Science Fair Homework - Weekend 5th August

The children in Room 3 have been looking at questions that they can investigate for their science experiment. Today in class, the children wrote the purpose of why they would like to investigate their question.

The children for homework need to look for background information to help answer their question. In class we have been looking at the pH of soap. Our research taught us that the pH scale is from 1-14, with 7 being neutral. Numbers 1-6 was acidic and 8-14 was alkaline.

Background Research:

Background research is necessary so that you know how to design and understand your experiment. To make a background research plan -- a roadmap of the research questions you need to answer -- follow these steps:

 

Identify the keywords in the question for your science fair project. Brainstorm additional keywords and concepts.

 

Use a table with the "question words" (why, how, who, what, when, where) to generate research questions from your keywords. For example:

• What is the difference between a series and parallel circuit?
• When does a plant grow the most, during the day or night?
• Where is the focal point of a lens?
• Does a truss make a bridge stronger?
• Why are moths attracted to light?
• Which cleaning products kill the most bacteria?

Throw out irrelevant questions.

 

You should also plan to do background research on the history of similar experiments or inventions.

 

Network with other people with more experience than yourself: your mentors, parents, and teachers. Ask them: "What science concepts should I study to better understand my science fair project?" and "What area of science covers my project?" Better yet, ask even more specific questions.

 

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml 

Steps of the Scientific Method

Ask a Question: The scientific method starts when you ask a question about something that you observe: How, What, When, Who, Which, Why, or Where?
And, in order for the scientific method to answer the question it must be about something that you can measure, preferably with a number.

Do Background Research: Rather than starting from scratch in putting together a plan for answering your question, you want to be a savvy scientist using library and Internet research to help you find the best way to do things and insure that you don't repeat mistakes from the past.

Construct a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about how things work:
"If _____[I do this] _____, then _____[this]_____ will happen."
You must state your hypothesis in a way that you can easily measure, and of course, your hypothesis should be constructed in a way to help you answer your original question.

Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment: Your experiment tests whether your hypothesis is true or false. It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. You conduct a fair test by making sure that you change only one factor at a time while keeping all other conditions the same.
You should also repeat your experiments several times to make sure that the first results weren't just an accident.

Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion: Once your experiment is complete, you collect your measurements and analyze them to see if your hypothesis is true or false.

Scientists often find that their hypothesis was false, and in such cases they will construct a new hypothesis starting the entire process of the scientific method over again. Even if they find that their hypothesis was true, they may want to test it again in a new way.

Communicate Your Results: To complete your science fair project you will communicate your results to others in a final report and/or a display board. Professional scientists do almost exactly the same thing by publishing their final report in a scientific journal or by presenting their results on a poster at a scientific meeting.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml