Science research » Hypothesis

Science Fair Abstracts – How to Write an Abstract

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:02:29 +0000

A science fair abstract is an abbreviated report or a summary in brief of the entire project. It is one of the last job of the science project but is of immense importance. It states the essential and most important things about the project. The science fair abstract in a clear and easy language gives the important outlines of the entire project. The abstract is generally around 250 words in length. It should appear at the beginning while preparing the project report and it should also be placed at the display board of the fair. The science fair abstract, when placed at the display board, gives the spectators the condensed version comprising the main elements of the project.

Science fair abstract helps people determine if they want to read the full report. Much more people will read the abstract as any other part of the work. It’s like an advertisement speaking for the work done. If one wants the jury and audience to be excited about one’s science fair project, then writing an exciting, engaging abstract is always suggested.

Since a science fair abstract is so short, each section is usually only one or two sentences long. Consequently, every word is important to conveying message. If a word is boring or vague, it will provide distraction. If a word is not adding something important it should be omitted But, even with the abstract’s brief length, don’t be afraid to reinforce a key point by stating it in more than one way or referring to it in more than one section.

The science fair abstract should always include the following parts -

* Introduction—This is your project’s purpose statement i.e. why was the project undertaken

* Problem Statement—It lays down the hypothesis of the project

* Procedure—give the description of your variables, your approach towards the investigation

* Results—give specific data and the synopsis of the results obtained

* Conclusion—state clearly the conclusion derived

While writing the abstract for the science project one should follow certain specific guidelines and avoid the following –

* Uncommon scientific terms which most people aren’t aware of

* Abbreviations and short forms

* Charts and tables

* Acknowledgements

Given below is an outline to write a science project abstract:

* Title

* Introduction (genera idea about the project)

* Problem statement and the hypothesis (what is that is to be established) Methodology (process employed, materials used etc.)

* Analysis of data (what indication does the data gives)

* Conclusion (what results were found)

* Application (how is the finding of help)

By: Jordan Matthews

Science Fair Project

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:01:39 +0000

It’s time for the science fair and you need to come up with an eye popping experiment.
First of all some of the best projects are the simple ones.
The best plan is to sit down and write out your plan.

1) You Need a question

2) A Hypothesis

3) The Procedure

4) The Results

5) You have your conclusion

First you need a question for your science project. The question is: something you don’t understand and want to know what happens if . . . The basis for this is to keep everything the same and change one thing. Now you have an experiment because you are finding a fact. We do this every day. Did you ever put a piece of bread in the toaster frozen and one thawed for the same period of time to determine which one gets toasted fastest. You just did an experiment.

Second you need a hypothesis. Don’t worry about the big name. All it means is that you determine what you thing the outcome of your question will be. It doesn’t have to be right or wrong. You are just determining the outcome.

Third the procedure. How will you do the experiment. What will stay the same and what one thing will you change to test. With the toast experiment you kept the bread the toaster and the time. The only thing you changed was to freeze the bread.

Fourth are the results. What actually happened in the science project. All you have to do is get a spiral notebook and keep a log everyday of what it happening.

Fifth is the conclusion. This tells what you have learned in the science fair project. Did the hypothesis come true or was there other alternative findings in your science fair project? If you write out a quick outline like this you will make sure to cover everything you need for your science projects.

By: Lesa Bolt

Science Fair Projects – Complete Guide to a Winning Science Project Step 4 – Sample Project

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:00:26 +0000

We are going to walk through the steps of a Sample Project. You will learn how to turn a project idea into a unique project. During the phase of the actual experiment, you can use one of the data-collecting techniques or other ideas to design and develop your project. Even though science fair projects may have very different topics, the overall plan for doing them is mostly the same. These are the key steps:

Starting Your Project Procedures Results Explaining Your Results Problem and Hypothesis

Starting your Project

Once you have selected your subject, you are ready to get started. Here are some tips to getting you started on the right foot. This tips will include everything from gathering your materials to setting a schedule. All of these are essential steps in good science fair projects.

