Alexandria Middle School
Sixth Grade Science Fair
Packet One
What is a science project?
A science project is designed to solve a problem or answer a question. As students, science
projects give you the opportunity to choose a subject of interest and study it in a systematic
scientific method, just like scientists do in research laboratories.
The sixth grade science fair is going to give you the opportunity to pick a subject or topic of
interest, and create and conduct an experiment based on your testable question. We will be
using the scientific method throughout our experiments, so it is important to review what
we have previously learned about the scientific method.
The Scientific Method
The scientific method is way to ask and answer scientific questions through experiments
and analysis of data.
Steps:
Ask a Question:
Craft and create your testable question that you want to
explore and investigate.
Do Research:
Conduct research on your topic – what
research/experiments have already been done
involving this topic?
Make a Hypothesis:
Use your research to make an educated guess about the
answer to your testable question.
Run your Experiment:
Create a well developed experiment that fully tests your
question. Conduct your experiment, collecting data, and
observations as you go.
Analyze your Data:
Look at all of the data (both qualitative and
quantitative) from your experiment and try to identify
patterns and trends.
Draw a Conclusion:
Determine if your hypothesis was supported or
disproven based on your data analysis.
Communicate Results:
Share your conclusion and experiment with others in
the form of a written/oral presentation.
About Your Hypothesis…
Your hypothesis is an educated guess of what you think the outcome of your experiment
will be. Though it is made based off of background research, it is still just an educated guess,
and therefore, your hypothesis will not always turn out to be correct.
The objective of a science project is to develop a hypothesis and design a reliable way to
test it. As long as your experiment is designed to effectively test your hypothesis it doesn’t
matter whether your hypothesis turns out to be accurate or unsupported.
Science Demonstrations vs. Science Experiments
There is a difference between science demonstrations and science experiments!!
Science demonstrations show how a certain scientific principle works. A science
demonstration for example would be creating a “liquid stack” illustrating the principle of
density.
A science experiment is testing what happens when you purposefully alter one variable and
analyze the results. A science experiment for example would be determining which brand
of paper towel absorbs more liquid, or which brand of fertilizer results in highest plant
growth?
A Testable Question
For our science project we will be asking a testable question, and collecting quantitative
and qualitative data to analyze.
A testable question is a question that specifies your variables, and one, which you will
actually be able to test. This means that you need to keep in mind certain limitations when
you are choosing your possible experiments. For example:
-Can you do this experiment with the knowledge you have?
-Are you able to access the materials you need?
-Can you afford to buy all of the materials you might need?
-Do you have enough space to perform your experiment?
-Do you have enough time to perform your experiment and collect/analyze your
data?
-Are you going to be able to collect BOTH quantitative (numbers) AND qualitative
(observations) data?
General science questions are different than testable questions – testable questions are
very specific.
Testable questions identify both your independent and dependent variable, and it gives an
indication of how you will collect your data.
General Question:
How does fertilizer affect plants?
Testable Question:
How do different brands of fertilizer affect plant height?
The general question above shows you an idea, or area of interest, but it is not suitable to
be your science fair project question. The question is too ambiguous and unclear. Are you
going to be using different kinds of fertilizer or the same kind? How are you going to
measure an “affect on plants”? Too much information is missing.
In the testable question above you have delved one step deeper and included the specifics
of your project. You have stated the independent variable (differing brands of fertilizer)
and you have also stated the dependent variable (plant height), and it also provides what
quantitative (number) data you will be collecting (continued measurement of plant height
growth).
The first step of your science fair project is to complete the “Testable
Questions” Worksheet with four possible ideas for the science fair. I
would like you to order the questions in order from most to least
interest.
The Testable Questions Worksheet with your four possible topics is due
on: Thursday, January 30th