BOSEPO user guide

How to write a science project

BOSEPO USER GUIDE

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BOSEPO user guide

This guide is official document for preparing and writing a science fair projects for BOSEPO Olympiad.It is only appropriate for science fair BOSEPO Olympiad.“BOSEPO user guide - How to write a science fair project” is prepared by BOSEPO team.

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CONTENTS

BOSEPO goals 8

BOSEPO exhibition rules 9

Four major components of BOSEPO project 10

Elements of a Successful Project 10

How to Write an Abstract 14

The parts of abstract 14

Sample abstract 15

Display Regulations 16

Hints for Display 16

Judging 17

Judging form for projects 18

How to prepare a science fair project 19

BOSEPO - Research Paper 31

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BOSEPO user guide

BOSEPO GOALS

Science teachers have many reasons why we believe the BOSEPO is an invaluable experience for our students.

Some of the top reasons or goals that we hope our studentsachieve are:

1. to stimulate interest, curiosity, and desire to explore the mysteries of the world.

2. to learn, understand, and apply the scientific method.

3. to provide real experiences and methods by which all scientific knowledge has been and is still being gathered.

4. to help develop skills in communicating both verbally and in writing.

5. to help develop skills of interpretation and analysis of data.

6. to learn how to complete long range projects.

7. to acquire skills of research using a variety of resources such as the Internet, interviews, books, magazines, etc.

8. to show a connection between what is learned in the class and what happens in real life.

9. to promote unique opportunities for us (teachers) to work individually with you (student) in an interdisciplinary project.t

10. to foster independence in the student by providing the opportunity for you to take initiative and responsibility in studying a topic for your own learning.

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BOSEPO EXHIBITION RULESEvery project will be evaluated on a 120-points scale. 100 points will come from judging sessions and additional 20 points will come from following criteria;

1. All students must wear the official school uniform appropriate for season, grade year, and gender to school during project competition and awards ceremony.

2. All students and faculty/supervisors must wear their ID card with an official lanyard around their neck, and they must be visible during project competition and awards ceremony.

3. All students must be next to their projects during 2 days.

4. All students must only use a three-fold display board provided by BOSEPO Organization Committee. Thus, all students must come to the fair with pre-printed materials to prepare boards.

5. All students will have a project research paper or a project journal and the judges will check and evaluate them.

6. All students and supervisors must register and prepare the boards on Thursday, February 2 from 16:00 to 18:00 at International Burch University.

7. The judging will start on Wednesday, February 3. Therefore, all students must be in exhibition area at International Burch University at 8:15.

8. Participants without school uniform during Awards Ceremony are not permitted to enter Cinema Hall.

Thanks for your attention to these ground rules. Thank you all, in advance, for showing your sensitivity to comply with these rules.

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BOSEPO user guide

FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS OF BOSEPO PROJECT

The BOSEPO project can be divided into four major components or parts.

1. The Experiment:a. choosing a topicb. performing an experiment

2. The Research Paper:a. review literature (research) about your topic and closely

related topicsb. summarize the experiment and draw conclusions from the

experimentc. write a properly formatted and cited research paper

3. The Visual Displaya. prepare a backboard that illustrates the complete science

projectb. display equipment and materials needed to explain the

project

4. The Oral Presentationa. present orally a summary of the project to your teacher,

classmates, or judgesb. share and explain all phases of the project in an open

setting

ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT

1.) Project JournalAs you conduct your experiment, record the results as they are produced. It might be hard to remember some observations and data after experimentation. Take careful notes during data collection. They may be a little ‘messy’ but try to write every detail of data and observations. Data tables are also helpful .This will help you to organize your data

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when writing your research paper. Good notes remember everything. So your notes will help you to communicate better with the judges during your presentation. Make sure you date each entry.

