Science Fair: fun for all

SCIENCE FAIR: FUN FOR ALL

Mrs. Becky MuellerMs. Tami Folden

Lincoln R-2 Schools

WHAT DOES A SCIENCE FAIR TEACH?

Science Fair is cross curricular. All areas are at least touched upon with Science Fair

Math skills such as measuring, averaging, and collecting data

English skills such as communicating effectively and reading non-fiction material

Scientific Inquiry is Science Fair (GLEs) Next Generation Science Standards

(NGSS)

THE EFFECT OF THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE

ON THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

By: Student name(s)

Title Score Card Pts Earned Pts Possible

Capital Letters where appropriate for a title 3Independent Variable 2Dependent Variable 2Effect 3Total 0 10

THE EFFECT OF AMOUNT OF TIME FROZEN ON THE

DISTANCE A RUBBER BAND WILL STRETCH

THE EFFECT OF PLAYER ON NUMBER OF FOULS

AND TOTAL POINTS

TESTABLE QUESTION How does changing (Independent Variable) affect (Dependent Variable)?

Testable QuestionPts Earned

Pts Possible

Capital Letter at beginning of question 2

Question Mark at end of question 2

Question starts with "How does" 3

Question is measureable 3Total 0 10

HOW DOES CHANGING THE LENGTH OF TIME FROZEN AFFECT HOW FAR A RUBBER BAND

WILL STRETCH?

ARE FOULS AND TOTAL POINTS RELATED AT THE PLAYER LEVEL?

HYPOTHESIS If the (independent variable) is (describe how the variable was changed), then the (dependent variable) will (describe the effect).

Hypothesis Pts Earned Pts Possible

Capital Letter at beginning of hypothesis and end punctuation 3

Hypothesis is in "If…then…" format 3

IV and DV in appropriate places 4Total 0 10

IF THE RUBBER BANDS ARE STORED IN THE FREEZER AT 0O F FOR ONE WEEK, THEN THE DISTANCE STRETCHED WILL BE ONE CENTIMETER MORE THAN ALL OTHER RUBBER BANDS STORED IN THE FREEZER.

IF A PLAYER HAS ONLY 1 FOUL, THEN THE PLAYER WILL HAVE 7 POINTS.

VARIABLE IDENTIFIEDIndependent Variable

Dependent Variable

Constant(s)

Action Variable purposely changed

Measurable response to change

All other factors kept the same

Variables Pts Earned Pts Possible

Correct Independent Variable identified 10

Correct Dependent Variable identified 10

At least 5 Constants identified 10Total 0 30

IV: TIME IN FREEZERDV: DISTANCE RUBBER BAND STRETCHESCONSTANTS: TYPE OF RUBBER BAND, FREEZER TEMPERATURE, HOW RUBBER BAND IS STRETCHED, PERSON STRETCHING RUBBER BAND, TIME OUT OF FREEZER PRIOR TO STRETCHING RUBBER BAND

IV: NUMBER OF FOULSDV: NUMBER OF POINTSCONSTANTS: PLAYER, GAME, OPPONENT, TIME PLAYED, LEVEL OF RESTEDNESS

DATA TABLEIndependent Variable

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

Data Table Pts Earned Pts Possible

Correct Independent Variable on left of table 3Correct Title 1

At least 3 Trials Labeled 3Average of Trials 1Data in correct cells 2Total 0 10

THE EFFECT OF AMOUNT OF TIME FROZEN ON THE DISTANCE A RUBBER BAND WILL STRETCH

Number of Weeks in Freezer Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

Average Distance Stretched in Centimeters before Rubber Band Broke

0 11 10 12 111 8 9 9 8.672 10.5 10.5 8 9.673 14 13 10 12.33

The Effect of Player on Number of Fouls and Total Points

Lincoln Player Fouls

1st quarter points

2nd quarter points

3rd quarter points

4th quarter points

Total points

Expected Points

Roberts 0 0 2 0 0 2 0Kroenke, Tr 1 2 0 2 0 4 2.78571Kroenke, Ty 3 0 0 0 0 0 8.35713Sanders 5 2 2 0 3 7 13.9286Yearout 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.78571Eckhoff 0 0 0 2 3 5 0Kroenke, B 1 3 4 2 0 9 2.78571Spunaugle 1 2 2 2 0 6 2.78571Kranz 2 2 4 0 0 6 5.57142

GRAPH Make sure to include an

appropriate title, x and y axis are both labeled with appropriate titles and scales, and plotting is correct.

