legacy traditional school / athlos traditional academy ......this packet defines the requirements...

Legacy Traditional School / Athlos Traditional Academy Science Fair 2014-2015

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Science Fair (Info for Scientific Method)

2014-2015

5th-8th grade


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Contents Introduction: ................................................................................................................................................. 3

Step 1: Choose a topic .................................................................................................................................. 4

Step 2: Project Proposal Form (Due Date?) ................................................................................................. 4

Step 3: Background Research Paper & Bibliography (Due date?) ............................................................... 7

Step 4: Final Report, Part I (Points?, Due Date?) ......................................................................................... 8

Step 5: Start Testing ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Step 6: Final Report Part II (not due, turned in with Step 8) ....................................................................... 9

Step 7: Abstract (Points?, Due date?) ........................................................................................................ 10

Step 8: Put the notebook together (Points?, Due Date?) .......................................................................... 10

Step 9: Display Board (Points?, Due Date?) .............................................................................................. 11

Step 10: Prepare an oral presentation (Points?, Due Date?) ..................................................................... 11


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Introduction: Welcome to our Annual Science and Engineering Fair! Over the next 3 months, your child will be

completing his/her project and participating in the Science Fair to be held on QQQ at our school. This is

an exciting opportunity for your child to use the scientific method in answering a scientific question.

Through this project, students will get an opportunity to do “hands-on” science, learn to design and

follow through on an experiment, make conclusions based on their work, meet deadlines, and have the

opportunity to compete with other students in our school and district fairs.

The science project must be an experiment that your child chooses and is approved by the teacher. It is

important that you understand what topic they have chosen and how they plan to do it. Although all

work should be done by the student (and grade-level-appropriate results are expected), your child may

need your support and advice.

Please note that this is a long-term assignment. Each assignment that is due will not be accepted late

(Please refer to our Student-Parent Handbook).

We hope you are as excited as we are for the chance to help your child with this project. If you have any

questions regarding the science fair, please feel free to contact us.

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SOME IMPORTANT NOTES:

There are several supplemental materials in this document on this website:

www.legacysciencefair.weebly.com The winner from your school science fair will move on to the district science fair and/or to the

Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Fair (SARSEF – Legacy – NW Tucson only).

The winner from the district science fair will also move on to the Arizona Science and

Engineering Fair (AzSEF). There are extra forms required for these SARSEF and AzSEF available

on our website.

7th-8th graders are required to do almost all elements in this project

4th-6th graders will be doing a modified project, where not all elements are required. The

elements are noted as optional, but we do recommend that you do them if you think your

project will go to SARSEF or AzSEF. Note also that if your project Is chosen to go to SARSEF or

AzSEF, you could add these optional elements at a later time.

Each student has the option of doing a project using the Scientific Method (a study that involves

asking a question, constructing a hypothesis, and testing the hypothesis) or using Engineering

Design (defining a problem, creating a solution to the problem, and testing it). This packet

defines the requirements for Scientific Method. If you think you would like to do an engineering

design, please consult the packet at QQQ.


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Step 1: Choose a topic Choose a topic that you want to explore and a question that you want to answer in project.

Your question MUST best testable and have a cause/effect relationship (ex: What is the effect of

distance from a target on time to reach the target? How does temperature change with humidity? How

does salt affect the conductivity of water?)

Make sure the answer to your question is something you can graph or chart – not just a simple yes or

no.

When choosing a specific question, you can consult the following resources for ideas (visit with parental

permission only). Parents – please make sure the student can see the experiment information and not

the end results.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_question.shtml (includes a

Topic Selection Wizard that picks ideas based on your age and interests)

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

http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/chooingatopic.html

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

http://www.education.com/science-fair

Step 2: Project Proposal Form (Due Date?)

A student’s science fair project is based on the information he/she places on the Project Proposal (form

below). NOTE: Your teacher will need to approve your project before you are permitted to proceed.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Some forms are required BEFORE you start your project if your project is entered into SARSEF

or AzSEF. If you are interested in entering your project should you win our science fair, please

fill out the Approval Form (1B), Checklist for Adult Sponsor (1), and Students Checklist (1A)

prior to starting. These forms are available on our website.