2.) Research PaperThe students should prepare a research paper and it should be available along with the project journal and other necessary tools to present your project on their display table. A good research paper has the following sections;

a. Cover Page b. Table of Contents c. Abstract d. Introduction e. Materials and Methods f. Results g. Discussion h. Conclusioni. Acknowledgments j. References/Bibliography

a. Cover Page This page includes title of the project and name of the researcher. b. Table of Contents The second page of your report is the table of contents. It should contain a list of everything in the report that follows the contents page, as shown below.

c. Abstract The abstract is a brief overview of the project. It should not be more than 1 page and should include the project title, a statement of the purpose, a hypothesis, a brief description of the procedure, and the results. A copy of the abstract must be submitted to the I-SWEEEP officials during registration. See abstract form. Also, it is a good idea to have copies

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BOSEPO user guide

available for judges at your display. This gives judges something to refer to when making final decisions.

d. IntroductionThe introduction is a statement of your purpose, along with background information that led you to make this study. It should contain a brief statement of your hypothesis based on your research. In other words, it should state what information or knowledge you had that led you to hypothesize the answer to the project’s problem question. Make references to information or experiences that led you to choose the project’s purpose.

e. Materials and Methods You should describe all details of your procedures that you used to collect data, and make observations. Procedures should include a list of the materials used and the amount of each and the procedural steps are in order. Your written methods should be detailed enough so that someone would be able to repeat the experiment from the information in you paper. You can also include detailed photographs or drawings.

f. ResultsIt should include all measurements and observations that you took during each experiment and analysis of collected data. Graphs, tables, and charts created from your data should be labeled. If there is a large amount of data, you may choose to put most of it in an appendix, which can be placed in a separate binder or notebook. If you do separate the material, a summary of the data should be placed in the data section of the report.

g. DiscussionIn this section you will discuss what your data shows; it is not the conclusion. You should compare your results with published data, commonly held beliefs, and/or expected results. Your discussion should include possible errors. Also, discuss what you would do differently to improve this project in the future and what other experiments should be conducted?

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h. Conclusion The conclusion summarizes, in about one page or less, what you discovered based on your experimental results. The conclusion states the hypothesis and indicates whether the data supports it. The conclusion can also include a brief description of plans for exploring ideas for future experiments. Also, it contains practical applications of the project.

i. Acknowledgments Even though technically your project is to be your work alone, it is OK to have some help. The acknowledgment is not a list of names, but a short paragraph stating the names of the people and institutions and how they helped you. j. References/Bibliography A bibliography is a listing of the resources and references used during the research of your project. It should include information about the magazines and books you used. That information is organized so that interested readers could seek out and find the books and articles you refer to.

In the case of a book, you must supply the title of the book, its author, publishing company, the city where the publishing company is located, and the date the book was published.

For a magazine article you must supply the title of the article, the author, the magazine it appeared in, the date of the magazine issue, the volume of the magazine, and the pages the article appeared on. The followings are sample references.

Article Johnson, Peter H. “Wired For Warmth,” (electic soil warmers – plant propagators), Rodale’s Organic Gardening, Jan. 1987, vol. 34, 68Book Math, Irwin. Wires & Watts, New York, Scribner, 1981Encyclopedia“Gyroscopic Properties,” The World Book Encyclopedia, 1988, vol. 8, 477

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BOSEPO user guide

Online website Planning for College and Academic Planning. The College Board. 7 June 2000, http://www.collegeboard.org/features/parentgd/html/academic.html

HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACTEach student must write an abstract to be displayed with the project. An abstract gives the summary of the project. The abstract should reflect the essence of your project. Judges should gain a basic idea of the project after reading the abstract. Details and discussions should not be included in the abstract. If the students desires, he/she may be put the detailed information a written research paper or given on the project exhibit board.Participants at the BOSEPO are required to use the online Abstract Form to submit their abstract.

THE PARTS OF ABSTRACTPurpose of the Experiment•An introductory statement of the reason for choosing and doing this topic.•A statement of the problem or hypothesis being studied.

Procedures Used•A summarization of the key points and an overview of how the investigation

was conducted.•Do not give details about the materials used.

Observation/Data/Results•This section should provide key results that lead directly to drawn the

conclusions•It should not give too many details and numerical values about the results.

Conclusions•Conclusions should be described briefly.•State some applications and extensions of the research project.

An abstract should not include a bibliography.

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SAMPLE ABSTRACT

Using transparent wastes as “Transparent thermal insulators”Almir Sulejmanovic, Ahmed MašicSarajevo College, Sarajevo, Bosnia And Herzegovina

Nowadays people have big problems to maintain enough energy for their normal life needs, and to deal with big amount of municipal wastes that we are producing each second, so as a solution to those, we thought about finding new energy sources but also effective to the problem of big amount of municipal wastes, and to air pollution. As a solution, we aimed to study the usage of transparent thermal insulators that are really effective solution for heat conservation and at the same time is super solution against wastes.

