Clifton Middle SchoolScience Fair Packet

Packet belongs to: _________________ Teacher: _________________

Clifton Middle School6001 Golden Forest Houston, TX 77092

Dear Students and Parents/Guardian:

It’s time to start working on our school’s Science Fair! Enclosed is a schedule outlining due dates and important information regarding your child’s project. Ample time has been scheduled and work has been spread out, so students can complete the work at a comfortable pace. This year Science Fair will be due in January 7-8, 2010.

This is a major project and will represent a 40% of your child’s grade for the 5th grading cycle. The primary objective of this project is to have students approach a problem scientifically. This includes:

1. Asking questions and forming hypotheses 2. Creating experiments to test those hypotheses 3. Organizing data and drawing conclusions 4. Writing about scientific research

The project must be experimental in nature as opposed to research oriented. In other words, students must do a test, survey, or experiment (cannot be a model) to determine the answer to their question instead of just looking it up in a book. We encourage students to pick topics that they are genuinely interested in, since they will be working on these projects for the next several months. Topics must also be “original” - something students do not already know and must be on grade level.

Please note on the schedule, Notebooks are due for 1st Check on the week on 11/16-11/17/09.

Project guidelines state that all work must be done by the students; however, assistance may be provided by teachers, parents, etc. It is very difficult to work alone without the exchange of ideas, so we encourage you to brainstorm with your child on different ideas and possible topics your child may want to pursue. Attached is a list of Guidelines and Project Ideas. Please take a moment to review these with your child in order to generate topic ideas.

Preliminary Science Fair Proposals are due on 10/29/09 (Silver) or 10/30/09 (Blue)

Please contact your teachers with any questions your might have. Please see the attached contact sheet.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I am looking forward to working with you to make this a valuable learning experience for your child. I appreciate your support on this important project.

Sincerely,

_____________________

(Science teacher)

TIMELINE FOR SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT 2009-10

INITIAL DRAFT (Preliminary proposal) Thursday – October 29 Initial draft due Friday – October 30

FINAL DRAFTThursday – November 5 Final (correct) proposal Friday – November 6 due.

LOG BOOKSNovember 16-17, 2009 First log check December 3-4, 2009 Second log check December 13-14, 2009 Third log check

RESEARCH PAPERJanuary 7-8, 2010 Research paper due

January 7, 2010 Backboard and Log notebook dueJanuary 8, 2010 Backboard and Log notebook due

School Science Fair will be held on January 14-15, 2010

Note to Parents/Guardians:

Science department is looking for interested parents/guardians to act as judges for the school science fair. Interested parents/guardians are encouraged to contact your grade level teacher.

Science Fair Project Proposal FormThis form must be turned in with the Science Fair Proposal

Thursday, October 29 (Silver) & Friday , October 30 (Blue) .

Dear Parent/Guardian:Please review the requirements for the Science Fair Proposal and help your child

to ensure that those requirements have been met, before they turn in their proposal. All measurements must be in METRIC UNITS (Ex. 2.5 cm paper)

The PROBLEM must be stated in the form of a question (Ex. Will plants grow taller in blue or green light?)

The HYPOTHESIS must be an “If… than” statement. (Ex. If I add more salt to the water than the water temperature will rise.)

The MATERIALS must be in a list and must be very specific (Ex. NOT “water” but “ 3 liters of tap water.”)

The PROCEDURE must be in numbered steps (NOT in paragraph form). Be very specific.

All students have signed for receipt of the Science Fair Packet and have agreed to share these with you.

PARENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have seen the timeline and will assist my child in meeting the requirements and due dates for the project. I have reviewed the requirements for this proposal with my child.

My Child,_______________________________________________Period____________

Parent Name ___________________________ Signature________________________

Student Name __________________________ Signature________________________

Home phone number______________________ E-mail __________________________

SCIENCE FAIR PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL:Initial DRAFT

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

NAME: ___________________________________ PERIOD _______

DUE DATE: ___________

APPROVED REJECTED ______________(TEACHER INITIALS)

PROBLEM:

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ (Written in the form of a question. Do not use the words better or best!) HYPOTHESIS:___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ (Begins with “If.. then” – an educated guess about what you think the outcome/results will be).