If your project involves Human Subjects, Vertebrate Animals, Human or Animal Tissue,

Hazardous Substances, Devices or Activities or Potential Pathogens, please contact your

teacher before beginning. Your project will require special permission and consideration

before you proceed.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_question.shtml

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

http://www.ipl.org/div/projectguide/chooingatopic.html

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

http://www.education.com/science-fair


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Project Proposal Name: ________________________________

Investigative Question (What do you want to find out through your project?):

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Prediction: (Your best guess to answer your Investigative Question):

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Independent Variable (What variable will you CHANGE?):

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Dependent Variable (What variable will you OBSERVE?):

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Materials/Procedures (What will you use for this project and how will you do it?):

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________ I agree that this will be the science fair topic that I’ll be working on. If I need to change my project, I will contact my teacher and

discuss the change. I agree to put forth my best work and I understand that the science fair project is MY responsibility. I will

seek help when needed but I am fully aware that all work is to be on my own. I also understand this is a long-term assignment.

As such, if work is not turned in by the due date, I will earn a zero for that assignment, as stated in the Student-Parent

Handbook.

Student Signature:_______________________________________________________________________Date:___________

I support my child’s efforts in doing this science fair project and understand that this is a long-term assignment. If work is not

turned in by the due date, my child will earn a zero for that assignment, as stated in the Student-Parent Handbook.

Parent Signature:________________________________________________________________________Date:___________

The project meets requirements for the science fair.

Teacher Signature: ______________________________________________________________________ Date:___________


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Step 3: Background Research Paper & Bibliography (Due date?) Entries in your bibliography should be in alphabetic order. For a description of how to format entries in a bibliography, please see our website.

4th – 6th graders: Research for Step 3 is optional but required for SARSEF and AzSEF. For our project, we

recommend that you research as necessary to form an educated hypothesis. The bibliography will only

be required if you will be citing a source in your project. If you do not refer to a source in your project,

then you will not be required to have a bibliography.

7th-8th graders: The Background Research paper is created to find out as much as you can about your

topic so you can form an educated hypothesis. It should include:

The history of similar experiments or inventions

Definitions of all important words and concepts that describe the experiment.

Answers to all of your research questions

Mathematical formulas, if any, that are needed to describe the results of the experiment

Bibliography (5 references minimum) of all the sources used to write the paper. Photos and

artwork that is not your own will also need to be credited in the bibliography. For examples of

how to cite your sources, please see our website.


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Step 4: Final Report, Part I (Points?, Due Date?) The Final Report should be typed, written in 3rd person. You can use the Final Report Template (in

Microsoft Word) that is on our website to start. For Part I, ONLY the following sections are required:

Purpose: (Optional for 4th-6th graders, but recommended for AzSEF and SARSEF). Why did you

choose this project or why is it useful?

Investigative Question (from Step 2 – if you need to reformat this question, please consult with

your teacher first)

Background Research

o 4th-6th grade: This is optional but recommended for AzSEF and SARSEF. In a paragraph,

summarize the information you learned in your research that helped you to form your

hypothesis.

o For 7th-8th grade, simply refer to your background research paper (for example: See

“Effects of Gravity on Plant Root Growth”, Appendix 1)

Hypothesis: The hypothesis states is an educated guess about what you think is going to happen

during your science project based on what you already knew and/or what you learned from

your research. It is just a guess and it is OK if it is wrong! Please do not consult anyone or the

Internet for a quick answer.

o A good way to format your hypothesis is with an “If_____________ then__________”

o Example: “If the temperature of a cup of water increases then the amount of sugar that

will dissolve will increase.”

Experimental Design: A summary of the key parts of the experiment. List and identify:

o Independent Variable (from Step 2)

o Dependent Variable (from Step 2)

o Controlled variables: variables that you will keep constant throughout the experiment

o Limitations / Uncontrolled variables: variables that you cannot control but might be a

factor in your experiment

o Control (Optional for 4th-6th grade): What will you compare your results to? (Answer

can be “None”).

Materials: A list of all materials and equipment that are going to be used. Be specific – How

many? What size? What brand? All values must be in metric units.

Procedures: Detailed step-by-step instructions on how to carry out the experiment. This should

be a recipe that another person could use to perform the same exact experiment. Include

diagrams/photographs where appropriate.

Method of Data Analysis (Optional for 4th-8th grade but required for AzSEF and SARSEF):

Describe how you will collect and analyze data, including the number of trials you will do.

