Grade 8: Experimental Project
Science Fair Assignments and Due Dates
ASSIGNMENTS:
DUE DATES:
Project Approval Form (Parent Signature Required)
Friday October 21, 2016
Problem/Question/Hypothesis/Variables
Friday – October 28, 2016
Written Procedure
Friday – November 4, 2016
Review of Literature and Works Cited – First Draft
Friday – November 21, 2016
Review of Literature and Works Cited – Final Draft
Friday – December 9, 2016
Experimentation and Journal (Must experiment at least 10 times)
Data/charts/graphs/written conclusion
December 21, 2016 through
January 6, 2017
Friday January 13, 2017
Written Abstract/Thank you/ Future
Friday January 19, 2017
SCIENCE FAIR DAY
Monday January 23, 2017
IMPORTANT SCIENCE FAIR INFORMATION
 The above written requirements comprise the science fair paper. Each
student is responsible to complete the remainder of the project at home.
 The science fair backboard must be completed at home.
 A complete science fair project includes a paper, a backboard, a workable invention,
and a journal about the process leading up to the completed project.
 The highlighted assignments will be collected and returned for corrections.
 The non-highlighted assignments will NOT be brought to school until the day of the
science fair - Monday – January 23, 2017.
 Everyone in grade 8 is required to have an experimental project.
There are NO EXCEPTIONS! If a student is absent the day of the
science fair, all requirements must still be brought to school.
1.
Identify the Variables
INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
The variable that is changed on purpose or manipulated in an experiment
DEPENDENT VARIABLE
The variable that changes in response to the independent variable.
CONTROL VARIABLE
The part of the experiment that is used for a comparison//The control may be a “no treatment group” or
a “controlled group”
Constants are what are kept the same in an
experiment. These are the things you make sure
remain the same to test on the independent
variable. Constants are not a variable!
2.
Write a Title
TITLE
When writing a title use the format below:
The effect of the ________________________ on the _____________________________.
(independent variable)
(dependent variable)
3.
Write a problem statement
PROBLEM STATEMENT
This is what the scientist is trying to answer
ALWAYS WRITTEN IN THE FORM OF A QUESTION
When writing a problem statement use the format below:
Does the _______________________________ affect the ______________________________?
(independent variable)
(dependent variable)
4.
Write a Hypothesis
HYPOTHESIS
Your prediction of what you expect to happen.
When writing a hypothesis use the form below:
If the ______________________________ is/are ________________________________
(independent variable)
(how changed)
Then the ______________________________ will ____________________________________.
(dependent variable)
(your prediction)
5.
Write a materials list
MATERIALS
A list of everything you will need to conduct an experiment (should be alphabetical).
6.
Write a procedure
PROCEDURE
A detailed list of all steps in your experiment.
SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT TOPIC APPROVAL FORM
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________
General Title: ______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Question that you will try to answer: ___________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Materials that you think will be needed: ________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
General idea of the procedure that you will follow for the experiment: ________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Independent variable: _______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Dependent variable: _________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Constant or control variable: __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Parent Signature: ___________________________________________________________________
Teacher Approval: __________________________________________________________________
VOCABULARY QUICK-REFERENCE CHART
Before you can plan anything well, you need to know all of the parts of an experiment. Use this page like you would
use a dictionary to help you understand the parts of a science fair experiment.
Conclusion
Control Group
Data
Dependent variable
Display
Documentation
Experimental Group
Formal Journal
Hypothesis
Independent variable
Informal journal
Materials list
Observations
Oral presentation
Procedure
Question
Report
Research
Results
Topic
Variable
Your opinion about what happened during the experiment; included at
the end of the report.
The group of test subjects that you use to show what happens when the
independent variable is not applied.
These are also observations, but they are listed in the form of a chart or
graph, so that you can clearly see the results of the data.
The change that happens in your experiment as a result of the
independent variable.
A backboard, often three-paneled, on which is attached the title of the
experiment, parts of the written report, graphs and charts, etc. to tell the
story of your entire experiment.
