Science Fair Report,

Transcription

1 Science Fair Report, Oral Presentation and Science Fair Board

2 Table of Contents General Instructions for the Science Fair Report. 3 Typing the Title Page 4 Table of Contents.. 6 Introduction Page Abstract 8 Experimental Narrative. 10 Bibliography 13 Acknowledgements Preparing for the Oral Presentation 18 Directions for the Display Board

3 General Instructions for the Science Fair Report If you are reading this page, your science fair project and experiment are well underway. You have already chosen a topic, developed a question, uncovered information on your chosen topic, and designed an experiment to test the hypothesis you wrote to answer your question. You have started your experiment and may have already finished. Now, it is time to share your project in written, visual, and oral form with your teacher and the science fair judges. The following pages of this handout will walk you step by step through the process of writing a paper, creating a display, and preparing for an oral presentation of your project. The table of contents that follows serves not only as a reference but as a visual sample of how your table of contents should basically look. The section names and page numbers will be different, however. Begin by setting your document for the following: Double spacing Page numbering beginning on page 3 of the document (do not put page numbers on the title page or the table of contents) Be sure to center all headings Be sure to left align all other text (except for the bibliography in which you will use a hanging indent and alphabetize all entries according to the first word in the entry) Use a 14 point size with an easy to read font Good luck! 3

4 Typing the Title Page The first page of your report must be your title page. Follow the instructions below to type the perfect title page! You may also refer to the sample that follows this page for a visual reference. 1. Set your font for a simple font with a 14-point size. Simple fonts would include Times New Roman, Ariel, Times, Bookman, or any other font that is easy to read. Remember, you are trying to make this paper easy for the judges (and your teacher) to read. 2. Be sure to set your document for DOUBLE SPACING. THE ENTIRE DOCUMENT WILL REMAIN DOUBLE SPACED. 3. Next, set the horizontal spacing for centered text. 4. Use the information from the word processor to hit the ENTER KEY down to line number 4. This is where you will type the title of your project. REMEMBER, your title is your QUESTION. Be sure to apply all proper capitalization rules that apply to typing a title. Points will be taken off for capitalization errors. 5. Hit the ENTER KEY down to line number 7. Type the words A Science Fair Project. 6. Hit the ENTER KEY down to line number 8. Type the words Presented to. 7. Hit the ENTER KEY to down to line number 9. Type your science teacher s name (Ziober/Williamson). BE SURE TO SPELL IT CORRECTLY. 8. Hit the ENTER KEY to down to line number 13. Type the word By. 9. Hit the ENTER KEY to down to line number 14. Type your first and last name. 10. Hit the ENTER KEY to down to line number 15. Type the date of the science fair judging. 11. Admire your work and don t forget to save it. 4

5 Your Question A Science Project Presented to Your teacher s name By Your First and Last Name Date of Science Fair Judging 5

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS The second page of your report should be your table of contents. This page should be a list of every section of your paper and the page numbers where they begin. ***Remember, you cannot enter your page numbers UNTIL you have completed typing the FINAL COPY of your paper. The sections you should have in your report are listed in order below: Introduction Page Abstract Science Fair Experimental Narrative Bibliography Acknowledgements Begin typing this page by typing the words TABLE OF CONTENTS at the top of a blank page and center the title just as I did at the top of this page. Then be sure to double space the remaining document. Set the word processing program on left justify. When you type in the sections, be sure to left-justify the words, and right-justify the page numbers using periods to fill in the spaces in between. For example, when typing the line for the Introduction Page and Abstract, it would look like the example below: Introduction Page 2 Abstract.3 Also, remember to format your document to include page numbers at the bottom right margin beginning with the TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6

7 INTRODUCTION PAGE The third page of your report should be the introduction page. You will begin by typing the heading (see above) being careful to center it. Then, be sure to left align and double space the remaining text. The text should be one paragraph four to eight sentences in length. Be sure to include the following information: The topic of your project How or why you chose the project How your project may benefit you or others 7

8 ABSTRACT Start working on your abstract by completing the fill-in-the-blank worksheet below. This project was done because. Research on the project includes (list the types of research materials that you used for your project). The steps of the experiment were and the outcome(s) was (were) It was concluded that Therefore, the initial hypothesis was (was not) supported. The most important facts determined from this project were. 8