Risk and Safety: (Optional for 4th-8th grade but required for AzSEF and SARSEF): Identify any

potential risks and safety precautions to be taken. Please include in this section if you think there

are any potential safety hazards at all.

(If you are using the Final Report Template, you can leave all remaining entries blank for this step.

You will fill them in at a later time.)


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Step 5: Start Testing Allow for adequate time for the test to proceed.

Take pictures (only of the project, not of people).

Keep a log of your data in a Logbook (can be loose leaf paper or a composition book). Make

sure to date your entries.

Make sure to do enough trials to produce reasonably accurate results (we suggest at least 5).

Step 6: Final Report Part II For this step, you will continue the Final Report you started in the previous step, typed, and in 3rd

person. The following are required:

Data Table(s): a table represents the observations and documentation of testing.

o Metric units only

o Remember to label all columns, rows, etc. and give it a title

Graph(s): take data from chart and make it into a graph (bar, pie, line, etc.) that represents the

data in the best way visually

o Label the x axis (independent variable) and y axis (dependent variable) with units, where

applicable. Give it a title.

Data Analysis: In paragraph form, summarize your results in words, referring to your Data Chart

and Graph(s). Identify any trends or patterns and describe the relationship between the

dependent and independent variable.

Conclusion: In paragraph form:

o Restate your investigative question and your hypothesis. Then answer your

investigative question according to your results. (7th – 8th graders: make sure to state

the relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variable).

o Compare your results to your hypothesis and state whether or not your hypothesis was

supported. If not, write a revised hypothesis.

o Describe the application of this project: How can this information be applied to

everyday life?

Recommendations (Optional for 4th-6th grade but recommended for AzSEF and SARSEF):

Describe how you would improve the project if you were to do it again or extend it. Explain

anything in your project that may have caused room for error in results, including items out of

your control. Include mistakes you think you made and how they could have been avoided if

you were to do it again.

Optional: Acknowledgements: Say thank you to the people who helped you, 3rd person.


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Step 7: Abstract The abstract is a very important part of your science project. A person should be able to read the

abstract and have a complete idea of what your project was about, how it was carried out, and what

results were observed.

Must be typed, in 3rd person, and fit on one page with no more than 250 words.

Put your title top and center

Include in a single paragraph:

o Purpose of your project/experiment: what did you attempt to find out in this project?

Include a statement of the problem and hypothesis.

o Overview of Procedure: An overview of how to perform the experiment

o Summary of results, explain the answer to the original Investigative Question

o Conclusion: compare your hypothesis and whether or not your hypothesis was

supported.

Step 8: Put the notebook together (Points?, Due Date?) Put your name on the inside back cover of your notebook. Put your notebook in this order:

1. Title Page

2. Table of contents with pages numbered

3. Abstract, on a page by itself

4. Final Report Part I

5. Final Report Part II

6. Bibliography (Taken from Step 3, Optional for 4th-6th grade but required for AzSEF and SARSEF or

if you cited a source in your Final Report), on a page by itself

7. Appendix (Appendix page numbers are not included in the table of contents)

o Logbook

o 7th-8th grade only: Background Research Paper

o Optional: Forms you completed for SARSEF or AzSEF


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Step 9: Display Board (Points?, Due Date?) The display board will be displayed at our science fair.

Use a tri-fold display board.

Your entire display should not exceed 30”deep (front to back), 48”wide (side to side), 36”tall

(top to bottom).

Be creative, make it attractive and eye-catching

Remember to include only pictures of the experiment, not of people

Include your graph or chart

Put your name on the back of the board.

The information below is required on your board. You can use the format below, or visit our

website for other format ideas.

Investigative Question

Hypothesis

Experimental Design

TITLE

Materials/Procedures

(summarize)

Data Chart and Graph

**This middle section should be

decorated and have visuals

Data Analysis

Conclusion

Optional: Recommendations,

revised hypothesis, application,

final thoughts, etc.

Step 10: Prepare an oral presentation (Points?, Due Date?) The students will present their oral presentations in class.

Describe your Purpose or introduce the topic. Also, 7th-8th graders: explain your background

research

State your investigative question and hypothesis

Explain your Procedure


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Results: Explain your observations and data collected. Explain what data means and how the

graphs/charts/display your results

Discuss and explain conclusion

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