Transparent thermal insulators are made of transparent wastes such as; plastics, glass, cellophane, nylon, etc. At the same time we can produce effective thermal insulators that will reduce our energy needs and we can also reduce emission of hazardous gasses that are produced by systems for heating objects as heat needs will be reduced because of better heat conservation. And secondly we can clean our environment from transparent wastes that make about 15 to 20% of municipal wastes. By using those wastes for production of transparent thermal insulators we can solve the problem of these wastes without producing many dangerous gasses during recycling process. We can also maintain new workplaces for many poor people that will be working to collect and select all of transparent materials (wastes) needs for production of transparent thermal insulators.

So the transparent thermal insulators are solutions for many of our daily problems, just we need to finish researches completely and use them to increase people’s life standards and to supply people’s needs.

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BOSEPO user guide

DISPLAY REGULATIONS

The BOSEPO Display Committee has the authority on display and safety issues for projects to compete in the BOSEPO. BOSEPO Display Committee may require students to make revisions in their display regulations.

Maximum Size of Project Display at the BOSEPO120 centimeters deep120 centimeters wide

These are maximum measurements, so your display may be smaller than this. Maximum project sizes include all project materials and equipmentto present the project such as display board, models, kits, and devices.For each project, BOSEPO will provide a booth that includes a skirted table, 2 chairs.Students will use the table to stand their board. BOSEPO will provide a three-fold display board. You should come to the fair with pre-printed materials to prepare your board.

HINTS FOR DISPLAY1. Your title and other headings should be neat and large enough to be read

at a distance of about 3 feet (1 m). The title should catch the interest of the observer.

2. May take pictures of important phases of the project to use in your display.3. Be organized and make sure that your display follows a sequence.4. Use neat, colorful headings, charts, and graphs to make your display eye-

catching but it should look simple not crowded.5. Be sure to follow display size limitations and safety rules.6. Don’t spend too much time or money for the display. Your will be judged

on the scientific value of your project.

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JUDGING

1. Were you creative when doing your science fair project?•Does your research show creativity and originality? •Did you solve the question in an original way? •Did you construct or design new equipment?

2. Did you follow the scientific methods and procedures in your science fair project?•Did you clearly state your problem? •Did you use scientific literature when you do your initial research? •Did you clearly state your variables? •Did you use controls?•Does your data support your conclusions? •Do you recognize the limitations of the data / experiment? And did you

state them in your conclusions? •Did you make suggestions as to what further research is warranted?

3. Were you thorough in doing your science project?•Did you carefully think out your science fair project, go about it systematically

for simple science fair projects with well thought-out research following the scientific method for kids outline and observations?

•Did you complete all parts of your research experiment? •Did you keep a project journal? •Did you keep detailed notes in your journal?

4. What was the quality of your technical skill?•Did you have the required equipment to obtain your data? •Was the project performed at home, school, university laboratory? •Where did the equipment come from? Did you build it? Did you loan it

from somewhere? Did you work in a professional laboratory? •Did you do the project yourself or did you receive help? If you received

help the judges are looking for you to give credit to those individuals.

5. Did you have clarity with the details of your science project?

6. How well your project fits in with the theme of being beneficial to society will be taken into account?

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BOSEPO user guide

JUDGING FORM FOR PROJECTSStudents Name_____________________________________________________________Grade_______ School_______________________________________________________Category________________________________Title of Project______________________________________________________________

(circle score next to each category - 10 is highest)

1. Knowledge gained(Has the student acquired knowledge doing this project?)

2. Review of Literature(Research of scientific literature and use of references.)

3. Scientific Approach(Was a scientific approach and controlled variable used in conducting the experiment?)

4. Collection of Data(Were measurements accurately taken and given in metric units?)

5. Conclusions(Were stated conclusions logical and valid?)

6. Written Work(Was the abstract present and the research paper organized and complete?)

7. Oral Presentation(Was it well planned and interesting?)

8. Exhibit(Was it visually appealing, neat, and attractive?)

9. Effort (Level of skills and effort by (each) researcher to carry out the project; amount of work.)

10. Creativity and Originality(Does the project show creative approach or thought in design or presentation?

Comments:________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

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Total score__________ Place_____________________