9 ABSTRACT Continued Now that you have completed the worksheet on page 5, you are ready to type the abstract. Your document should still be set to DOUBLE SPACE. Type the title ABSTRACT on the first line of a new page and be sure to center it. Hit return to a new line, be sure to switch your program to left justify and indent as you begin typing your paragraph. The abstract is one paragraph so there will be no need to start another new paragraph on this section. When you are finished, insert a new page so that you are ready to type the next section of your science fair report. 9

10 SCIENCE FAIR EXPERIMENT NARRATIVE Your document should be DOUBLE SPACED. Center the title as above using all capital letters. Hit return and do not forget to switch to left justify. The Problem: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your problem. What are you trying to find out with your project? A scientific question usually starts with how, what, which and why. For example will a hockey puck move a greater distance on a waxed surface? In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 1. Research: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your research. Collect information to help you answer your question. You may use books, magazines, interview and the Internet. Be careful with the Internet and make sure it is a trustworthy source. When using the Internet be sure to use multiple sources to help you check the source. You should have at least 3 references. In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 2. The Hypothesis: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your hypothesis. Based upon your research this is what you think is the answer to your problem. This will be what you base your experiment upon. The hypothesis can be written in an if/then format to explain the relationship between your independent and dependent variable. For example, if a hockey puck is traveling on a waxed surface then it will go a greater distance than on an unwaxed surface. A hockey puck moving on a waxed surface is the independent variable and the dependent variable is the distance it moves. You also need to include a reason why you think you will get the results you expect. In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 3. 10

11 The Experiment: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your experiment. This is the arrangement you set up to test your hypothesis. In your narrative you should explain what you did in paragraph form. The experiment should have a way to measure the results and this data should always be in METRIC UNITS. This means centimeters or meters not inches or feet, milliliters or liters not fluid ounces or gallons, and milligrams, grams or kilograms and not ounces or pounds. You also need to identify your dependent and independent variables along with all your controlling variables. For your experiment to be valid you MUST have multiple trials. This means you have to do your experiment more than one time!! In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 4. Data and Results: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your data and results. For your entire project starting with the brainstorming of your topic, you need to keep a scientific journal. This should accompany your display. Your data in your science fair narrative should be in a data table. Be sure to label you data with the units you used. Multiple trials of data should be included. Your data should be analyzed with statistical methods like mean, median, or mode and using graphical analysis. There should be an explanation of these analysis methods in your science fair narrative. In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 5. The Conclusion: DO NOT PUT THIS AS A TITLE. The text will identify this paragraph as defining your conclusion. This is a statement about how your results compare with your hypothesis. You will also want to explain why you got the results you did, any factors that might have influenced the outcome of the experiment, and how your experiment may help mankind. You could also include things that might improve your experiment if you continued to research your problem. In your science fair narrative, this should be paragraph 6. In writing your science fair experimental narrative, you should write a rough draft, then read through it and make sure you have addressed all of the information listed above. Be sure to proofread your paper. Does it make sense? You are now ready to write your final draft. 11

12 BIBLIOGRAPHY Use the instructions below to format the sources used in working on your project. The information you need to complete the entries should be in your Science Fair Project Planner. After you have determined the format for each source, alphabetize your sources according to first word in the source. In most cases, you will use the author s last name for sorting but not in all cases. Begin actually typing the bibliography by centering the title BIBLIOGRAPHY on a new page. Then, set the alignment for a left margin hanging indent. Begin typing your entries. You should have your document set for double spacing but do not add extra spacing between the entries. MLA Guide for Listing Sources Book Author/Editor. Title. City:Publisher, year. Grambo, Rebecca L., ed. Eagles: Masters of the Sky. Stillwater, OK: Voyager Press, Electronic Sources Online Website Author (if known). Document title. Website or database title. Date of electronic publication (day, month, year). Name of Sponsoring Institution. Date information was accessed (day, month, year). < Martell, Mark and MaryBeth Garrigan. Bald Eagle. The Raptor Center. Sept U of Minnesota. 18 Nov < CD-ROM 12

