Title: This is not a separate slide, but the title is VERY IMPORTANT. It’s the first thing people will read when they see your board. The title should be a shortened version of your investigative question. You can be creative here as long as your title still reflects the project’s purpose. Follow all rules for capitalization in titles. Examples: Comparing Compost What Color of Light is Important for Photosynthesis? The Effect of Sail Material on the Speed of a Sail Car Your Title: _____________________________________________________________

Abstract Example: Abstract: Advertisers are always touting more powerful and longer lasting batteries, but which batteries really do last longer, and is battery life impacted by the speed of the current drain? This project looks at which AA battery maintains its voltage for the longest period of time in low, medium, and high current drain devices. The batteries were tested in a CD player (low drain device), a flashlight (medium drain device), and a camera flash (high drain device) by measuring the battery voltage (dependent variable) at different time intervals (independent variable) for each of the battery types in each of the devices. My hypothesis was that Energizer would last the longest in all of the devices tested. The experimental results supported my hypothesis by showing that the Energizer performs with increasing superiority, the higher the current drain of the device. The experiment also showed that the heavy-duty non-alkaline batteries do not maintain their voltage as long as either alkaline battery at any level of current drain.

Question Example: Which is the best cleaning agent for removing stains? I chose this project because many commercial cleaners are expensive and harmful to the environment, and I wanted to explore a cheaper, safer alternative that was equally effective at removing stains. Your Question: ____________________________________________________________

Hypothesis Example: If I stain cotton cloth with various substances and try multiple cleaning agents to remove the stains, then I predict that a mixture of vinegar and baking soda will be most effective in removing the stains. In researching this topic, I found that mixing vinegar and baking soda produces carbonic acid, which I think will break down stains. Your Hypothesis: ____________________________________________________________

Variables Example: Independent Variable: cleaning agents Dependent Variable: visibility of stain after washing Controlled Variables: kind of fabric, type of stain, washing procedure Your Variables: ____________________________________________________________

Materials Example: Mustard Blueberry syrup Ketchup Prune juice Water Vinegar Baking soda Commercial pre-stain treatment Commercial laundry detergent Q-tips Watch/timer Plastic cups for washing fabric swatches 100% cotton fabric swatches (approximately 3 inch squares) Permanent marker for labeling Your Materials: ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

Procedure (example) Procedure: 1.Cut at least 28 pieces of 100% cotton fabric into approximately 3 inch squares. 2.Use a permanent marker to label each of the fabric pieces using all of the combinations of stain and detergent mixture (stains = ketchup, mustard, blueberry syrup, prune juice; detergent mixtures = water, vinegar, vinegar and baking soda, commercial pre-treatment, commercial laundry detergent, vinegar and baking soda paste + laundry detergent, commercial pre-treatment + laundry detergent). 3.Place a stain on each sample according to the labels. W = water (50mL) V = vinegar (50mL) V+bs = vinegar + baking soda solution (30mL vinegar/20mL baking soda) cpst+w = commercial pre-stain treatment + water (20mL commercial pre-stain treatment + 30mLwater) ld = laundry detergent + water (20mL laundry detergent + 30mL water) vbp + ld = vinegar, baking soda paste + laundry detergent (10mL vinegar + 40mL baking soda) + (20mL laundry detergent + 30mL water) cpst + ld = commercial pre-stain treatment + laundry detergent (20mL commercial pre-stain treatment + 30mLwater) + (20mL laundry detergent + 30mL water) 4.Place each sample in the detergent mixture and scrub for 2 minutes. 5.Remove excess liquid and compare the samples when they are dry.

Data Example Data Table: Stain Removal Effectiveness Scale: 5= stain gone, 4 = slightly visible, 3 = faded, 2 = no change, 1 = worse

Data Example Graph: Notice that the title, x-axis, and y-axis are labeled appropriately. The x-axis is the INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (what you control – detergents). The y-axis is the DEPENDENT VARIABLE (what you measure – visibility of stain).

Results Example: Results: The results show that the best way to remove stains is to use either a combination of vinegar and baking soda paste + commercial laundry detergent or to use a combination of commercial pre-stain treatment + laundry detergent. Both of these treatments scored a mean average of 4.75 on the effectiveness scale (5 being the most effective). My hypothesis was only partly accurate. I thought that just washing the stain in a vinegar and baking soda solution would be enough to remove the stain. What I found was that using more baking soda to make vinegar and baking soda paste then combining it with laundry detergent was the best way to remove most stains. This even worked better than using the laundry detergent alone or the commercial pre-stain treatment alone. Since the commercial pre-stain treatment combined with laundry detergent did not appear to remove stains any more effectively than the homemade vinegar and baking soda paste + laundry detergent, I would recommend people purchase baking soda and vinegar since it is the cheaper and more eco friendly product.

Conclusion Conclusion: My hypothesis was that Energizer would last the longest in all of the devices tested. My results do support my hypothesis. I think the tests I did went smoothly and I had no problems, except for the fact that the batteries recover some of their voltage if they are not running in something. Therefore, I had to take the measurements quickly. An interesting future study might involve testing the batteries at different temperatures to simulate actual usage in very cold or very hot conditions.

Future Considerations Future Considerations: Tell what variable you would change if you could do the experiment again. Include any problems you encountered while conducting your experiment. Include any unintended results you may have discovered, which may lead to subsequent experiments.

Bibliography Example Bibliography: "Battery." Encyclopedia Britannica "Best Batteries." Consumer Reports Magazine 32 Dec. 1994: Booth, Steven A. "High-Drain Alkaline AA-Batteries." Popular Electronics 62 Jan. 1999: 58. Brain, Marshall. "How Batteries Work." howstuffworks. 1 Aug "Cells and Batteries." The DK Science Encyclopedia Dell, R. M., and D. A. J. Rand. Understanding Batteries. Cambridge, UK: The Royal Society of Chemistry, "Learning Center." Energizer. Eveready Battery Company, Inc. 1 Aug "Learning Centre." Duracell. The Gillette Company. 31 July 2006.