Graph Pts Earned Pts Possible

Correct Independent Variable on X-axis 1Labels for IV 1Correct Title 1Correct Dependent Variable on Y-axis with units 2Numbers on Y-axis 1Data plotted correctly 4Total 0 10

Zero One Two Three0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

The Effect of Amount of Time Frozen on the Distance a Rubber Band will Stretch

Number of Weeks in Freezer

Aver

age

Dist

ance

Stre

tche

d in

Cen

timet

ers b

efor

e Ru

bber

Ban

d Br

oke

Roberts Kroenke, Tr

Kroenke, Ty

Sanders Yearout Eckhoff Kroenke, B

Spunaugle Kranz0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

The Effect of Player on Number of Fouls and Total Points

FoulsTotal points

Lincoln Player

Tota

l Poi

nts

and

Foul

s

An abstract is a synopsis of the project. The abstract will be no more than 250 words. The abstract appears at the beginning of the report as well as on the display board.

The abstract will have the following pieces included: IntroductionTestable QuestionProceduresResultsConclusion

Abstract

Abstract Pts Earned Pts PossibleIntro 3Hypothesis 5Procedures 5Results 5Conclusion 3250 words 3No Pronouns 3

All graded material 3Total 0 30

THE EFFECT OF AMOUNT OF TIME FROZEN ON THE DISTANCE A RUBBER BAND WILL STRETCH

The claim has been made that storing rubber bands in a cool place will increase the shelf life of the rubber bands. This experiment indicates there may be some truth in the statement. In a short three week experiment, rubber bands were placed in a freezer for varying amounts of time and then stretched to find out how far the rubber bands would stretch prior to breaking. The control for this experiment was zero amount of time in the freezer. The rubber bands in the freezer for three weeks stretched, on average, 1.33 cm further than the rubber bands that were never in the freezer. The rubber bands in the freezer for one week or two weeks did not stretch as far as the control rubber bands. Although further testing is needed to find the optimal amount of time to achieve the optimal amount of stretch in a rubber band, this experiment suggests storing rubber bands in the freezer will increase how far a rubber band will stretch.

THE EFFECT OF PLAYER ON NUMBER OF FOULS AND TOTAL POINTS

Are fouls and total points related at the player level? The hypothesis, if a player has only 1 foul, then the player will have 7 points, was found to not have a relationship. From looking at data from a basketball game, the number of fouls is not an indicator of how many points a player will make. If the number of points was related to the number of fouls, then the points made would be evenly distributed by fouls made. Looking at the players that committed only one foul, the points made by those players is not the same and not 7 points each.

CONCLUSION In your conclusion, your data will

“support” or “not support” your hypothesis. It is not a “right” or “wrong” situation. You will summarize the data in this section.

Conclusion Pts Earned Pts PossibleHypothesis is stated correctly 6"Support" or "not supported" in statement 6Data is summarized using averages from data table 8No Pronouns 5

All graded material 5Total 0 30

In conclusion, the hypothesis, if the rubber bands are stored in the freezer at 0o F for one week, then the distance stretched will be one centimeter more than all other rubber bands stored in the freezer, was not supported. The control rubber bands, on average stretched 11 cm. The rubber bands frozen for one week stretched, on average, 9.67 cm. Rubber bands frozen for two weeks stretched, on average, 9.67 cm. The rubber bands frozen for three weeks stretched, on average, 12.33 cm.

In conclusion, the hypothesis, if a player has only 1 foul, then the player will have 7 points, was not supported. There seems to be no consistent relationship between fouls and points scored at the individual level.