________________ _____________________ Name Judges’ Surname Signatures

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Name _________________Date __________________

HOW TO PREPARE A SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT

©1998 United Learning, Inc.AGC/United Learning • 1560 Sherman Ave., Suite 100, Evanston, IL 60201 • 800-323-9084

How ToPrepare

aScienceFair

Project

This booklet belongs to:


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BOSEPO user guide

Name _________________Date __________________



Seven Steps To Prepare a Science Fair Project

1. SELECTING A TOPIC: Choose something you're interested in and something youwant to learn more about. Talk to teachers, parents, or librarians for ideas. A hobbymight lead to a good topic. Don't forget to look through science books, magazines, orvisit museums or zoos for ideas.

2. RESEARCH: After the topic has been selected, start the research process. Encyclope-dias will provide an overview of your topic, but go beyond that and collect informationfrom books and magazines. Contact experts or companies that might be able to supplyinformation. Don't forget to check the internet.

3. PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS: The purpose is a description of what you will do.The hypothesis is an educated explanation as to what you think will happen.

4. EXPERIMENT: Plan and organize an experiment. Perform the experiment under con-trolled conditions. Keep careful records in a specials notebook that is used only for thispaper.

5. RESEARCH PAPER: This report will provide interested readers with a comprehensivelook at your topic and research. It includes information collected during your research aswell as a complete description of your experiment, data, and conclusions. Don't forget theone page summary called an abstract.

6. EXHIBIT: This is the visual presentation of your project, so prepare it carefully. Usegraphs, charts, and clear bold lettering to highlight this display.

7. JUDGING: Plan how you want to explain your project to the judges. Look neat, speakclearly, and don't fidget or do other distracting things.

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Name _________________Date __________________



Stay Organized With a Schedule

This may be the first time you have attempted a long range project, so it is very important toprepare a schedule and stay organized. Science fair projects often require several weeks forcompletion. For that reason, organizational meetings are often set up months before the actualfair. Don't let a due date that is many weeks away throw your planning off; there are manythings to do. Here is a suggested schedule that provides ample time to complete all phases ofthe project:

CHECK OFF WEEK WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING

[ ] 1 - 2 Identify your topic and establish apurpose.

[ ] 3 - 4 Use the library to research your topic.

[ ] 3 -4 Plan experiment and collect supplies.

[ ] 5 - 6 Conduct your experiment and collect dataand results.

[ ] 7 Analyze results and establish conclusion.

[ ] 8 Write the research paper and abstract.

[ ] 9 - 10 Build your display and practice presenta-tion for judging.

OctoberSun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

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Name _________________Date __________________



Title of Article, Name of Magazine, Author,Issue, and Publisher

Only one idea per card -that will help you to avoid copying fromthe source. You must put things in your

own words unless you use quotationmarks.

Index Cardscan be veryhelpful fornote taking.

Getting The Info

Once you've identified your topic, the next step is to conduct your research. You want to collectas much information as possible. Begin by getting an overview of your topic. Encyclopediascontain general information about many topics and are a good starting point. However, theyshould be used only to get a general idea. Most libraries have a computerized system that al-lows you to type in a topic and then it searches its database to identify available books andmagazines on the subject.

When you find a book on your topic, don't feel you have to read the whole thing. Look at thetable of contents and the index for information related to your subject. Check the book's bibli-ography for other sources you may wish to review.

When collecting information from books and magazines, use index cards. Put only one idea ona card and be sure to include information for your bibliography. You'll need to list the title ofthe article, the name of the magazine or book, the author, the issue, the date, and the publisher.

The Internet can be an excellent resource of ideas and information. (Look at the Bibliographypage in this booklet to see what information you will need when siting an Internet site).

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Name _________________Date __________________



A Controlled Experiment

To conduct a scientific investigation, care must be taken to follow experimental procedures.You must design an experiment to test your hypothesis. When planning your experiment, re-member to keep everything the same except for the single variable being tested. A variable issomething that can be changed in the experiment. It is what you are testing. Everything elsemust be the same and only one variable or condition is altered or changed. A control groupshould be used when conducting an experiment. This group receives the same attention as thetest groups; however, it will not be influenced by the variable the other groups are testing.