Project Journal
Your journal is an important part of your project. You will be recording the progress of the project. When the experiment has been completed, and the results recorded in the journal, you will find the journal to be very useful when you start you project report.

Title and Problem Question
The title and the problem question we are using on this sample project, will most likely not work for your own project. Below is the Title and the Problem Question.

HOW HIGH?
PROBLEM
When is the Sun at its highest altitude during the day?

Materials

All the materials you will need for the sample experiment can be found around the house or purchased without much money at a local store. You will need to collect all the supplies before you start the experiment. The experiment will go much more smoothly if you have all the materials you need before starting the experiment. If there is a material you can not find, ask an adult before you substitute materials. Different science fair projects will need different materials, but here is a sample list for one experiment:

Materials Example

Pencil 5 tablespoons (75 ml) plaster of Paris 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tap water 3 ounce (90 ml) paper cup Masking tape 30-inch (1-meter) piece of string Yardstick (meter stick) Protractor Helper

Make sure you have thought the experiment through and thought of all the material you will need to perform the experiment.

Six-Week Schedule

Starting on science fair projects can seem a bit of a huge task, but you can cut this huge task down to bite-size bits with a schedule. Make sure to follow your timetable so that everything gets done at a reasonable pace and not all at the last minute.

Procedure

The procedure is the steps needed to complete the experiment. In the procedure a variable is anything that has an effect on the experiment. In the sample project, the altitude of the sun must be measure during specific times during the day. This makes the time of day the independent or manipulated variable. The measure altitude is the dependent, or responding variable. All other variables like the latitude and season are the controlled, or constant, variable.

Results

First you must organize all the data you have collected during the experiment before you can actually say the results of your experiment. Number, which is called “raw data” have very little meaning unless you organize and label them. You will need to write down the data from each experiment in a neat and orderly fashion in your journal. A table is one good way to keep up and record the numbers of your results. There are several ways you can present your results data. However you decide to present you results data, be creative, but get make it easy to understand. Science fair projects that are easy for teachers and judges to understand usually do the best.

Explaining Your Results

To explain your results you will need to use any information you have gathered during your research and combine it with the results you found in your experiment. If necessary make a small model of part of the experiment. The sample project used the sun’s altitude and certain times of the day. You could make a small model of the earth and the sun to show the Northern Hemisphere’s location at a certain time of day to the sun.

Problem and Hypothesis

Now that you have collected and analyzed your project research, you should be able to identify the problem. In your hypothesis you should state the findings in your research and compare them to the findings in your experiment. Remember, science fair projects must always have a clear hypothesis that can be stated in just one or two sentences.

By: Aurora Lipper

1st Grade Science Project Ideas

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:27:40 +0000

First grade is usually the time when teachers begin to introduce the scientific process to students, preparing them for future years of education in the sciences. With the introduction of the scientific process, students are then told to use this knowledge and compose science fair projects. While science projects for 1st grade do seem early, I have prepared some 1st grade science project ideas.

First every science project begins with a TITLE. Tell your first grader that everything should have a name and therefore the science fair project should have a name as well.

The next requirement for science fair projects in the first grade is a PURPOSE. Why are we doing this experiment? This should be quite an easy requirement to satisfy as first graders are naturally curious about the world. First graders ask many questions and one of these questions could be the purpose.

Then we have the HYPOTHESIS. What do you think will happen when you perform the experiment? Just tell your first grader to guess. It doesn’t matter if he/she is right.

Next, we have MATERIALS and PROCEDURE. This is a list of steps of the experiment and the materials required to perform the exhibit. It should be the easiest section to complete.

Finally we have RESULTS and CONCLUSION. Results document what happened during the experiment. They can include charts, photographs or the remainder of the experiments. The conclusion is a few sentences on what the first grader found out from doing the experiment. Was the hypothesis correct? What really happened when the experiment was performed?

