Science Project
Your science project must contain the following portions. Below you will find a description of
the things that should be in your project and examples of what they should look like.
Please read this packet carefully as it details exactly what needs to be in your project for full
points.
You must have:
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Question
Hypothesis
Research
Experiment section
Data
Conclusion
You will be required to turn in a summary of what you will be doing so I can make sure you are on the
right track.
The summary you will be required to turn in will include:
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Question
Hypothesis
A list of your 3 sources
A rough draft of your data chart that does not need to have the data on it yet
This summary can be typed or neatly written and will be returned to you with feedback so that you can
make corrections before the final project is due.
The project summary is due on: ___________________________________________________________
Final project is due on: __________________________________________________________________
Project explanation
Topic is the general idea of what you are researching.
Example:
Topic: Plant Growth
*This should be the title of your display board.
Question and Hypothesis is what you are wondering and what you will be testing.
Example:
Question: Does placing a plant in more sunlight produce a plant that grows more?
Hypothesis: If a plant is placed in more light, then it will grow more than plants not placed in the light.
*Hypothesis must be written as an IF/THEN statement. You have to have something that you change,
this is your independent variable and your IF portion of your hypothesis. You have to have something
that you measure; this is your dependent variable and the THEN portion of the hypothesis.
Research is the work that you did investigating about your topic:
This includes web site and print sources like books and encyclopedias. You MAY NOT use Wikipedia as a
source. Look for sources on the web with an .org or an .edu in the web address. You need three sources.
Include a 3 paragraph essay answering the Scientific Question posed. The essay must have an
introductory paragraph and a conclusion paragraph and one body paragraph. Each paragraph must be a
minimum of 3 sentences. The first paragraph will include the topic and the question that was asked. The
second paragraph will include at least three things you learned about this topic while doing research.
The last paragraph will include what you learned from doing the experiment and include your data.
*Sources need to be listed below the research paper. Three sources required. One must be a book.
*Question, hypothesis and research will be on the left side of your display board.
Experiment section:
This section must include a description of how the experiment was set up. Description of how data was
collected must also be included. The writing in this section needs to be at least a paragraph, 3-5
sentences long. At least two pictures must be included in this section. Printed pictures of the project or
clearly drawn depictions must be included.
In this section you must also list your materials or show them in a picture and label it “materials.”
*This section will be in the middle of your display board.
Data is a graph representing the data that was collected in the experiment.
Examples:
Your data will have a measurement along the bottom. This is your dependent variable. It is the THEN
portion of your hypothesis. Your graph must also have the thing you changed. In these examples, it was
the amount of light the plants were given. This is the IF portion of your hypothesis.
Conclusion will be a paragraph that describes what you learned and the outcome of the
experiment.
Example:
In this experiment, I learned that the more light a plant got, the bigger and taller the plant became. One
plant was only given an hour of sunlight a day and barely grew over the course of the experiment. As the
amount of light each plant got increased, the growth of that plant also increased. The plant that got 9
hours of light a day grew more than 120 mm higher than the plant with one hour of light a day.
*Data and conclusion will be on the right side of your display board.
COMPLETED Science Project:
The Science Project must be submitted with all the completed parts in an organized and
orderly fashion. All sections must be labeled. A trifold cardboard display or poster board can be
used to demonstrate the parts of the experiment.
Grading rubric for science project
Portion of
Project
Conventions
Question &
Hypothesis
Research
Experiment
Section
Data Display
Conclusion
Items to include
Point Value
-All parts of the display must be neatly written or typed.
-Complete sentences, proper grammar, punctuation and
spelling are required.
-All sections labeled.
-One question to be considered.
-Question is measurable and testable.
-Hypothesis stated is based on the question.
-3 paragraphs
 Topic and question
 At least three things learned from research
 What was learned from experiment and data
-Each paragraph must be a minimum of 3 sentences.
-At least 3 sources included (one is a book source).
-Description of how the experiment was set up.
-Description of how data was collected.
-Minimum two pictures of the experiment.
-Materials list or photo
-One paragraph
-Results must be displayed in a graph
-Graph is clearly and neatly displayed and includes:
 title,
 “x” & “y” axis labels
 data points
-One paragraph containing at least 3 sentences.
10 points
15 points
30 points
15 points
15 points
15 points
-What was learned and the outcome of the experiment.
Name______________________________________________________________
Points earned _______________________________________________________
% _________________________________________________________________
I understand that the science project is worth 25% of my total grade this quarter
and failure to complete the project will negatively impact my overall grade in Mrs.
O’Halloran’s science class.
There are 2 due dates; one for a summary so Mrs. O’Halloran can help me with
my project and one for the final project. Both are graded and included in the
grade book.
Because this is a long term project with plenty of advanced notice, due dates are
not excused by absences. If an absence occurs and project is submitted late, the
grade is dropped 10% for every day past the due date it is turned in. If you are
absent when the project is due, you will be expected to turn in your project on
your next day back to school, or it will be marked late.
If a student needs help with materials for the project, please contact Mrs. O so
that she can assist you.
I, _______________________________________________ (student name)
understand the above stated policies and expectations for the science project.
Signed: __________________________________________________ Student
Signed: __________________________________________________Parent
Date: _________________________________________________________
*This page must be returned to Mrs. O’Halloran by ____________________