Information about each source you used for research that would enable
anyone looking at your project to find the sources again.
The group of test subjects that you use to show what happens when the
independent variable is applied.
A notebook (usually a three-ring binder) that you can use to organize the
final pieces of your experiment.
A testable statement that you make as an answer to the question you have
about your topic; an important statement used to guide the entire
experiment.
The one thing that you change in your experiment to figure out what
impact it has on the topic you study.
A journal in which you will write everything, including notes, doodles,
brainstorming, questions, problems, etc.
A list of all the supplies you use for your experiment.
All of the information you write in your informal journal and summarize
in your data as you conduct your experiment.
A talk about your work that you may have with other students, teachers,
and judges.
A list of the steps you complete to perform your experiment from start to
finish.
What you want to know about your topic that forms the basis for your
hypothesis.
A typed or neatly written explanation about your project which goes into
your formal journal (along with your informal journal).
Any information you gather from different sources (books, the Internet,
magazine articles, interviews of specialists, etc.) which help you know
more about your science project topic.
A simple, factual summary of what happened in the experiment.
The area of interest in which you will perform your experiment, such as
plants, electrical conductors, coins, etc.; anything that is interesting to you
that can be used to create an experiment.
Anything that affects your topic and can change your experiment.
SAMPLE EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Questions: How effective is the use of fertilizer to increase the growth of grass?
Hypothesis: If five fertilizer types are added to water and given to grass every day, the grasses will grow
taller because of the concentration of nitrogen that each fertilizer possess.
Variables:
Independent Variable:
Dependent Variable:
Control:
Constant:
Types of Fertilizers
Daily growth of the grass in centimeters
Grass with no fertilizer applied
Amount of fertilizer given to each plant, the amount of water used,
and the type of grass used.
Materials: 10 plastic posts that are 2 cm high and 5 cm wide, 5 liters of Grow Good® soil, permanent
maker, Grow Fast Fertilizer, electronic balance (accurate to one one-hundredth of a decimal), graduated
cylinder, Drink Right® bottled water, 500 mL beaker, Nebraska Green® grass (Noglvus waterus) seed, flat
toothpick, thermometer, stirring rod, goggles, plastic apron.
Procedure:
1. Divide the ten pots into two groups of five. Make one group of pots with the permanent marker as
the “control group” and the second set of five pots as the “experimental group.”
2. Use the 500 mL graduated cylinder to add 500 mL of Grow Good® potting soil to each pot.
3. Add ten seeds to each pot so that the seeds are 1 cm apart on all sides. Use the flat toothpick to
push the seeds down 1 cm into the soil.
4. Pour 500 mL of Drink Right® water into the clean beaker. Use the balance to mass out exactly 20
grams of fertilizer. Add the fertilizer to the water and stir for one minute.
5. Add 50 mL of Drink Right® water to each of the control group pots. Add 50 mL of Drink Right®
water, with fertilizer to each of the experimental group pots.
6. Place all 10 pots in a south-facing window.
7. Each day, measure the height of each plant and divide by the number of plants to get the average
height of the grass plants in each pot.
8. Record in the informal journal the amount of sunlight the plants receive each day and the
temperature of the room.
9. Add 50 mL of water to the control group pots each week and 50 mL of the fertilizer solution to
the experimental pots each week.
Experimental Journal
Date _____________________
Date _____________________
Date _____________________
RECORD KEEPING
During the experiment, keep a log of daily observations in your informal journal. You do not want to
make decisions now about what is important to write, just write everything that you observe. You can
choose only the most important stuff to sue in your report later.
For example:
Date
3/23
3/24
3/25
Observation
I planted the seeds today
Nothing yet.
Fifteen of the seeds in the experimental group germinated. I can see the grass
starting to poke through the soil.
All the seeds in the experimental group germinated. Only 20 seeds in the
control group germinated. The control grass looks white and the
experimental grass is green.
All the control seeds germinated. The grass is visible above the soil but the
control grass is a much lighter color than the experimental grass. The
experimental grass is taller and greener.