Some simple 1st grade science project ideas:

Young kids love magnets. So why not do an experiment testing different object’s attraction to magnets? How about plants? Kids love growing their own plants. See what effects plant growth. Maybe place one plant inside a cupboard and another plant in the sunlight. Monitor the responses. Make sure the plant inside the cupboard stays alive! Static Electricity: First graders are always amazed by static electricity. It shocks them when they are taking some heavy clothing off in the winter and also makes they hair stand up. Take a balloon and rub it against different materials and see if static electricity is produced. A fun activity is to hold the charged balloon near hair and observe if the hair stands up. Rub the balloon against different materials and see which materials produce static electricity.

Science fair projects for first grade may seem like a big task for such a grade level, but they are actually quite easy and fun to do!

By: Alan Wagner

5th Grade Science Fair Project Idea

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:20:40 +0000

It’s that time of the year again! Time to create, design and carry out a science project for the school science fair. Stumped? Don’t worry this article will help you plan a 5th grade project in science.

Here is a great 5th grade science fair project idea:

Every 5th grade project in science needs these important sections: title, materials, purpose (of the experiment), hypothesis (what you think is going to happen), procedure, results and conclusion. For this 5th grade science fair project idea:

Title: Come up with your own title!

Purpose: We all heard the saying water and oil do not mix. Why? Water and oil are both liquids and should mix like liquids. What will happen when we actually test this saying and mix oil and water? What will happen when we mix honey in? What will happen when when place objects in this mixture?

Hypothesis: This section is for your predictions. What do you think will happen when you pour the liquids in the jars? What do you think would happen to the objects? When you place objects into water, they usually sink. Do you think this will happen when you place objects in liquids that are not water? Don’t worry about being right! Hypothesis can be wrong, after all you need to do the experiment to find out.

Materials: For this science fair project idea, you will need

honey small objects of different weights such as paper clips, coins, toys, marbles, etc. two different jars that are at least 8 inches tall water vegetable oil food coloring

Procedure:

Pour honey into one jar so it is 2 inches high. Food color the water (pick whatever color you like best!) and then pour 2 inches of water into the same jar with the honey. Then add oil to the same jar, 2 inches high again. Pour the liquids in reverse order in the second jar. (oil, water, honey) Put the objects in one jar. See what happens to the objects after 10 minutes, one hour, two hours. Repeat step five for objects in the second jar.

Results: What happened? Describe everything. You don’t need to include explanations of why something occurred. Make sure to bring to jars to the science fair!

By: Alan Wagner

Using Scientific Method For Science Fair Projects With Science Kits

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:36:47 +0000

Using the scientific method and good science kits can help you succeed with any science fair project. It can make the difference between failure and success. So to help you get started, we’ve compiled the following list of a few crucial steps.

The first step is to identify the question you are seeking to answer. Your question should ask how, what, when, who, where or why regarding something you have observed. The question becomes the foundation for the science fair project. Answering this question becomes the goal of the project. The scientific method will guide you through the project as you gather scientific evidence through various steps of observation, research, trial and error, and measuring, all for the purpose of substantiating any conclusions you will make.

The second step is doing background research to gather information that will help you answer the question you identified in step one. These research findings will become evidence that you will use to prove or disprove a theory. Research can incorporate your local library and the internet. It can also include science kits related to the topic of your question. For example, if your question is related to crystal growing, you can find science kits filled with valuable materials and information that can be used as part of your evidence.

Here is a tip for any research: it’s entirely possible someone else before you has attempted to answer the same question. You don’t want to retrace another’s steps. Your goal is to blaze your own trails while using the knowledge and evidence that others have already uncovered. Even if you utilize science kits prepared for the masses, you can add your own unique approach to how you use it in your science fair project.

Third, after completing the background research, you’ll then form your hypothesis. This means you consider all of the information you’ve gathered, and make an assumption of its outcome. This is also called an “educated guess”. You’ll want to form your hypothesis in such a way that you can not only prove it, but measure your findings that lead you to the answer of your hypothesis.

Fourth, you must test your hypothesis. This can truly be the fun part of your project. You’ve developed your question, completed your research and formed your hypothesis. Your goal now is to prove that hypothesis with experiments. This is another step where good science kits can help by providing you with the materials and information needed to conduct a meaningful test. A good science kit can provide scientific tools and other items that are not normally found around the house.