Here is an example:PURPOSE: How the amount of fertilizer used will affect plant growth.

HYPOTHESIS: Increased dosages of fertilizer will cause greater growth in tomato plants.

The test variable will be the amount of fertilizer used. So all other variables and conditionsmust stay the same. That means the following:

1. The seeds must all come from the same package and should be randomlyselected.

2. All seeds must be planted in the same sized pots with similar soil.3. All plants must receive exactly the same amount of water and light.4. The temperature should be the same for all test plants.5. More than one plant should be used in each test group.6. Set one group as the CONTROL GROUP. This group is not given any fertilizer.7. Set up two other test groups. One receives a certain amount of fertilizer each

week. The other group receives twice as much.

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Name _________________Date __________________



Recording Observations a nd Data

Use a separate notebook for recording all measurements and observations. Record informationon a daily basis and consider the following things:

• Make sure that accurate metric measurements are given in your data. Givemasses in grams, volumes in milliters, and linear measurements in centimeters.

• It is better to have too much data than not enough so keep a lot of notes.

• When making an observation, write down the date and time.

• Keep track of the materials used, their quantities and cost.

• Consider taking photographs to be used in your research paper or as part ofyour display.

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Name _________________Date __________________



Graphs and Charts

Your daily log of observations will be the best means for sharing the data and information col-lected during the experiment. Charts and graphs will provide a fine way to share data in an easyto read and understand fashion. There are different kinds of charts and graphs. Here are someexamples:

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11DAYS

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BARGRAPH

LINEGRAPH

WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3

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BOSEPO user guide

Name _________________Date __________________



The Abstract and Research Paper

It is important to be able to share your project with others. One way to share information is inwritten form. Here are some guidelines for writing the abstract and research paper.

1. The abstract is a one-page summary of your work. It should include:a) a statement of purpose,b) a brief description of the procedure,c) a conclusion based on results collected.

2. The research paper should be typed with double spacing. It should include:a) title page which should include your topic, your name, school's name, grade,

sponsor, city, state, and zip code.b) table of contents.c) purpose - This is a statement of what you plan to do. It can include a

hypothesis or educated guess as to what you think the outcome will be.d) acknowledgements - In this section you can identify people who have

helped you.e) review of literature - Here you describe the work and findings of others

related to your topic.f) materials and methods of procedure - Describe the materials you used and

then provide a step-by-step explanation of how you conducted theexperiment. Include drawings or photographs to help clarify yourprocedures.

g) results - The outcome of your experiment and the data collected is shared ingraphs, charts or as a daily log of observations.

h) conclusion - In this section you will interpret your findings and results.Refer back to your purpose and indicate whether or not your findingssupport your hypothesis.

i) bibliography - List the books, magazines, pamphlets, or othercommunications you used to research your topic.

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Name _________________Date __________________



The Exhibit or Display

This is a visual way to communicate to others so take your time and do a good job.

Be sure to check with your teacher or sponsor about the rules for dimensions of the exhibit.Most exhibits will have three sections and be expected to stand on their own. Displays are oftenplaced on card tables so there will be limits to their size. Use sturdy material, such as plywood,masonite, or heavy cardboard, for the backboard. Use hinges or strong tape to hold the threesections together.

TitlePhotos

Photos

Materials

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BOSEPO user guide

Name _________________Date __________________



Developing a Bibliography

A bibliography is a listing of the resources adn references used during the research of yourproject. It should include information about the magazines and books you used. That informa-tion is organized so that interested readers could seek out and find the books and articles yourefer to.

In the case of a book, you must supply the title of the book, its author, publishing company, thecity where the publishing company is located, and the date the book was published.

For a magazine article you must supply the title of the article, the author, the magazine it ap-peared in, the date of the magazine issue, the volume of the magazine, and the pages the articleappeared on.

Here is an example of a bibliography:

Bibliography

1. "Gyroscopic Properties," The World Book Encyclopedia, 1988, vol. 8, 477

Article Title Title of Book Volume of Book

Date Published

Page ArticleAppears On

2. Johnson, Peter H. "Wired For Warmth," (electic soil warmers - plantpropagators), Rodale's Organic Gardening, Jan. 1987, vol. 34, 68

Author

Magazine

Encyclopedia

Title of Magazine Date Published

3. Math, Irwin. Wires & Watts, New York, Scribner, 1981

Book

Title of Book City WherePublished

Publisher

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Name _________________Date __________________



This is an important part of your project so take the time to plan and practice the presentation you willmake to the judges. Plan in advance what you want to say but don't memorize your presentation. Writekey phrases or ideas on index cards and use them as a reference but don't depend heavily on them.