PROCEDURESThe procedures will be listed out in steps.Such as:1.2.3.

Procedures Pts Earned Pts Possible

Listed correctly in a numerical list 3

Sufficient instructions to conduct the experiment 4

Directions given in complete sentences 3Total 0 10

PROCEDURES1. Determine when the rubber bands will be broken. This will

take some time and has to be finished as quickly as possible once started.

2. Mark closable plastic bags with the date to put the rubber bands in the freezer. (One week from the previously determined date, two weeks from the previously determined date, and three weeks from the previously determined date.)

3. Place four rubber bands in each of the four bags and close the bag.

4. On the appropriate date, place the bag with the four rubber bands in the freezer.

5. Prior to taking the rubber bands out of the freezer, a stretching board needs to be built. Use a 1” x 4” approximately 21 cm long. Drive two finish nails in the board 1.5 cm from the end and 1.5 cm from either edge.

PROCEDURES, CONT. 6. On a piece of paper wider than the gap between the two nails, secure a metric tape measure with masking tape with the zero end at the very edge of the paper. 7. Secure the paper to the board against the two nails with masking tape with the measuring tape in the middle. 8. Place one rubber band on the two nails. 9. Pull both sides of the rubber band along the tape measure with the wire hook until the rubber band breaks.10. Record the measurement of how far the rubber band was

pulled before breaking in the data table.11. Break at least three of the rubber bands and record all data.

PROCEDURES1. Collect data including player fouls and

player points from a basketball game.2. Graph the fouls and points for each

player.3. Pay attention to the graphed data to

determine if there is any consistent trends in the data (i.e. if the fouls stay low the points increase for a player).

MATERIALS LIST List all the materials needed to do this

investigation / experiment by using bullets. Include amounts of each material

needed.

Materials List Pts EarnedPts Possible

Listed in a bulleted list 4Sufficient amounts of materials listed to conduct the experiment 6

Total 0 10

MATERIALS LIST 16 matching rubber bands Freezer space Closable plastic bags (Ziploc snack bags work well) 1” x 4” by 21 cm board 2 eight penny finish nails Hammer Metric measuring tape Masking tape Paper 10 x 20 cm Sturdy wire hook

MATERIALS LIST Data from Official Score Book from a

basketball game Graph paper and pencil or Excel

Program on a computer

HOW DO I START? Students need some background

knowledge before jumping into experiments.

VariablesWhat they areHow to write them

HypothesisWhat it isHow to write one

VARIABLES Students have a really hard time

remembering which variable is which

Color coding seems to help a whole lot.

Foldables to refer back to help.

Lots and lots of practice.

VARIABLES FOLDABLE

VARIABLES FOLDABLE

VARIABLES FOLDABLE

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE











IN CLASS PRACTICE Students need a lot of time to take what

they have learned and put it to use.

Do more than one experiment in the classroom.

Use groups to help the students learn from each other.

IN CLASS PRACTICE

IN CLASS PRACTICE

IN CLASS PRACTICE

IN CLASS PRACTICE

IN CLASS PRACTICE

IN CLASS PRACTICE

In order to practice putting together a science fair board, have them make a mini-board using large construction paper.

MINI-BOARD

IN CLASS PRACTICE

MINI-BOARD

MINI-BOARD

ASSESSMENT?

Some teachers may like to assess in a written form whether the students have really retained what they have learned.

Why is this important? If the students have not learned the basics, they cannot put it to use in a science fair project.

SCIENCE FAIR: LET’S GET GOING!

BASICS Talk to your building principal about

securing a date. (6-8 weeks time frame) Send a letter home to parents. Secure judges (if you wish). Pass out scoring guides to students. Make up reminder slips to send home

every two weeks. Help students come up with an idea. Order ribbons (or make your own

certificates)

BASICS:LETTER HOME

BASICS:GETTING READY



Lets give it a try!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED A group of four people String Washer Paper clip Experiment sheet Graph Ruler Timer

Documents

Science Fair: fun for all