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MORE Science Fair TIPS

MORE Science Fair TIPS. Charlotte Rodeen-Dickert www.crdesqwriter.com St. Jerome School October 29, 2013. Why is Ms. Fiedler-Ross making you do this???. It’s the most fun she has all year She really enjoys grading projects She lives to torment you with endless work

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MORE Science Fair TIPS

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  1. MORE Science Fair TIPS Charlotte Rodeen-Dickert www.crdesqwriter.com St. Jerome School October 29, 2013

  2. Why is Ms. Fiedler-Ross making you do this??? • It’s the most fun she has all year • She really enjoys grading projects • She lives to torment you with endless work • She wants you to learn valuable skills and information, as well as to have the satisfaction of a job well done • All of the above

  3. Why????? SKILLS!!!

  4. General Organization and Layout • Make sure it all connects. • Lead the audience through the project with clear headings. • Consider font and image size. Data and Observations Purpose… Hypothesis… Procedure… Results Conclusion Explain what happened Why? What? Were you correct? What happened? How?

  5. Putting it All Together (http://lukassciencefair.info/display.html)

  6. Experimental Design Experiment – “the systematic procedure carried out under controlled conditions in order to discover an unknown effect, to test or establish a hypothesis, or to illustrate a known effect.” (https://www.moresteam.com/toolbox/design-of-experiments.cfm) • Not limited to only the PROCEDURE! • Tie it into the SCIENTIFIC METHOD…

  7. Components of Experimental Design LEVELS Settings How much are you changing it? RESPONSE Results What happened? FACTORS Variables What are you changing? What else is possibly changing? • DATA • OBSERVATIONS • RESULTS • CONCLUSIONS PROCEDURE PURPOSE HYPOTHESIS

  8. Start with a specificquestion/idea For singers on… “A critical performance component is song choice, or, in this case, something I like to call hypothesis selection.” “The song was too big.” “You didn’t do enough with it.” “You got lost along the way.” • FOR YOUR PROJECT… • Narrow down a broad idea to a single question • Make sure it allows for enough trials • Keep it simple and clear!

  9. Narrowing the topic • Start with a broad idea… • Look for… • Categories of test subject or item • Different variables (independent and dependent) • Varying levels (or ranges) for the variables • Then select ONE independent and ONE dependent variable

  10. Effect of Temperature on Materials

  11. “change in length” “change in temperature “original length” “linear expansion coefficient” Hypothesis:

  12. How will you test it? • Again, keep it simple… • Always stick to your HYPOTHESIS! • Measure the right variables (and only those variables!) • Fix other variables (i.e., minimize sources of error) Think: IF…..THEN…..

  13. Hypothesis: IF…….. THEN….. Measure: Fix:

  14. Hypothesis: PROCEDURE

  15. Presenting Information TEXT IMAGES NUMBERS “The object accelerates with time.” **Make sure all tell the same story!

  16. Some specifics… • In the Hypothesis, “testing” is not an independent variable. • Sources of Errorincludes things that actually did happen in the experimental proceedings to impact the data, as well as potential things (whether or not they actually occurred). • How did you eliminate these? • If something goes awry, discuss it and explain how it may have affected the results. Don’t fudge the data!!!

  17. Spellcheck vs. Proofreading Some common errors (not caught by Spellcheck): • trial and trail • effect and affect • it’s and its Also read carefully for flow, correct grammar, and punctuation!

  18. Data Collection and Measurement • Be clear about the accuracy of your measurement. (e.g., 6.31 cm) • Measure the appropriate variable for the experiment. That’s 0.01 cm! (thickness of a piece of paper) Δh h ALWAYS USE THE CORRECT UNITS!

  19. Using Excel • Organize your data in the worksheet. • Use color and highlighting to help keep track of things. • Use built-in functions when possible. • Always do a “sanity check” of calculations. • Critically evaluate your numbers when troubleshooting. • Choose the right chart for the job. • Watch out for “chart junk”!

  20. Any Questions???

  21. Calculation Example – Averaging Data Equation not entered correctly (order of operations)! (B2+B3+B4+B5+B6/5) Correction: →→ = ((10+12+10.5+13.2+11.2)/5) Note decimal places! (should not be more than those in the measurements!)

  22. Data Presentation • Chart Wizard provides a good start, but make your own modifications to best present the data… • Choose the most effective type of graph. • Use an appropriate scale. • Properly label the data. • Choose a suitable color scheme. • Use correct units. • If producing multiple graphs, be consistent with all of this between graphs.

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