The control grass grew slightly, only 2 millimeters. The experimental grass
also grew slowly, only 4 millimeters.
The experimental grass is still a lot taller and greener than the control.
The experimental grass is a lot taller today. Some of the blades in the control
grass are starting to turn a little brown on the edges. I added 20 mL of water
to the control grass and 20 mL of water and fertilizer to the experimental
grass today.
3/26
3/27
3/28
3/29
3/30
You will also want to have a table of your measurements. Be sure to make very accurate measurements and
include the unit in your journal.
Date
3/23
3/24
3/25
3/26
3/27
3/28
3/29
3/30
Average Height in Centimeters
Control
Experimental
0
0
0
0
0
0.3
0.2
3.0
0.6
5.2
0.8
5.8
0.9
6.0
1.0
6.2
For each set of data, you will probably want to have a table. For your observations, a table is enough. For
your measurements, you will need a graph because a graph shows the patterns and trends in the data
better. The type of graph you use will depend on the type of data you collected because a graph is really
just a picture of your data.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
What is a Review of Literature?
It is a research paper that summarizes the theory behind your experiment. It helps you to see why your
experiment turns out the way that it does. With a hypothesis having been made, it is important to find out
if the prediction was right or wrong, and the review of literature should help with the understanding as to
why the experiment turns out the way that it does. It should bring meaning to the observations that were
made from the experiment.
KEY INFORMATION
1. Research the main idea and take notes form the sources of information that you find. These notes
will help you write a better summary.
2. Be sure to include in your paper the following:
a. The history of similar experiments or inventions.
b. Definitions of important words and concepts that describe the experiment.
c. Answers to any questions that have been generated.
d. Any mathematical formulas that will help to describe the results of the experiment.
3. For every fact or picture in the research paper a citation must be made to tell the reader where the
information was found. A citation is the name of the author and the date of the publication placed
in parentheses. Example – (Author, date). This is called a reference citation when using APA
format and parenthetical reference when using the MLA format. The purpose is to document a
source briefly, clearly and accurately.
4. If a text is copied form one of the sources, quotation marks must be used and it should follow
with a citation. AVOID PLAGARISM! Do not copy another person’s work and call it your own.
ALWAYS give credit where credit is due.
5. A bibliography will need to be made of the source of information that you used for research,
quotes, etc.
Sample Review of Literature
Batteries come in many shapes and sizes. Some are no larger than a pill while others are too
heavy to lift, but most batteries have one thing in common-they store chemical energy and
change it into electrical energy. The cell is the basic unit that produces electricity. A battery
has 2 or more cells, but people often use the word battery when talking about a single cell,
too, like a dry cell. A dime-sized battery in a watch is a cell. Cells act like pumps to force
electrons to flow along conductors (DK Science 1998, 150).
"The electrical force of a cell or battery is called its electromotive force (emf). This force,
which makes electrons flow around a circuit, is measured in units called volts (v.). Each
kind of cell has a particular emf. A dry cell, for example, has an emf of 1.5 volts" (DK
Science 1998, 150).
Another way to measure a battery is by how much current it can provide. Current measures
how many electrons flow through the cell. The unit used to measure current is amps.
A common cell has several important parts: the positive terminal and electrode, the
negative terminal and electrode, and the electrolyte, which is between the two electrodes.
The positive electrode is made out of a carbon rod. Powdered carbon and manganese oxide
prevents hydrogen from forming on the carbon rod, which would stop the cell from
working normally. The negative electrode is made out of zinc, which serves, as a case for
the cell. Electrons flow from the negative terminal through a wire in the device the battery
is powering into the positive terminal (Learning Center 1999).
The most common cell is the dry cell and different types have different types of
electrolytes. The dry cell works like the cell invented by the French engineer Georges
Leclanché in 1865. His cell had a liquid electrolyte, but in the modern version the
electrolyte is ammonium chloride paste (DK Science 1998, 150). Ordinary dry cells are
used in most flashlight batteries. These dry cells use ammonium chloride as the electrolyte.