Here is a tip regarding the testing step. Ideally, you will be able to prove your hypothesis as true, but every good scientist has had his share of projects that disproved his hypothesis. Some scientists have made impressive advances by proving their hypothesis is false. It’s how we move forward and progress. Still, if your hypothesis isn’t proven via your experiments, you will need to backtrack and redefine the hypothesis to one that can be proven successfully.

Finally, every good scientist knows the importance of communication. You will need to document your findings and then communicate your results to others. One way to do this is by displaying your project at a science fair. Displaying colorful posters at the science fair can help better communicate your project. Another method of communication is written reports and articles.

The greatest realizations and inventions throughout history began when someone asked questions and set out to find answers supported by evidence. A science fair is a great place to practice and refine natural traits of curiosity and determination, traits that have caused mankind to keep advancing through the ages. By using the scientific method combined with good science kits, you may just be the next inventor of something amazing that will propel the human race forward.

By: Joe Kanooga

Science Fair Projects – Science Project Success Step 1 – The Scientific Method

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:02:30 +0000

A science fair project examines a scientific problem and finds a solution to it by using a scientific method. In this article, I will show you how to use the scientific method by using simple examples. Scientists use the scientific method as an “aid” to find solutions to scientific problems. It helps them to think of many workable solutions and test each solution to find out which one is the best.

Allow me now to take you through all the 5 steps one by one:

Step 1: Conducting Research Research for your science fair project involves gathering facts and figures from your personal observations, educative material and experiments. These facts and figures must be neatly organized. I would suggest that your research must have two parts:

Topic for Research: This step involves finding a topic of your research. For example, you may have noticed bread mold or fungi that grow on white bread and give rise to new offspring (reproduction). Bingo! Your topic is ready- ‘Reproduction of Fungi’.

Project for Research: This step involves knowing more about the topic, pinpointing a problem, asking “what if…” questions, proposing answers (hypothesis) and setting up experiments that will answer your “what if…” questions. An example of a project for research could be placing a white bread slice in a box for a few days and examining what happens.

Step 2: Identifying the Problem The question to be answered using scientific method is called the problem. Let me help you to form your questions:

The question must be open-ended and specific: Ask questions such as, “What effect does light have on bread mold reproduction?” This calls for extensive thought and research. This question is also specific: A specific factor- light, a specific life process- reproduction, a specific mold type- bread mold and a specific bread type- white bread. Such a question would rule out other molds.

The answer must require an experiment: For example, “What are bread molds?” is something that can be looked up in an encyclopedia. But, “How fast does bread mold reproduce at room temperature?” would prompt you to conduct an experiment.

Step 3: Forming a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a claim made, an answer proposed or an assumption made in the form of a single statement. Your experimentation is carried out to test your hypothesis. Your hypothesis must not be based on your fancies, but on knowledge and a detailed study. You can form the hypothesis for your science fair project as follows: “I am of the opinion that light does not affect mold reproduction over white bread. My hypothesis is based on these facts:

Light is required for the survival of organisms that contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is not present in bread mold. In exploratory experiments conducted by me, mold was found to be growing on white bread placed in dark bread boxes.”

Your hypothesis should never be changed if it is not supported by your experimentation results.

Step 4: Conducting Relevant Experiments As mentioned earlier, this step will test the hypothesis of your science fair project. You may set up your experiment by placing slices of bread in a number of closed cardboard boxes. Along with these boxes you must also place the same number of open cardboard boxes that receive light, to show that light affects mold reproduction. This is called a control setup. You must have accurate ways to measure the results of your experiment.

Step 5: Arriving at a Conclusion In this step you must neatly summarize the results of your experimentation. You must state whether the results support the hypothesis or not. If not, give reasons for the same. In case your hypothesis is supported by your results, you can conclude in this way: “As my hypothesis mentions, I am of the opinion that light does not affect mold reproduction over white bread. The same has been supported by my experimentation results. Spores do germinate in the absence of light. After a week’s time, the spores continued to germinate and grow, in full light or without light. To rule out the possibility of light entering the boxes, light-proof boxes may be used in the future.”