WHAT WILL I MEASURE: ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

UNITS I WILL MEASURE: ______________________________________ (Seconds (s), grams (g), Liters (L), centimeters (cm), kilometers (km), kilometers per hour (km/h), heart beats per minutes, number of objects remembered in one minute, etc.)

Parent Signature ______________________________ Date ____________

Work Phone # ____________________ Cell Phone # __________________

Student Signature __________________ E-mail ______________________

SCIENCE FAIR PROPOSAL:FINAL DRAFT

NAME: ___________________________________ PERIOD _______

DUE DATE: ___________

APPROVED REJECTED ______________(TEACHER INITIALS)

PROBLEM:__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ (Written in the form of a question. Do not use the words better or best!) HYPOTHESIS:___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ (Begins with “If… than” – an educated guess about what you think the outcome/ results will be.)

WHAT WILL I MEASURE: ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

UNITS I WILL MEASURE: ______________________________________ (Seconds (s), grams (g), Liters (L), centimeters (cm), kilometers (km), kilometers per hour (km/h), heart beats per minutes, number of objects remembered in one minute, etc.)

Parent Signature ______________________________ Date ____________

Work Phone # ____________________ Cell Phone # __________________

Student Signature _______________ Parent’s e-mail: _________________

Helpful Ideas and websitesHelpful Ideas and Websites

7th & 8th Grade Project Ideas What is the best way to store bread to keep it fresh the longest time? What things can you do to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of your clothes dryer or water heater or

any device? For example, can you take actions or make changes that will decrease the length of time it takes your dryer to get a load of towels dry?

Does listening to music while you study affect your ability to memorize facts? Does the presence of smoke in the air affect plant transpiration? Does eye color affect peripheral vision? Supposedly people with darker eyes tend to have wider pupils for a

given amount of light than people with light-colored irises. If you have a more-open pupil, does it give you measurably better peripheral vision? Another idea to test would be to see if you have the same peripheral vision in bright light as compared with dim light.

What methods of preventing soil erosion work best? For example, what is effective at preventing erosion in your yard?

What can you do to reduce noise pollution in a room? What factors contribute to noise pollution inside a residence?

seed viability - Is there a test you can perform to predict whether or not a seed will germinate? What factors can you measure that might be used to construct a test?

Does an external magnetic field have any noticeable effect on animals such as brine shrimp, cockroaches, or fruit flies? You could use a strip magnet and containers of sample organisms and make observations to address this question.

Is the brightness of glow-in-the-dark (phsophorescent) materials affected by the light source (spectrum) used to make them glow or only by the intensity (brightness) of the light? Does the light source affect the length of time a phosphorescent material will glow?

Can you affect vitamin C (or another measureable vitamin) levels in juice (or another food) by adding a preservative to the juice?

What is the best thickness of insulation for preventing heat loss? Is lightbulb lifespan affected by whether the bulb is run at full power? In other words, do dim bulbs last

longer/shorter than bulbs run at their power rating? What type of box material gives you the best sound for your speaker?

When comparing different brands of batteries, is the battery that lasts the longest at a high temperature the same brand that lasts the longest at a cold temperature.

How does the concentration of chlorine in water affect the rate or percentage of seed germination?

What is the effect of watering schedules on the germination (or growth rate) of seeds from a certain plant? How does the presence of a medication in water affect the survivability of Daphnia? Does the presence of de-icer salt affect the movement behavior of earthworms? Does the bounciness of a golf ball relate to its ability to be hit a long distance? Does the species of wood affect the rate at which it burns? Its heat output? Does the mass of a baseball bat relate to the distance the baseball travels?

