Steps to create an award winning project

Information contained here is taken from Junction Hill

A Successful Science Fair Project Must Contain:

A Problem Statement A Hypothesis List of Independent Variables A Measurable Dependent Variable Control Variables List of Materials Procedure Data Table Graph Conclusion

Where Do You BeginDetermine whether your idea is a demonstration or an experiment

If idea is a demonstration, then try

to mold it into an experiment

In order to perform an experiment, we must understand

variables

Independent

VariablesDependent Variables

Control Variables

Variables

Independent Variable

Items in the experiment which are being tested or changed

Dependent Variable

How the effects of the independent variables will be measured in the experiment

Control VariablesItems in the experiment which are not being tested and must

remain constant

Independent Variable• The Independent variable is the item you

are testing within the experiment. • Examples might be: Height of a ramp

Amount of salt

4 cm 6 cm8 cm

1 teaspoon or

10 grams

2 teaspoons or

20 grams

3 teaspoons or

30 grams

Dependent Variable• The dependent variable is the item you are

using to measure the effect of the independent variable • Examples might be:

60.2 cm

Distance The Car Travelled

Time it takes the salt water to

freezeSalt Water Ice

Cube froze in 27 min 22 sec or

1642 sec

A Problem Statement

A problem statement is stated as a question

The question should begin

with one of the following

words: (Which or How)

The form of the question should be:

Which or How will the

Independent Variable affect the Dependent

Variable

Examples of Problem Statements

How will the height of the ramp affect the distance the car will travel?

Which amount of salt dissolved in water will freeze in the shortest period of time?

Examples of Hypothesis

I think the car on the 8 cm high ramp will travel

the farthest distance from the end of the

ramp I think the ice cube

with the least amount of salt (1 tsp) will

freeze in the shortest period of time

Example of Independent Variables

The independent variable for the first experiment would

be:

Height of the Ramp4cm6cm8cm

The independent variable for the

second experiment would be:

Amount of salt1 tsp (10 grams)2 tsp (20 grams)3 tsp (30 grams)

Example of Dependent Variables4 cm

Run Distance (cm)

1 145.32 146.73 144.24 147.15 145.5

avg 145.8

6 cm 8 cm

Run Distance (cm)

1 157.42 159.13 158.84 157.95 158.4

avg 158.3

Run Distance (cm)

1 169.72 171.23 170.84 171.85 170.3

avg 170.8Whether we are measuring the distance a car will travel down ramps of different heights, or if we are measuring the time it takes water with different amounts of salt to freeze, the measurements are considered our dependent variable

Amount of Salt (tsp or grams)

Time for ice cube to freeze (seconds)

1 teaspoon or 10 grams 1642 sec2 teaspoons or 20 grams 1822 sec3 teaspoons or 30 grams 1983 sec

Control VariablesControl variables are parts of the experiment that must be the same every time you are measuring the effects of the independent variableControls in Experiment 1

Place car at same location on the ramp

Use the same car for each experiment

The surface of the ramps must be the same

Controls in Experiment 2

When dissolving salt, use the same amount of water

Ice cubes must be the same size

Freeze at the same temperature

List of MaterialsA list of materials is necessary in case

someone wants to perform the experiment

Procedure This is a step by step description of how

the experiment was performed

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Place cardboard on a table

Lift and place one 4cm block under and on one side of the cardboard

Place car at the top of the cardboard ramp

Release car with NO added force

Once car comes to a rest, measure the distance from the bottom of the ramp to

the front of the car

Record the distance and repeat four more times. Calculate and record the average

of the five runs

Repeat steps 2-5 for the 6cm and 8cm block

Place 6 oz or 5oml of water in a jar

Pour 1 teaspoon or 10 grams of salt in the water and stir until salt has completely

dissolved

Pour salt water solution into an ice tray. Be sure to measure the exact amount and

record

Place ice tray into the freezer portion of a refrigerator, close freezer door and begin

recording time as your start time.

Once the ice cube is completely frozen, record the time as your stop time.

Calculate the time for the ice cube to freeze by subtracting the start time from

the stop time.

Repeat steps 1-5 for the 2 teaspoon and the 3 teaspoon samples

The data table represents the measured values of the

dependent variable collected during the experiment

Data Table

Height of Ramp (cm)

Avg Distance Car Travelled

(cm)4 145.86 158.38 170.8

Experiment 1 Experiment 2Amount of Salt

(tsp or grams)

Time for ice cube to freeze

(seconds)

1 or 10 16422 or 20 18223 or 30 1983

Graph

A graph is a visual representation which provides a way to easily understand the

data

Dis

tanc

e C

ar T

rave

lled

(cm

)

30

60

90

120

150

180

Height of Ramp (cm)

4cm 6cm 8cm

300

600

900

1200

1500

1800

Amount of salt (grams or tsp)

1 or 10 2 or 20 3 or 30

Tim

e to

Fre

eze

Ice

Cub

e (s

econ

ds)

2100

Conclusion

The conclusion addresses whether or not the hypothesis was correct. Once this question is answered, the conclusion could include a reasoning as to why the hypothesis was correct or incorrect

Experiment 1

Original hypothesisI think the car on the 8cm high ramp will travel the

farthest distance from the end of the ramp

ConclusionMy hypothesis was correct, the car on the 8cm ramp

travelled the farthest distance. I think the reason this car went the farthest is

because it had more potential energy. The higher the ramp,

the more potential energy available to convert into

motion

Original hypothesisI think the ice cube

with the least amount of salt (1 tsp) will

freeze in the shortest period of time

ConclusionMy hypothesis was

correct, the ice cube with the least amount

of salt froze in the shortest period of time. I think the reason this

ice cube froze this quickest is because salt

contains heat energy which slows the rate of temperature change in

the water

Experiment 2