13 Author (if known). Title of Article. Title of Database. Title of Medium (CD-ROM). City of Electronic Publication: Electronic Publisher, Date of Electronic Publication. Eagle. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Danbury: Grolier Interactive, Encyclopedia Article Author (if known). Title of Article. Name of Encyclopedia. Edition (if known) and year. Grier, James. Eagle. The World Book Encyclopedia Interview Speaker. The words Personal interview, Telephone interview, or Guest speaker. Date. Sullivan, Margaret. Personal interview. 17 Nov Newspaper or Magazine Article Author. Title of Article. Publication Name. Date: page number(s). Gerstenzang, James. Eagle May Fly from Nest of Endangered. Los Angeles Times. 6 May 1998: Movie or Video Recording Title. Name of Director or Producer. The words Videocassette, Videodisc, or Movie. Name of Distributor, year released. Amazing Birds of Prey. Director Ann Neale. Videocassette. Paramount Pictures,

14 Television or Radio Program Title of Program. Name of Host (if any). Network. Station Call Letters, City. Date of Broadcast. Jaws and Claws: Flying Assassins. Discovery Channel. DISC, Austin. 26 Jul Q and A Q: What if you have two authors? A: Put the first author s last name comma first name. Put a comma after the first name, put the word and, and then put the second author s first and last name. Example: Jones, Peter and Julie Peters. Q: What do we do if we can t find an author on the website? A: Skip the author section. The first part of the entry should be the Document Title. Q: When you re doing an online website source, what is the difference between the Document Title and the Website or database title? A: The Website or database title is the main name of a website. Say you go to Wikipedia (you should never do this, though!). Wikipedia would be the Website or database title. It is the big name of the whole website. Q: So then what is the Document Title? A: Say you went to Wikipedia to look up snapping turtles. Wikipedia will be your Website or database title, and Snapping turtles will be the Document title. Q: What is the deal with the dates when you are doing a website source? A: The online website needs to have two dates- the first date is the date that the website was last updated. Sometimes you can find this date, sometimes you can t. You might only find the year. That is okay. Put what you can. The second date is the day you went to the website. Q: How do I write the dates on these sources? A: Whenever you write the date, it is always the same: Day Month. Year 20 Feb

15 You always put the day first, and then the month. Put the first THREE letters of each month (Jan., Feb., Mar., etc) and then a period. Then you put the year. Sometimes you need a period after the year, but sometimes you do not. Q: When I m writing a website, do I have to put all that stuff, even those little < > things with the period? A: Yes! You have to put the EXACT website you went to to get to the page. For example, if you went to Wikipedia to look up snapping turtles, your website would NOT be < If I typed it in, I would just go to the Wikipedia homepage and not the page on snapping turtles. This is how my website for snapping turtles should look: < If I click on that link right there, it will take me directly to the page where you found all your information on snapping turtles. Q: When I put the < > and the period at the end of the website, it makes it blue and the < >. go away. A: Click the undo button, and the < >. will come back! Q: What is that awkward indent that you do if the entry is more than one line long? A: It is called a hanging indent. If your entry is more than one line, the bottom line needs to be indented. To do that, click right before the first word, press enter twice, then press tab once. Then press backspace twice, then tab again. Then it will look like it should. 15

16 ACKNOWEDGEMENTS Again, begin this page by typing the title (see above) and centering it. This is the section of your paper where you will indicate all those individuals and groups that may have assisted you in completing your project. Begin by typing the paragraph below. Be sure to indent and double space this section of the paper. Follow the paragraph with a list of the people and/or groups you would like to acknowledge. I have given a couple of examples. I would like to thank the following people for their efforts in helping me with my Science Fair Project. I could not have done it without them. My parents for helping me gather the materials I needed for this science fair project. project. Mrs. Beason for her assistance in locating research materials for my Mrs. Young for helping me with my bibliography. 16

17 PREPARING THE ORAL PRESENTATION The oral presentation is given twice once the day before the science fair during set-up and once on the day of the science fair before one or more judges. Keep in mind that during set-up, the audience will include your teacher and your classmates. Part of your science fair grade will be based on your ability to complete the following sentence prompts. The title of my project is. I chose this project because. My hypothesis is. The materials I used to conduct my experiment were. I conducted my experiment by. (Give a summary of the steps taken to conduct the experiment). The results showed that. Therefore my hypothesis was (proven/disproven). I concluded that. Be prepared to also answer the following questions that WILL BE asked by your teacher and MAY BE asked by the judge. What were some of the variables in your project? What was the dependent variable in your project? (the variable you measured) What was the independent variable? (the one variable you changed) What would you do to continue your experimentation or do differently on your next project? 17

18 18