board. You may decorate it, but keep it professional.

Std. # _______ Name ______________________Per. _______

Science Fair Project Rubric

Points Possible EarnedTitle Page 0 1 2 3 4 5 Abstract 0 1 2 3 4 5 Acknowledgements 0 1 2 3 4 5 Table of Contents 0 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction 0 1 2 3 4 5Question 0 1 2 3 4 5 Hypothesis 0 1 2 3 4 5 Review of Literature 0 10 20 30 40 50List of Materials 0 1 2 3 4 5 Procedures 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Data Table or Log 0 1 2 3 4 5 Graphs 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Photos / Illustrations 0 1 2 3 4 5Written Results 0 1 2 3 4 5 Conclusion 0 1 2 3 4 5 Bibliography 0 1 2 3 4 5 Report is professional 0 1 2 3 4 5 Correct spelling & grammar 0 1 2 3 4 5 Display Board 0 10 20 30 40 50Effort throughout project 0 10 20 30 40 50

Note : 0 = missing sectionTotal = 250 points __________

*****No late projects will be accepted. Please arrange delivery ahead of time if you know you will be absent. If you are sick on the due date, a parent MUST call or e-mail me to make special arrangements.

This rubric must be included with your project to receive credit