How much plant food is too much? What soils best support structures, such as buildings? Does air temperature affect how long soap bubbles last? Does relative humidity? Do plants react to the presence of other plants? music? different colored light? What materials glow under black light? Can you use the UV light to find invisible, possibly smelly, stains in

your carpet or elsewhere in your house? What type of plastic wrap prevents evaporation the best? What plastic wrap prevents oxidation the best? Are night insects attracted to lamps because of heat or light? Does the presence of detergent in water affect plant growth? Does magnetism affect the growth of plants? How do differences in surfaces affect the adhesion of tape? Does light effect the rate at which foods spoil? Does the power of a microwave affect how well it makes popcorn? How do different factors affect seed germination? Factors that you could test include the intensity, duration,

or type of light, the temperature, the amount of water, the presence/absence of certain chemicals, or the presence/absence of soil. You can look at the percentage of seeds that germinate or the rate at which seeds germinate.

Is a seed affected by its size? Do different size seeds have different germination rates or percentages? Does seed size affect the growth rate or final size of a plant?

How does cold storage affect the germination of seeds? Factors you can control include the type of seeds, length of storage, temperature of storage, and other variables, such as light and humidity.

What conditions affect the ripening of fruit? Look at ethylene and enclosing a fruit in a sealed bag, temperature, light, or nearness to other pieces or fruit.

How are different soils affected by erosion? You can make your own wind or water and evaluate the effects on soil. If you have access to a very cold freezer, you can look at the effects of freeze and thaw cycles.

How does the pH of soil relate to the pH of the water around the soil? You can make your own pH paper, test the pH of the soil, add water, then test the pH of the water. Are the two values the same? If not, is there a relationship between them?

How close does a plant have to be to a pesticide for it to work? What factors influence the effectiveness of a pesticide (rain? light? wind?)? How much can you dilute a pesticide while retaining its effectiveness? How effective are natural pest deterrents?

6 th Grade Project Ideas Which brand of disposable contact lenses last the longest before a person decides to switch them out? Which brand of rechargeable batteries delivers charge the longest before needing to be recharged? Does

the answer depend on the type of battery-operated device? Test the efficiency of different shapes of fan blades. Can you tell how much biodiversity is in a water sample by how murky the water is? Determine whether ethanol really does burn more cleanly than gasoline. Is there a correlation between attendance and GPA? Is there a correlation between how close to the front of

the classroom a student sits and GPA? Which disinfectant kills the most bacteria? Which disinfectant is safest to use? Examine the effect of growing one plant species near another. Can you build your own electrochemical cell or battery? Test its output and efficiency. Try to see if there is a correlation between two different factors, such as sunspot activity and mean global

temperature or skipping lunch and low test scores. How valid would you expect such a correlation to be? What type of cooling mat is most effective at removing excess heat from a laptop computer? What is the best way to store bread to preserve its freshness? Which types of produce induce ripening or premature rotting in other produce?

WEBSITES

http://www.societyforscience.org/ISEF/primer/index.asp

http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/Classic/ - Graphing

http://scienceclub.org/scifair.html

http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/scifair.php

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_finding_information.shtml - Research Paper

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/sciencefaircentral/

http://www.bibme.org/ - Creating a bibliographyResearch Paper

Title Page: Must include the title of your paper (hint: should be related to Your Science fair topic), your name, name of your class and Grade level, school name, name of your Science teacher and date (all centered).

Table of Contents: List of the parts of your paper and the page number for each part.

Abstract: The Abstract is a short summary of the project and includes the key highlights of your experiment: purpose, procedure, and conclusions. Following are some tips on writing your abstract from the California State Science Fair :

Objectives: State the purpose or hypothesis upon which the project is based.   Materials and Procedures: Indicate the materials and procedures used in your project. Briefly describe your experiment or engineering methods.   Results: Summarize the results of your experiment and indicate how they pertain to your purpose or hypothesis.   Conclusions/Discussion: Indicate if your results supported your hypothesis or enabled you to attain your objective. Discuss briefly how information from this project expands our knowledge about the category subject. If you did an engineering or programming project, state whether you met your design criteria.  

Research: 500 – 750 wordsIntroduction: What is the chief reason you are writing the paper? State also how you plan to

approach your topic. Explain briefly the major points you plan to cover in your paper. State your thesis and the purpose of your research paper clearly.