I hope you liked my ideas. Now go on and create your own science projects using the scientific method.

By: Aurora Lipper

Evaluating Science Fair Experiment Ideas

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:14:55 +0000

Science fair projects help to achieve the impossible. Nowadays there is no famine of information and experiment ideas for science fair projects, but not all ideas are good ones. It can take a discerning eye to see the minute differences in between many of these projects, and if yours doesn’t stand out, then you are liable to be in trouble. However, armed with a good experiment idea, and some good information, you can create an excellent project.

There are three basic thoughts before choosing a topic for the science fair. This means narrowing down the project to one specific area. That is breaking down a big project into smaller ones and trying to solve them one by one. The second basic thought is to find out the right difficulty level. And the third one is choosing the right topic that is within the student’s capability.

After selecting the topic, design the test or display. The topic can be researched in the internet and in the library to get the available and related information. Then make a list of materials, ideas and thoughts that will affect the result. The outcome of the science fair experiment should be decided well ahead of time. Take down the procedure of the experiment and make a schedule to complete all the steps in the procedure one by one.

The main idea is to investigate a project that would ask questions, builds a hypothesis and derives a conclusion. Then check the hypothesis by constructing experiments using scientific methods. Experiments should be based on extensive research done from books, research papers or any other materials found in the library on the chosen topic. The report should illustrate the important concepts found in the research.

An experiment idea can be a project that consist either a compilation of objects or elements that has interesting artifacts. In this no hypothesis may be needed. It can also be a project that involves building up a model which may demonstrate a scientific principle.

An idea can come from anywhere. It can start from an idea. It can begin from what we see, hear, touch and smell around us in this world. It can also be a question asked and can be formed into a hypothesis and tested. This is science fair experiment idea in the creation. Science fair experiment ideas can be developed from an experience. It can be a thought about an issue in current events and form a hypothesis and draw a conclusion. There are thousands of sources of original ideas like these, or you can look for an idea on the internet or in textbooks at your local library.

Lastly, ideas should include safety measures. A laboratory should be a safe place to conduct the experiments. Think about the experiment all the time and what you are doing at that time to prevent accidents. Follow rules, safety measures and use good judgment to perform a project. This is of absolute importance, since no assignment should jeopardize your health.

With these ideas and experiments in place, you can begin to work on a very high quality project that will earn you an excellent grade.

By: Jordan Matthews

Science Fair Projects – Making a Winning Science Project Step 1b – The Scientific Method Part 1

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:15:25 +0000

If you are getting ready to prepare your very own science experiment for the science fair, it’s time to make sure you know everything you need to about the scientific method. The scientific method provides a basic structure that you will use when conducting your experiment. It describes the background of the experiment, the process that you will use during your research, and the steps you will take in order to come up with a conclusion to your project. Plus – During the science fair, you’ll have to show the judges that you have followed the scientific method and that you understand what each step means.

No matter what type of scientific research you are conducting for your science project, you will have to use five scientific steps. Cool fact: these scientific steps are also the steps that professional scientists use when they conduct their experiments – including scientists at NASA that build space ships! Here they are:

Research Problem Hypothesis Project Experimentation Project Conclusion

Now, here’s what you need to know about each of these steps in order to create a really cool science project: Research During this step, you are deciding what experiment you want to conduct by researching different things that interest you. Research means that you get more information that might help to plan your experiment. There are many ways to get information during research. For example, you can use your own experiences, you can look information up in a book, or you can use an experiment that you may have already done in class as a starting point. I got the idea for one of my science fair projects while eating dinner one night. I realized that I could taste salty foods in one part of my mouth and sweet foods in another. I asked my dad why this happened and he said that different taste buds taste different foods and are located in different parts of the mouth. We looked online for information about where the taste buds were exactly and compared the pictures online with our own tongues in the mirror. That year, my project was about finding out where taste buds are in the mouth for everyday foods, like milk and bread, and vegetables. From that example, you can see that I started with a question that I had through simple observation. My dad and I researched the answer to my question together using books and by looking at our tongues in the mirror. Heads up: When you do your research for your own scientific experiment, make sure that you are doing the research on your own. I might have used my dad to help answer my question at first, but I used library books, experiments, and interviews (I called my doctor) in order to do my project on my own. Problem The problem part of the scientific method provides the whole purpose for the research and experiments. The problem is usually an open-ended question that you need to solve through the experiment. An open-ended question is one that cannot be answered in one or two words, such as, “Are there taste buds in the mouth.” In my particular case, my problem was that I wanted to find out where taste buds were for different foods. So my open-ended question was “Where are specific taste buds for common foods?”

