Science Fair Experiments
Rubric / Assignment Outline
Objective: To actively engage in the scientific method by producing a science fair project.
This must be typed, in 12 point font, Times New Roman. They must be 1.5 spaced. As an
example, this Assignment Outline is written in 1.5 spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman font.
Handwritten will not be accepted. You must have a poster display. Write the paper first! Then
use your paper to make the poster. You will be turning in three things: 1) A paper 2) A poster 3)
Handwritten data journal (composition book).
Format of paper and project: Sections of your paper. Title each section.

Abstract (last section to be written)

Purpose/Hypothesis

Background Information (Definitions and previous research)

Experiment Design (In bulleted form)

Results (Graphs and data)

Discussion

Conclusion (Further research and was hypothesis supported or not)

Works Cited (APA format)

Data Journal (Composition Book)
See scoring guide for details as to what goes into each part.
Before you turn in your paper, be sure to self-grade it. Go through the scoring guide and make
sure you have everything it asks for!
Scoring Guide / Sections of your paper:
Paper:

(20 points) Correct format, which is Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 1.5 spaced.

Put your name on the paper. Give your project a title.
For example:
“Which Color Candle Burns the Longest? Or “The Effects on Bleach on Bacteria”

(20 points) Abstract. The abstract is a paragraph summary of your whole paper. IT
SHOULD BE DONE LAST, BUT PLACED FIRST IN YOUR PAPER.
Here is an example of an abstract:
“A common practice recommended by the Missouri Department of Conservation is to put
evergreen trees in lakes to provide covering for fish. The purpose of this experiment was to
determine whether this practice had an effect on the pH of lake water. Evergreen material was
placed in six aquariums containing a mixture of lake and tap water. The pH was monitored over
a period of 20 days. Over the 20 days, the water became slightly more acidic. After taking into
account relative size, it was concluded that evergreen covering of lakes probably would not
have a significant enough effect on the pH of lakes to alter the aquatic environment.”
*Note how the abstract started with the purpose, then told what the experiment design was,
then the conclusion.

(20 points) Purpose / Hypothesis section. This section describes what the point of your
experiment is. This section answers the question, “What is my experiment testing for?”
You must include a hypothesis that is a prediction and is testable. Your hypothesis must
use commonly accepted practices regarding a hypothesis, no I, We, or personal
pronouns.
For example:
Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the color of a candle has an effect on
the candle’s burn rate.
Hypothesis:
If blue, green, and red candles are tested for burn rate, then the red candle will burn the
fastest.

(40 points) Background Information. The background information has two parts:
defining components of your experiment and identifying previous research. First, define
components of your experiment. For example, if your experiment involved candles,
define what a candle is usually made of and why a candle burns. For another example, if
your experiment involves bacteria, define what bacteria are. Identifying previous
research means to explore if others have done similar experiments and summarize their
results. This section will require you to look up information. The best place to look for
previous research is Google Scholar and the St. Clair High School library EBSCO HOST
database. CITE SOURCES CORRECTLY USING APA FORMAT. If you cannot find any
previous research on your subject, look harder. If you still can’t find any, you need to
indicate that in your paper.

(30 points) Experiment design. This should be precise and detailed, showing every step
and every material to be used during the project. Be sure to use Metric quantities like
gram or liter, not pounds and inches. This should be done in bullet form. It should be
done so precisely that another person can take your design and perform their
experiment exactly like you did. The design section should match your hand written
data journal.

(30 points) Results. Shows the data of the experiment, basically what happened. This
section is simple. Just show the results of your experiment in data tables and
observational notes. You must have at least one graph or chart, which can be hand
drawn. Independent variable and dependent variable must be on the correct x and y
axis. The data you type in the paper should match the information in your hand written
composition journal.

(30 points) Discussion. The discussion section is a section for you to describe what
happened in your experiment and provide and explanation as to why it happened the
way it did. The first part of your discussion section is you basically writing out in words
what the data says.
For example:
The red candle burned three times longer than the blue candle. The green candle
burned the fastest. The red candle may have burned the slowest because it contains
xanophyll, which has been shown as a fire retardant.

(20 points) Conclusion. The conclusion should include what the conclusion of your
experiment was. What was the outcome? ALSO MUST INCLUDE THIS: Identify further
research that may be conducted or other experiments that may come out of the results.
For example:
A further experiment that could be performed based on my results is to rest different
shades of red candles or to see if room temperature affects the burn rate of candles.
ALSO INCLUDE THIS IN YOU CONCLUSION: Was the hypothesis supported?
There must be a sentence saying, “This experiment supported the hypothesis.”
Or “This experiment did not support the hypothesis.”

(30 points) Works cited. MUST HAVE 5 SOURCES. Works cited should be done in APA
format, according to the guidelines given. Citations in text can be cited with numbers or
the APA style shown below. If numbers are not used, works cited page must be in
alphabetical order. You can find an example of the works cited page on the 2nd grade
link labeled “Science Fair”.