Science Fair 2012

1. Science Fair 2012 Stage 1 - - Student/Teacher Conference Day

2. Goals for Today • Please work through this PowerPoint. I will be conferencing with each of you at some point throughout the period to approve your topic and project. Task 1 - - Read through this PowerPoint Task 2 - - Write your hypothesis Task 3 - - Begin Materials and Procedure (plan and list) You will show your work accomplished in class (hypothesis, materials list, procedure) to Mrs. H at the end of the period

3. PART 1: Stating The Hypothesis Remember, a hypothesis is your educated best guess of what will happen in your project. • Scientists usually begin planning their experiments and studies around what they think will happen. • Engineers generally begin by designing innovations they believe will solve the problem. The purpose of the hypothesis is to clarify for yourself and others what your experiment/study/innovation will prove or disprove. It acts as a signpost pointing to where you think your results will lead.

4. Hypothesis Continued • Sometimes results agree with the hypothesis. Some of the most interesting (and successful!) projects are those with results that do not agree with the hypothesis. That makes for exciting science! Your hypothesis is not always the answer to your question. Think of the hypothesis as a tool that helps you: 1) Focus your thinking 2) Design your experiment 3) Apply statistical analysis tools (if you wish) to the results

5. Extending Your Thinking Science doesn’t prove the hypothesis: the results either suggest accepting or rejecting hypothesis. The reason? The unforeseen variable – even if you have controlled everything you can think of, there still may be a hidden factor that affected your experiment. Remember: In your write-up when you discuss your results, write, “The results support the hypothesis”, not, “The results proved the hypothesis was correct”.

6. Hypothesis Continued Example: Perhaps your project is going to investigate whether newspapers can be used as garden mulch without contaminating the soil. Your hypothesis might be: “Newspapers can be used as garden mulch without releasing chemicals into the soil that will harm plants.”

7. Your Task: Create Your Hypothesis - - Please take some class time to write the hypothesis for your experiment. You should have a separate section in your science binder for SCIENCE FAIR work

8. Part 2: Material List & A Detailed Plan • Your materials list is an important part of your procedure ‘recipe’: it is the specific list of ingredients. Giving clear and specific detail in materials is important for identifying variables and controls. You don’t want to change the amount or type of materials part way through your investigation!

9. Best BrowniesWhich recipe is more precise?

10. TIPS for “Materials” Section • Be accurate about amounts of materials: quantity, size, amount. • Specify how they will be measured. • Specify brand names you will use. • State what temperature materials will be. • Include drawings/photos of any material that cannot be described in words. • Include detailed instructions for equipment you construct. • For human or animal subjects, detail any characteristics of your subjects: age, grade level, height, gender, and any other variables that you are trying to control. It’s better to have too much detail about your materials than not enough!

11. Remember that your materials list goes hand in hand with your procedure. Someone else should be able to use your procedure and your materials list and get the same results. Be specific! • - Your task: now that you have your general topic outline, it is time to begin your list of materials. • If time permits, you may begin planning your procedure

12. www.flasf.on.ca/ 2 Questions to answer: Please visit the Regional Science Fair Web Site for this (above yellow address) • Safety regulations for my project are: • Ethics guidelines for my project are: