SCIENCE PROJECT GUIDELINES POINTS Everyone has a little bit of “scientist” in them… you just have to find what interests you!!!

CAN I WORK WITH A PARTNER??? YES! With parent permission you may have up to 3 total people working on a project… You must consider the amount of time you will need to work together outside of school & whether transportation is possible Beware that there are often complaints from students and/or parents that “only 1 person is doing all the work or buying all the supplies”– you all are responsible for working out the details on your own, & you all will be required to turn a project in together for a group grade… THINK IT THROUGH! Your partner(s)--if you choose– must be in 7 th grade (*unless siblings). Again, you will be responsible for sharing materials both in school & out of school and you must be responsible and reliable!

RULES Rules are aligned with the Capital Area Science & Engineering Fair which is held in the spring at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg Approximately 30 BSMS projects per grade level will be selected to compete in the BSMS Science Fair in January– superior projects from that level will go on to compete in the Capital Area Science & Engineering Fair The project is worth 100 points; there is a 5 point deduction for every day the project is late after the due date Due dates will be on various dates in the month of December The pamphlet includes step-by-step instructions, guidelines, & examples, as well as the rubric which will be used to grade each project– USE IT!!! You will make your life, as well as your teacher’s, easier!!!

LOG BOOK ENTRIES ALL PROJECTS REQUIRE A LOG BOOK! This is a critical component to your project It must be a composition book (bound)– not loose paper This is a DAILY record of what you are doing with your project; it begins with your initial ideas and continues through the entire process until your conclusion is finally written BE SURE TO INCLUDE EVERYTHING!!! Research, bibliography, hypothesis, procedure, data collected, conclusion, any expenses incurred, you may also include photos Be sure to DATE EACH ENTRY ALL log book entries MUST BE WRITTEN IN BLUE OR BLACK PEN It likely is NOT going to be neat!!! It will include any errors/mistakes you make in the process & that is the way it is supposed to be!!! DO NOT TEAR OUT PAGES… the judges WANT to see your thinking processes & any changes in the way you think as you go through the process

PROGRESS SCHEDULE PARENTS MUST INITIAL EACH STEP OF THE PROCESS AS YOU DO IT! Otherwise, you will lose points on your rubric… SUBJECT CHOSEN- Thur. 10/9 QUESTION TO ASK- Thur. 10/9 RESEARCH BEGUN- Tue. 10/14 HYPOTHESIS- Mon. 10/20 PROCEDURE 1 st DRAFT- Wed. 10/22 &Thur. 10/23 FINAL PRODUCT- *Week beginning 12/8 *Projects can be turned in early for extra credit, however, all extra credit projects must be turned in NO LATER THAN December 5th 2014

STEP 1- CHOOSE A SUBJECT (*You began brainstorming on ISN p.#12!!!) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? Complete numbers 1, 2, & 3 under Step 1 in your log book right now #1- List SEVERAL items of interest!!! You will enjoy your project more if it interests you! #2- Give SEVERAL possible ideas!!! You need options--- some may be better than others! #3- Check out the resources on our class webpage for homework to review your options and/or get some great ideas!  You should have your subject & your problem (testable question) BY Thur. 10/9!

STEP 2- THINK OF A QUESTION TO ASK (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 2 nd LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? What do you want to try to find out about your subject? You will need to decide on 2 things: #1- What can you change about your subject (your variable)? List your ideas in your log book!!! #2- What can you measure or observe (what data can you collect)? List your ideas in your log book!!! You should have your subject & your problem (testable question) BY Thur. 10/9!

STEP 3- RESEARCHING YOUR SUBJECT (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 3 rd LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? You need to gather information on your subject from reliable sources via the internet, books, magazines, encyclopedias, etc. #1- Develop a list of topics & vocabulary involved with your subject that you can gather information about #2- All research you gather should be recorded in your log book- include a date! MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE “WORKS CITED” INFORMATION FOR EACH SOURCE No wikipedia or other similar “non-reliable” sites Evidence of research BY Tue. 10/14

STEP 4- FORMING A HYPOTHESIS (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 4 th LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? You need to predict what you think will happen when you perform your experiment– an educated guess, based on your prior knowledge & research… #1- A correctly written hypothesis includes: WHAT you think will happen and WHY you think it will happen Make sure you include BOTH PARTS! Your hypothesis BY Mon. 10/20

STEP 5- WRITING YOUR PROCEDURE (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 5 th LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? THIS IS A BIG STEP!!! Develop your plan to perform your experiment– it must be very thorough! #1- Develop a list of all materials & the exact amounts of those materials needed to do all aspects of your experiment #2- Now describe HOW each of those materials are used in great detail– this should be a step-by-step process of what to do. IT IS LIKE A RECIPE! Someone should be able to complete the exact same experiment that you did simply by reading your procedure Write it in your log book or type it, print it out & attach it into your log book (recommended)– this will make revisions much easier– DOUBLE SPACE for revisions Your materials list/procedure 1 st draft BY Wed. 10/22 *Don’t forget to have a parent/guardian date and initial your PROGRESS SCHEDULE!

STEP 6- DOING THE EXPERIMENT (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 6 th LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? TIME TO DO YOUR EXPERIMENT!!! This may be done in a day, a week, or over the course of a month depending on what you are doing– either way, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!!! #1- Record the heading DATA in your log book Create a Data Table to organize the data you are observing/measuring (*paste in) Record information (data) and the date in your log book every time that you work on or observe your experiment!!! You should also include a TIME when applicable (*which should be the same all the time! A CONSTANT!) Make sure all measurements are done using METRIC UNITS *Your evidence of experimentation should be ongoing & the teacher may make check for it at anytime just to make sure you are not falling behind *Don’t forget to have a parent/guardian date and initial your PROGRESS SCHEDULE!

STEP 7- ANALYSIS (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 7 th LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? Your experiment is complete, and now you are going to try to figure out what happened and what the results might indicate NEVER alter your hypothesis to fit the results you receive!!! Answer all the questions in the pamphlet under this section in great detail in your log book, however, they need to be typed in your own words and in paragraph form (as a report) for your final product *Don’t forget to have a parent/guardian date and initial your PROGRESS SCHEDULE!

STEP 8- FORMING A CONCLUSION (*THIS IS AT LEAST YOUR 8 th LOG BOOK ENTRY! ) WRITE THE ABOVE HEADING IN YOUR LOG BOOK ALONG WITH TODAY’S DATE… CHECK YOURSELF…What are you using to write in your log book right now? Your experiment is complete, you’ve analyzed the results you received… now you are going to draw some conclusions from those results & your analysis of those results Some questions may seem very similar to those in the analysis question… answer ALL of the questions, IN ORDER, with as much detail as possible. Answer all the questions in the pamphlet under this section in your log book, they need to be typed in your own words and in paragraph form (as a report) for your final product *Don’t forget to have a parent/guardian date and initial your PROGRESS SCHEDULE!

STEP 9- MAKE YOUR DISPLAY Follow the display model provided… all components need to be in the designated locations on your display board Other than the title (top, center), it reads like a book– top to bottom and left panel to right panel As an alternative to the display board, you can create a power point presentation. It is suggested that you use this format either way, as it will work for you whether or not you choose to do a final display board (*You will need to print out the power point and attach it to the display board if you make it to the science fair) Please see our class webpage for display and powerpoint presentation templates *Don’t forget to have a parent/guardian date and initial your PROGRESS SCHEDULE!

RUBRIC You are provided the rubric which will be used to score all projects There is no excuse for losing an excessive amount of points Take responsibility for yourself, use your resources & CHECK YOUR WORK!!! Happy Experimenting