Here is an approach you may wish to use for making your oral presentation.

1. Greet the judges and introduce yourself.2. Give them a copy of your abstract and research paper.3. Give the title of your project, your grade, school, and sponsor (teacher).4. Tell how you became interested in this topic.5. Give some background information about the topic.6. State the purpose of your investigation.7. Discuss your review of literature.8. Describe, in a step-by-step fashion, the procedure you followed for conducting

your investigation. Point to sections of your display and refer to charts, graphs,and photographs. If you have equipment on display, allow the judges toexamine it.

9. Explain the results of your experiment and be sure to discuss controls andvariables. Remember to keep all measurements in metric units.

10. Identify the conclusions that you could logically draw from the experiment.11. Discuss any future plans you may have to continue research or experimentation

related to your topic. Include a few statements about any changes you made inyour scientific approach during your early investigation.

12. Ask the judges if they have any questions. Remember, if you don't know ananswer, say so and indicate you will look into it. If judges insist on askingquestions in unrelated areas, redirect the conversation back to your specifictopic.

13. Thank the judges for their time and any suggestions they may have offered toimprove your project.

Good manners, nice clothes, and enthusiasm for what you're doing will help to impress the judges.Here are some tips:

1. Wear nice clothes.2. Be polite and practice good manners.3. Make good eye contact with your judges and be sure to give each judge your

attention. Don't just look at one.4. Stand up straight and to the side of your exhibit.5. Speak with enthusiasm, clarity, and assuredness.6. Don't do anything to distract the judges.7. Relax, smile and have FUN.

Presentation to Judges

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Science Fair – Research Paper Due Monday, November 21, 2011

General instructions o Double‐space all pages (either set line spacing to 2.0, or hit enter twice after

every line) o Use one‐inch margins on all sides o Number ALL pages at the bottom in the middle o Use a plain font (like Calibri, Times New Roman, or Arial) o Except for the title page and section headings, use 12 pt font o All sections (except the title page) should have a title in bold 16 pt font

Your paper should have the following sections in this order:

Title Page (6 pts) o Put on a page by itself o Center vertically & horizontally it on the page o In 16 pt font or larger, put the following (in order), each on a new line:

Name of your project (maximum of 6 words – must fit on 1 line) Your name Your grade & section

Table of Contents (5 pts) o Put on a page by itself o List all sections on the left side of the page, except title page & table of contents o List the corresponding page numbers on the right side of the page (you should

check these after you finish your entire paper, to make sure pages haven’t shifted)

Abstract (7 pts) o Put on a page by itself o Summarize your entire project o Maximum of 250 words o Include your question, very brief procedures, and your most important data and

conclusions

Background Research (10 pts) o In paragraph form, give information to help others understand how your project

works and why it is important o Base your writing on your research, not your opinion

BOSEPO - RESEARCH PAPER

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o DO NOT directly copy/quote from one of your sources – it should be written in your own words. Very short quotes (1‐2 sentences) are acceptable if placed in quotation marks.

o Minimum of half of a page (11 full lines) o DO NOT include a summary of your question, hypothesis, or procedure

Question or Engineering Goal (5 pts) o The question you are answering in your experiment o Write it as a question, not a statement. Your independent variables should be

clear from your question. o If you are doing an engineering project (one where you are attempting to

construct something, rather than answer a question), you should write your goal as a statement, not a question.