"Cells needed to supply heavier currents use zinc chloride. Alkaline cells, which last longer
and can supply even heavier currents, use the alkali potassium hydroxide" (DK Science
1998, 150).
Most flashlights take two or more dry cells. Cells are connected in series one after another.
Large powerful flashlights may take four or more cells. The size of a cell has no effect on
its emf. The chemicals in the cell determine its emf, but large cells last longer than small
cells of the same basic type.
How long a battery lasts also depends on how it's used. Two batteries may last the same
length overall but one might maintain higher voltage over more of its lifetime, in a sense
providing better quality. A high powered device such as a motorized toy running constantly
takes more current than a less power hungry device such as a personal stereo that
alternately runs and rests. Batteries also don't perform as well at low temperatures (Best
Batteries 1994, 71).
As you use a battery, its emf drops. You can consider an alkaline battery dead at 0.9 volts.
In order to work well in high drain devices you need to make the shell of the battery thinner
so it can hold more electrons and deliver more current (Booth 1999, 127).
Companies have made improvements in their batteries so they are better in high drain
devices. A high drain device is a thing that takes a lot of current. Low drain devices would
include CD and cassette players and related devices. "Eveready meanwhile quantifies the
power requirements as 400 to 800 mA for halogen lamps; 400-1000 mA for cellular
phones; and 500-900 mA for camcorders. Digital cameras are in the 800-1200 mA range,
while photoflash units are the thirstiest of all-1000 to 2000 mA according to Eveready"
(Booth 1999, 127).
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_sample_review_of_lit.shtml
ABSTRACT
DOES THE AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT EFFECT PLANT
GROWTH?
A reason for this project is to discover if there is a relationship
between the amount of direct sunlight a plant receives and the amount
of plant growth.
The identical marigold plants were potted in terra cotta pots. Each
one was surrounded by a mixture of potting soil. Each plant received
25 mL of bottled water daily. Each plant was placed in a different
location. One was placed near a window that receives sunlight
throughout the day. Another plant was placed in the center of a room
with one small window. The third plant was placed in a dark closet
without any direct or indirect sunlight. The plants were observed for
two months. Height measurements were taken on a weekly basis using
a metric ruler.
After completing this experiment, the following conclusions were
formulated. The amount of sunlight did effect the growth of the
marigolds. The plant receiving the most sunlight grew 6 inches over the
two month period. The plant that received a small amount of sunlight
grew only 1 inch. The plant that was placed in the closet did not grow.
After one month, the plant began to die.
USING GRAPHS
As you plan the experiment, you must decide what you will measure and
how you will explain your data. Circle graphs (also called pie charts) are
used to show portions of an amount, as well as how a part’s share relates
to the whole. Each “slice” of the circle graph shows a percent of the
whole. You cannot show how two variables are related using a circle
graph.
1% other elements
Heights of Fifth
Graders
Height in Centimeters
Bar graphs are used to compare quantities which do not continually change. Just
as the name implies, bars are used. Suppose you want to compare the height of four
people. The independent variable is always placed on the x-axis. You chose the scale
by looking at the highest and lowest numbers. People’s heights do not usually
change very rapidly, at least not from day to day. In the example experiment with
fertilizer, a bar graph would be a poor choice because you would only have two
bars, one for the control group and one for the experimental group.
Air in Room
150
140
130
120
110
Students
Height in Centimeters
Line graphs are used to show how one variable in an experiment responds to the change in another. Pairs of
numbers are used to express a relationship between the dependent and independent variable. In a line graph,
the independent variable is place on the x-axis
(horizontal) and the dependent variable is
Average Height of Nogivus waterus Plants
placed on the y-axis (vertical axis). Line graphs
Using Water and Fertilizer
are most often used because they can help you
7
answer the hypothesis, your “if-then” question,
by showing you patterns in your data. Unlike
6
circle and bar graphs, you can plot many sets of
5
data on one graph. In the example experiment
on fertilizer, the line graph would be the best
4
choice because you could quickly get a picture
3
of how your independent variable (addition of
2
fertilizer) affected the dependent variable
(height of grass). There would be two lines on
1
the graph, one for the control group and one for
0
the experimental group.
