Abstract Worksheet
Abstract Worksheet Example
Use the Abstract Worksheet to help you prepare the first draft of your abstract. The
sequence of sentences in the Abstract Worksheet is ordered in a logical fashion, beginning
with the title of your investigation and followed by your introduction, methods, findings, and
conclusion.
Think of the most important items that crystallize each part of your project. Leave out
unimportant details. Use the Abstract Worksheet, to write one or two sentences that
summarize each section. For your final draft, make sure the abstract "flows" logically. Give it
to a friend to read. Ask them to tell you what they think you actually did and what you
found. Revise as necessary.
Below you will find 2 abstract examples. Choose one example and let’s practice using the
Abstract Worksheet.
The Effect of Size of Blades and Number of Blades on the Voltage Output of
Waterwheels.
The purpose of this project is to investigate to see if the size of blades and number of blades affect the
voltage output of a water wheel. Based on my research, the hypothesis I formed is by increasing the
number of blades up to a certain point and increasing the size of blades up to a certain point will increase
the voltage output of a waterwheel. I built the waterwheel stand (part with the generator). Then I
constructed six waterwheels. Three were for testing the effect of blade size on voltage and the other three
the effect of number of blades on voltage output. Three wheels had different sizes of blades (7.5cm, 15cm,
and 22.5cm). The other three wheels had different number of blades (8 blades,12 blades, and 16 blades).
I connected these wheels to the stand and after attaching the voltmeter ran each of them under water for
30 seconds. I watched the reading of the voltmeter and recorded the highest voltage that I saw. I then
repeated this 4 times for each wheel. The results for the (blade size) were that the 7.5cm blade
waterwheel produced an average of 2.0mV. The 15cm blade waterwheel produced an average of 4.6mV.
The 22.5cm blade waterwheel produced an average of 7.5mV. The results for the (number of blades)
were that the 8 blade waterwheel produced an average of 3.8mV. The 12 blade waterwheel produced an
average of 4.7mV. The 16 blade waterwheel produced an average of 6.5mV. My hypotheses of the
waterwheel producing more voltage when there are more blades up to a certain point and of the
waterwheel producing more voltage when the blades are bigger up to a certain point were supported. The
reason for the waterwheel producing more voltage than the wheels with fewer blades is that when it had
fewer blades the water strikes each blade and between each strike is a delay. This delay allows the wheel
to slow down so less voltage is produced. But when there were more blades there is less time between
each strike so less speed was lost. Since less speed was lost the waterwheel could produce more energy
as the magnet turned faster moving the electrons faster producing more energy. The longer blades had
more torque and therefore the waterwheel produced more voltage. With this information waterwheels can
be constructed to produce energy more efficiently and by doing this we are a step closer to getting away
from our dependency on oil.
Abstract Worksheet
Cranial Confusion: How the Brain Adapts to Left-Right Inversion
I wanted to find out if age was a factor in how people adapted. Specifically, I wanted to find out if age
affected a person’s ability to adapt to a computer mouse that inverted the direction of motion of the cursor
on the computer screen. I used two computer games to measure a person’s adaptability. In both games, a
target circle is presented at a random location on the computer screen. The goal is to move the cursor
over the target and click the mouse. When the target is clicked on, a new target appears at another
random location on the screen. The game lasts 1 minute and the total number of targets clicked on is the
score. The first game has a mouse cursor that moves normally. The subject plays this game 3 times and I
consider the average score as the subject’s “normal” score. The second game has a mouse cursor that is
“inverted”. This means if the mouse is moved left, the cursor moves right and vice versa. Up and down are
also reversed. The subject plays this game 3 times. I compared the score of the last “inverted” game with
the “normal” score. I did this by expressing the last inverted score as a percentage of the normal score. I
studied the scores from 100 people of different ages. I categorized my subjects by age group as kid,
teenager, young adult, adult and senior. The average of each category was: Kid = 28, Teenager = 53,
Young Adult = 42, Adult = 39, Senior = 47. My results show me that age does not affect how well a person
adapts to an inverted computer mouse. However, people who use the computer more were able to adapt
much better. I also found that people who use the computer very little or never had similar scores for both
games.
Abstract Worksheet
Title:
1. Tells the reader what the report is
about.
2. An efficient phrase that describes
the experiment.
Introduction – Statement of Purpose:
1. An introductory statement of the
reason for investigating the topic
of the project.
2. Restate the problem and
hypothesis being studied.
Methods Used:
1. An overview of how the
investigation was conducted.
2. Describes what you did in a way
that is understood and concise
(brief).
Major Findings
(Observation/Data/Results):
1. This section should provide key
results that lead directly to the
conclusions you have drawn.
2. What was discovered?
3. What is the significance of the
findings?
Conclusion:
A brief summary and analysis of the
results and answer the reader’s
questions of how the results related to
the purpose. In other words, did it prove
or disprove your hypothesis.