Expect to be surprised when writing your question. When I came up with my problem, I realized that I couldn’t limit the answer to what I thought I’d learn. For example, I knew that my tongue had taste buds, but my dad had also mentioned that taste buds can occur in other parts of my mouth. That’s why my question didn’t say, “Where on the tongue are specific taste buds for common foods?” Make sure you can answer your question through experimentation. Your experiment should help you to come to a conclusion about your initial problem.

Hypothesis A hypothesis is my favorite part of the scientific method because it is a statement about what you think will happen. You write the hypothesis after you have already done some of your research, but before you perform your experiment. Your experiment will prove whether your hypothesis is right or wrong. Here’s an example of the hypothesis I used in my experiment: “I believe that different parts of the mouth respond to different tastes. I base this hypothesis on:

The front of the tongue tastes sugar, but the sides do not. The sides of the tongue taste salt, but the front does not.

Here are some tips to help you with your hypothesis.

When creating your hypothesis, it is okay to state why you think your experiment will have a particular conclusion. Remember: you have already observed through research that different parts of the tongue taste different things. As you go through your experiment, you might discover that you were wrong in your hypothesis. If this happens, congratulations! You’ve experienced something that professional scientists experience everyday…and that’s why you’re doing the experiment after all! Don’t go back and change your hypothesis, though. It’s expected (and absolutely fine) to discover that your hypothesis was wrong (sometimes the science fair judges like to see that, too!) It might also help to write the hypothesis down so that you remember what it is. Write it down before you start the experiment, just in case the experiment turns out differently than you thought it would.

Now you’re ready to do your experiment. To learn how to do this cool next step, you’ll want to read part 2 of this article. Visit this link to finish learning how to do an great science fair project. Or if you are really serious about doing an awesome project, just download your free copy of “Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects” from the link below right now.

By: Aurora Lipper

Elementary Science Fair Projects

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:09:07 +0000

I want to give you three ideas here for elementary science fair projects that can be easily done at home. And best of all you probably won’t have to buy any supplies for these projects since you likely will have them at your house already.

These project ideas are about the process of Diffusion. Don’t be afraid of that strange sounding name because the process of diffusion is really very easy to understand. It simply means that the atoms or molecules (The stuff that makes up everything) of a substance are constantly moving and in certain situations can mix in or diffuse with those around them.

1) The first idea for your elementary science fair project is to design an experiment that would show if things diffuse differently depending on how hot or cold they are. Will diffusion take place faster if the temperatures of the substances are higher? Will it go faster if the temperatures are lower?

2) The second idea is to test if molecules evaporating from a liquid will diffuse into the surrounding air and be dispersed or spread out through a small room in a period of time. Its easy to think of an experiment to test this idea.

3) The third idea is to demonstrate a type of diffusion called Osmosis that occurs in living cells. Osmosis is the movement of liquids and dissolved substances into and out of cells through a cell wall or membrane. We can easily show this movement from an area of higher concentration to one of lower concentration using plant cells. Osmosis is a very important principle in biology and a simple project can show you how it happens.

Do some research and learn about the scientific principle of diffusion and how it works. This will make it much easier to form an hypothesis (an idea you would like to prove) for a project and to create a simple experiment to test it. Also read some about the process of osmosis in plant cells and understand why and how the movement of substances across cell membranes occurs.

By: Doug Nicholson