Body: This is where you present your information to support your thesis statement. Background information that reflects the knowledge you have acquired, through your research, on the topic of your experiment. You should be providing the reader with

useful background information for your project. Information that is not your own must be cited.

Conclusion: A summary of your interpretation of the information acquired through research.

Acknowledgments: This is your opportunity to thank anyone who helped you with your project, from a single individual to a company or government agency.

Bibliography: A bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents used for the research paper. MINIMUM OF 5 sources (No more than 2 internet sites). The sources should include books, journals, encyclopedias, professional magazines.

Batteries and Electricity

Student Name

6th Grade Science

Clifton Middle School

Ms. Condell-Stewart

April 3, 2006

Table of Contents

Section Page

Abstract ……………………… 1-2

Research …………………….. 3-4

Acknowledgements …………………….. 5

Bibliography …………………….. 6

Abstract

Objective:My objective was to determine which AA battery maintains its voltage for the longest period of time in low, medium, and high current drain devices.

Materials and Procedures

Materials Used

CD player & a CD (low drain device) Three identical flashlights (medium drain device) Camera flash (high drain device) AA size Duracell and Energizer batteries AA size of a "heavy-duty" (non-alkaline) battery (I used Panasonic) Voltmeter & a AA battery holder Kitchen timer

Procedure

1. Number each battery so you can tell them apart. 2. Measure each battery's voltage by using the voltmeter. 3. Put the same battery into one of the devices and turn it on. 4. Let the device run for thirty minutes before measuring its voltage again. (Record the voltage in a

table every time it is measured.) 5. Repeat #4 until the battery is at 0.9 volts or until the device stops. 6. Do steps 1-5 again, three trials for each brand of battery in each experimental group. 7. For the camera flash push the flash button every 30 seconds and measure the voltage every 5 minutes. 8. For the flashlights rotate each battery brand so each one has a turn in each flashlight. 9. For the CD player repeat the same song at the same volume throughout the tests.

ResultsAccording to my experiments, the Energizer maintained its voltage (dependent variable) for approximately a 3% longer period of time (independent variable) than Duracell in a low current drain device. For a medium drain device, the Energizer maintained its voltage for approximately 10% longer than Duracell. For a high drain device, the Energizer maintained its voltage for approximately 29% longer than Duracell. Basically, the Energizer performs with increasing superiority, the higher the current drain of the device.

The heavy-duty non-alkaline batteries do not maintain their voltage as long as either alkaline battery at any level of current drain.

Conclusion/Discussion:My hypothesis was that Energizer would last the longest in all of the devices tested. My results do support my hypothesis.

I think the tests I did went smoothly and I had no problems, except for the fact that the batteries recover some of their voltage if they are not running in something. Therefore, I had to take the measurements quickly.

Research

Introduction

Batteries come in many shapes and sizes. Some are no larger than a pill while others are too heavy to lift, but most batteries have one thing in common-they store chemical energy and change it into electrical energy. The cell is the basic unit that produces electricity. A battery has 2 or more cells, but people often use the word battery when talking about a single cell, too, like a dry cell. A dime-sized battery in a watch is a cell. Cells act like pumps to force electrons to flow along conductors (DK Science 1998, 150).

Body

"The electrical force of a cell or battery is called its electromotive force (emf). This force, which makes electrons flow around a circuit, is measured in units called volts (v.). Each kind of cell has a particular emf. A dry cell, for example, has an emf of 1.5 volts" (DK Science 1998, 150).

Another way to measure a battery is by how much current it can provide. Current measures how many electrons flow through the cell. The unit used to measure current is amps.

A common cell has several important parts: the positive terminal and electrode, the negative terminal and electrode, and the electrolyte, which is between the two electrodes. The positive electrode is made out of a carbon rod. Powdered carbon and manganese oxide prevents hydrogen from forming on the carbon rod, which would stop the cell from working normally. The negative electrode is made out of zinc, which serves, as a case for the cell. Electrons flow from the negative terminal through a wire in the device the battery is powering into the positive terminal (Learning Center 1999).

