Science Fair Projects:
What Wins?
Topics can be in many different areas, which may include economics, food science, agriculture, forensics, biology, chemistry, physics, transportation, architecture, environment, automobiles, etc.
1. Ask a question.
Good examples:
What is the effect of acid rain on plants?
What is the effect of ultraviolet (UV) light on plants?
What is the most economical form of ground beef (70%, 80%, 90% lean)?
How good is motor (hand) coordination at different times of the day?
Bad examples:
A volcano demonstration.
A magic show using color changes caused by chemical reactions.
Build a bridge.
2. Use objective measures.
Good examples:
Effect of acid rain or UV light on plants. Measure numbers of leaves, length and width of leaves, height of plant.
Economics of ground beef. Weigh cooked meat after drying thoroughly.
Motor (hand) coordination. Follow a curved line with a metal rod without touching an electrified edge (which sounds a bell). The number of bell rings and length of the rings indicates lack of coordination.
Bad examples:
How flame retardant is fabric? Describe the charred remains.
3. Change only one variable at a time.
Use carefully planned experiments in which all variables but one are controlled. The one that is varied gives insight into answering the question. If possible, try to have a “control” experiment in which you do not change any variables.
Examples:
Effect of acid rain (or UV light) on plants. Grow seedlings from seeds of the same species of plant. Use the same soil in all plant pots. Water all plants at the same time with the same amount of water. The only variable is the pH of the water (or the amount of UV light) that each plant gets. (A control experiment would be the plant that is not exposed to extra UV light.)
Economics of ground beef. Weigh out the same amount of beef from packages of different amounts of fat obtained from the same market. Cook each sample of beef consistently (for the same length of time at the same temperature or until there is some measurable stopping point). Dry each sample in the same way.
4. Keep detailed records of the experiments in a laboratory notebook.
Note both disasters and successes. Describe any observable changes and unusual occurrences (color, odor, dropped sample, etc.). Write everything into the notebook. Do not erase mistakes; cross them out.
5. How does this question fit into the “bigger picture”. (How does answering this question help us to solve a bigger problem?)
Acid rain effect on plants? Pollution causes acid rain. Acid rain falls on plants which are important as food for humans and other animals. Therefore understanding the effect of acid rain on plants is important to the future of our planet.
UV light effect on plants? The Ozone layer in the atmosphere is breaking down because of pollution. That means more hazardous UV light can irradiate the earth. This may damage plants which we need to survive.
Economics of meat? How do we get the most out of our money? This is important for people who are poor, as well as people who want to save more money for the future.
Motor coordination? This is important for determining the best times for people to operate heavy equipment or for surgeons to operate on patients.