What is the Tyler Science Expo?? This year will students will have three different forms of projects to choose from! Science Inquiry Project STEM Invention Research Topic

What is a Science Project? A project done to test something of interest from our observations in science. Every project needs to have a testable question. Project may be individual or a partner project. Will be judged and presented

What should I do for my project? Students should choose a topic of interest to them. They will be spending about eight weeks on the project! Select a project that will be FUN to do! Be sure that your project tests something! You should not know the results of your experiment before you conduct it!

What is NOT a Project?? A volcanoAnything that doesn’t test Mentos in sodasomething

The MOST successful projects are: *fun and interesting to the students! *ones that had the suggested due dates met for each part of the project. *unique and different.

Science Research Project Web Sites projects/project_ideas.shtml ntral/ e/science-fairs **Each website is available on the Tyler Portal. Need Project Ideas???

What is a STEM Invention? Students will create an invention meeting the criteria required for the project. Branch of STEM Usefulness Reason for invention Realistic? How is it made? Invention may be individual or partner. Students will present to judges.

What is a Topic Research? Students will select either an Inventor or Scientist to research OR A current science topic of emphasis (space travel, water pollution, climate change, technology, genetics, allergies and many, many more) *Each topic will have certain requirements that must be met. Done individually

Team Projects Each person must have an EQUAL part in doing the project!!! Partners and parents will have to sign a contract acknowledging that all are aware of the requirements from everyone. Students must have the same science teacher.

Advice No matter your choice of project, stay ahead of schedule, follow the timeline pr0vided– This will eliminate STRESS at the end. DO NOT wait until the last minute to do your project!! Students will be encouraged to show their progress to their teacher and get feedback. The more students turn their projects in the better the grade! This is a 5 th Grade Science Project. Parents are not in fifth grade, so remember the students should be doing the work.

The type of project I am going to do is (circle one): ExperimentInventionResearch Topic The topic I am going to experiment / invent / research is ________________________________________________________ I understand that I am expected to do all of the requirements for the Science Expo on the topic of my choosing. _____________________________________________________ Student SignatureParent Signature ___________________________ Teacher Signature due by Monday January 5, 2015

Observe Question Hypothesize Design Experiment Record Reflect

Observe Observe: Look around. Discover. What interests you? What would you like to learn more about? Pay attention to every day things. Something may just pop into your mind.

Question Develop a question or problem that can be solved through experimentation. Example: How does the type of soil affect plant growth? Research your topic so you can come up with a logical hypothesis. Form a hypothesis using an “If, then, because …” statement.

Design Use an Experimental Design Diagram (E.D.D.) to design an experiment to test your hypothesis. You will have an independent (manipulated or changed) variable and a dependent (responding) variable. You will set up your constants Plan to do at least three trials. Why three?

Experimental Design Diagram Question: How does ________ affect ________? Hypothesis: If _________ then______________ because ________________. I.V.: Independent Variable. What “I” change. Experimental Group or Level of the I.V. Number of Repeated Trials Control Group Dependent Variable: ___________________________________________ How will the dependent variable be measured? Describe in detail including units. _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Constants: The parts of the experiment that remain the same to keep it fair._______________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________

Variables Independent - The independent variable is what is changed or manipulated for the experiment. Examples: type of soil, temperature of water, amount of sugar, location of plant, etc. You can only have ONE independent variable per experiment!! Dependent – The dependent variable is the variable that responds to the change that was made (independent variable) You don’t know what is going to happen, it is the reason for doing your experiment. Examples: plant growth, boiling time, size of crystals, time to complete the course, etc.

Constants Things to keep the same in an experiment in order to keep it fair. IF you change more than one thing, you won’t know what the real cause was! Examples: time of day, amount of water, location of object, person doing an activity, etc.

Experiment Develop and follow a step by step procedure. Include a detailed materials list used for your experiment. Think of these as recipe. Your materials are the ingredients and the procedure is the steps to make your product. Be precise with your procedure. Assume the person doesn’t know what to do and they have to follow your directions. Repeat your experiment at least 3 times.

Record Create a data table to collect your data. Display your data in a graph. Analyze your data and write a summary of the data trends on the graph. Quantitative Data – data based on numbers and exact amounts or quantities Qualitative Data – data based on general observations about what happened

Reflect R.E.R.U.N. Conclusion Restate what you did in your experiment. Explain the purpose. Results – What happened? Uncertainty during your experiment? Unexpected results? New ideas for a new experiment. What did you learn? What could you test next time?

Abstract A one page summary of your experiment. Includes a bibliography. Examples will be provided.

Examples How does color of a candle affect burn rate? How does the type of covering affect how quickly an apple turns brown? Do some solutions conduct electricity better than others? How does water temperature affect oil spreading rate? Does what you eat affect your athletic performance? Does the amount of people on the Internet affect the speed of it? How does texting affect your ability to drive? How do different liquids affect tooth decay? How does the type of shampoo affect color treated hair? How does smiling affect people's responses? How do waves affect beach erosion?

Questions????