3/23 3/24 3/25 3/26 3/27 3/28 3/29 3/30
PLANNING YOUR EXHIBIT
You will want a display that the judges will
remember positively. So before you glue
everything down, lay the board on a flat
surface and arrange the materials a few
different ways. This will help you decide on
the most suitable and attractive presentation.
Figure 8.1 shows what a good display might
look like.
HELPFUL HINTS
1. Before standing your backboard on the
display table, cover the table with a
colored cloth. Choose a color that
matches the color scheme of the
backboard. This will help to separate your
project from other projects displayed on
either side.
2. Place all typed material on a colored
backing, such as construction paper.
Leave a border of about ¼ to ½ inch
(0.63 to 1.25 cm) around the edges of
each piece of typed material. Use a paper
cutter so that the edges will be straight.
3. Make the project title stand out by using
larger letters for it and smaller letters for
the headings.
4. To arrange the letters on the backboard,
first lay the letters out on the board
without attaching them. Then use a
yardstick (meter stick) and pencil to draw
a straight, light guideline where the bottom of
each letter should line up. This will help
you keep the lettering straight. Before
adhering everything, ask the opinion of
other students, teachers or family
members.
5. If you need electricity for you project, be
sure the wiring meets all safety standards.
6. Bring an emergency kit with extra letters,
glue, tape, construction paper the color of
the backboard, stapler, scissors, pencils,
pens, touch-up paint, markers, and so
forth. This kit should contain anything
that you think you might need to make
last-minute repairs to the display.
DO'S AND DON'TS
Do use computer-generated graphs.
Do display photos representing the procedure and
the results.
Do use contrasting colors.
Do limit the number of colors used.
Do display models when applicable. If possible,
make the models match the color scheme of the
backboard.
Do attach charts neatly. If there are many, place
them on top of each other so that the top chart
can be lifted to reveal the ones below.
Do balance the arrangement of materials on the
backboard. This means to evenly distribute the
materials on the board so that they cover about
the same amount of space on each panel.
Do use rubber cement or double-sided tape to
attach papers. White school glue causes the paper
to wrinkle.
Don't leave large empty spaces on the backboard.
Don't leave the table in front of the backboard
empty. Display your models (if any), report, copies
of your abstract, and your journal here.
Don't hang electrical equipment on the backboard
so that the electric cord runs down the front of
the backboard.
Don't make the title or headings hard to read by
using uneven lettering, words with letters of
different colors, or disorganized placement of
materials.
Don't hand-print the letters on the backboard.
Don't attach folders that fall open on the
backboard.
Don't make mistakes in spelling words or writing
formulas.
The backboard should be neat, well organized and designed as the example
below.
Problem/
Question
Project
Title
Hypothesis
Variables
Abstract
Results:
Photographs
or Drawings
More Photos
Graphs,
Charts, etc.
or Drawings
Materials/
Procedure
Conclusion
CHECKLIST FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL
SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT
PAPER:
_____ Title Page
_____ Table of Contents
_____ Abstract – Summary
_____ Review of Literature – Research of experimental topic
_____ Experimental Procedure which includes the following:
_____ Question/Problem
_____ Variables
_____ Hypothesis
_____ Materials Used
_____ Step by Step Procedure of Experiment
_____ Results – Charts and graphs of collected experimental data
_____ Conclusion – written analysis of data as it relates to the hypothesis and results
_____ Future – What is a new variable to experiment with next time
_____ Bibliography
_____ Acknowledgements
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
_____ Backboard
_____ Journal
_____ Display of actual experiment
PROJECT TITLE
_________
A Science Paper
Presented to the
Kansas City Christian School
Middle School Science Fair
_________
Name
Grade
Date