The most common cell is the dry cell and different types have different types of electrolytes. The dry cell works like the cell invented by the French engineer Georges Leclanche in 1865. His cell had a liquid electrolyte, but in the modern version the electrolyte is ammonium chloride paste (DK Science 1998, 150). Ordinary dry cells are used in most flashlight batteries. These dry cells use ammonium chloride as the electrolyte. "Cells needed to supply heavier currents use zinc chloride. Alkaline cells, which last longer and can supply even heavier currents, use the alkali potassium hydroxide" (DK Science 1998, 150).

Most flashlights take two or more dry cells. Cells are connected in series one after another. Large powerful flashlights may take four or more cells. The size of a cell has no effect on its emf. The chemicals in the cell determine its emf, but large cells last longer than small cells of the same basic type.

How long a battery lasts also depends on how it's used. Two batteries may last the same length overall but one might maintain higher voltage over more of its lifetime, in a sense providing better quality. A high powered device such as a motorized toy running constantly takes more current than a less power hungry device such as a personal stereo that alternately runs and rests. Batteries also don't perform as well at low temperatures (Best Batteries 1994, 71).

As you use a battery, its emf drops. You can consider an alkaline battery dead at 0.9 volts.

In order to work well in high drain devices you need to make the shell of the battery thinner so it can hold more electrons and deliver more current (Booth 1999, 127).

Companies have made improvements in their batteries so they are better in high drain devices. A high drain device is a thing that takes a lot of current. Low drain devices would include CD and cassette players and related devices. "Eveready meanwhile quantifies the power requirements as 400 to 800 mA for halogen lamps; 400-1000 mA for cellular phones; and 500-900 mA for camcorders. Digital cameras are in the 800-1200 mA range, while photoflash units are the thirstiest of all-1000 to 2000 mA according to Eveready" (Booth 1999, 127).

Conclusion

Thus, we have come a long way since the invention of the first battery. Batteries come in different shapes and sizes with a variety of usage. The basic structure of the battery remains the same however there are several different electrolytes now being used to produce various batteries such as alkaline batteries use potassium hydroxide and ordinary batteries use ammonium chloride and zinc chloride. Battery life is dependent on electrolytes used in the battery and how its use.

An interesting future study might involve testing the batteries at different temperatures to simulate actual usage in very cold or very hot conditions.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my teacher, Ms. Shah, for her assistance with the choice of this and her suggestions with the research.

I am grateful to the librarian, Ms. Crawford, who helped me with locating relevant resources.

My heartfelt thanks go out also to my English teacher, Ms. Childress, who helped me with the research paper.

I am deeply indebted to my parents for their transportation services and their endurance while I worked on this project and their moral and financial support.

Bibliography

"Battery." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1990.

"Best Batteries." Consumer Reports Magazine 32 (December 1994): 71-72.

Booth, Steven A. "High-Drain Alkaline AA-Batteries." Popular Electronics 62 (January 1999): 58.

"Cells and Batteries." The DK Science Encyclopedia. 1993.

"Fun Learning." The Gillette Company. [cited January 24, 1999]. www.duracell.com/Fun_Learning/index.html.

"Learning Center." Eveready Battery Company, Inc. [cited January 24, 1999]. www.energizer.com/learning/default.asp.

HERE ARE SOME SPECIFICS Students who have successfully completed an OM project are not

required to do a science fair project. There is no “Theme” as in a History fair. The project MUST be an experiment – something that can be tested

repeatedly, and has MEASURABLE RESULTS that can be recorded and analyzed.

All work completed on the project must be recorded in the log notebook (bound composition book).

All measurements MUST be in METRIC.

The proposal must be approved before any work begins . You cannot use the words “better” or “best” in your problem because

they are not measurable. The Science project has 4 major parts: the backboard, the experimental

proof (photos with captions or actual apparatus), the log notebook, and the research paper.

Each of the parts is worth 2 grades, and is detailed on the sample grading sheet.

Surveys must include at least 50 participants (show proof). All plant projects must be started from seeds. You must have at least 7

plants in each test group.

STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK IN GROUPS.

NO STAPLES