Hypothesis (5 pts) o Make a prediction about ALL of your independent variables o Include a brief reason why you are making that prediction o Use complete sentences

Variables (10 pts) o NOT complete sentences o Include the following o Independent variables

Factors you are directly changing in your experiment Each project must have at least 2 List the general variable you are changing, not the specific

substances/conditions you will test (Ex: “type of liquid”, not “Sprite, orange juice, and water”)

o Dependent variable(s) Things you are observing or measuring in your experiment in order to

answer your question DO NOT write as a question

o Constants Factors that stay the same throughout all parts of your experiment Give at least 2 constants; most experiments will have more DO NOT include methods of measuring/calculating as constants

Materials (5 pts) o Make a bullet‐point list o Include ALL materials you actually used in your experiment

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Procedure (10 pts) o Type up as a numbered list o Write in 2nd person present tense (like you are telling someone what to do)

Correct: 1. Measure 200 mL of water and pour into bowl Incorrect: 1. I measured 200 mL and poured it into the bowl

o Include diagrams, if necessary, to explain the setup o Be detailed – one of your classmates should be able to read your procedure and

do your experiment! o If you repeat the same steps but just use a different chemical/liquid/size of

object, etc., it is fine to say “Repeat steps x to xx using [new material] instead of [original material]

o Steps should be no more than a few lines long – if they are longer, break them up into simpler steps

o DO NOT copy and paste steps from any source – if you got ideas for your procedure from another source, you should rewrite them in your own words. (The source should be listed in the bibliography.)

Pictures (5 pts extra credit) o Pictures of YOUR experiment – results, procedure, or both o All pictures must have a caption, explaining what is in the picture

Data Tables & Observations (20 pts) o Give EACH data table a descriptive title – one that indicates what data is in the

table o Clearly label all rows and columns o Include units either in the row or column label, or in each individual cell o DO NOT put more than one type of data in a single cell – one measurement per

box! o Include ALL of your ACTUAL data from your experiment – you may not use

predicted data. o If you made other important observations that are not easy to put into a data

table, write them out in complete sentences and include them here. o DO NOT explain the importance of your observations/data in this section.

Graphs (20 pts) o Choose the correct type of graph for your data. If you are not sure, discuss it

with Mr. Turhan o Give EACH graph a descriptive title – one that indicates what data is on the graph o Label the y‐axis and include the units o Label the x‐axis and, when necessary, include units. Bar graphs need an x‐axis

label that is separate from the individual category labels!

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o The data in your graphs must match the data in your tables o If you choose to graph the average of your trials, also include the average on

your data tables o DO NOT try to include more than one type of data on a single bar graph.

Remember – you must be able to clearly label & give a unit for the y‐axis.

Analysis (15 pts) o In sentences and paragraphs, summarize your data o If you made any mistakes or had any difficulties that you think may have affected

your results, discuss them here o If you did any calculations, include a few full examples of how the calculations

were done

Conclusion (15 pts) o In sentences and paragraphs:

Explain whether or not your data support your hypothesis Answer your question Give at least one idea for improving your project or for continuing your

project with other experiments

Bibliography (15 pts) o Put on a page by itself o Follow MLA format

Entries must be correctly formatted & alphabetized For help:

Visit www.easybib.com or www.owl.english.purdue.edu

Ask your English teacher o Do NOT use Wikipedia, Yahoo! Answers or similar websites that allow any user

to give information as sources o Remember, www.google.com is a search engine, not a website with actual

information – you cannot cite it as a source o Must have at least 5 sources!!

PLEASE spell‐check your work, as well as proofreading it. You will lose points if it is obvious you have not done this.

You must email a copy of your research paper to Mr. Turhan ([email protected]) by 4 PM, Monday, November 21th. DO NOT bring a paper copy! If you cannot email your paper to Mr. Turhan, you need to discuss how/when you will turn in your paper to Mr. Turhan BEFORE the deadline.

STUDENTS WHO WILL BE ABSENT ON THE DUE DATE MUST TURN THEIR PAPER IN BEFOREHAND!

35


Name _________________Date __________________



Video Quiz

Directions: Use this sheet to write your answers to the questions asked at the end of the video. Use the back ifnecessary.

1. In most scientific investigations, a control group is required, What is the purpose of the control group?

2. What are variables?

3. If you were doing an experiment to determine the effects of x-rays on seed germination, what variables wouldyou need to keep the same for all test groups?

4. In the effects of x-rays on the seed germination experiment, what would be the variable being tested?

5. A dentist might allow you to use his x-ray machine to expose the seeds to different amounts of x-rays. Howwould you set up the experiment?

6. Why have three or more test items or subjects in each test group?

7. What are the three things most science fairs require of each project?

8. What is an abstract and what purpose does it serve?

9. When using index cards for your oral presentation, why is it a good idea to write single words or shortphrases instead of your entire speech?

10. What is a hypothesis?

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