12-06-2014, 12:46 PM
SCIENCE FAIR FUN
SCIENCE.pdf (Size: 1 MB / Downloads: 121)
Note for teachers:
This booklet provides students in grades 6-8 with ideas and resources for
developing environmental science fair projects about reducing, reusing, and
recycling waste materials. Terms and topics in this booklet are addressed without
in-depth definition or discussion, under the assumption that students have been
exposed to these topics already through a classroom environmental science unit.
However, this document does include a glossary (page 16) and a list of resources
that provide more information (page 18). Words contained in the glossary appear
in bold text throughout this document. Some experiments take more time to
complete than others. Be sure to discuss your intended time frame when helping
students decide on a project.
Note for Students:
This booklet contains ideas and suggestions for projects on reducing, reusing,
and recycling waste materials. You should discuss your project with your
teacher and ask for help, if needed, in constructing a hypothesis, defining
variables, and determining what kind of equipment is available to you.
Definitions for important waste terms used in this booklet can be found in
the glossary on page 16. Also, you should note that some experiments take
longer than others to yield results, so be sure that you will have enough time to
complete the experiment. In addition, your science fair may have specific rules
about how to conduct your experiment or how you should display your results.
Be sure you understand and follow those rules.
GeTTinG sTarTed
Science is fun—especially when you create
a science fair project focusing on the
environment! Science fair projects help you
learn about the world around you, and they
can also teach you and others how to improve
the environment.
This booklet is a step-by-step guide to help
you design an exciting science fair project that
focuses on the 3Rs of waste management—
reduce, reuse, and recycle. Use your science
fair project to show how the 3Rs lead to
resource conservation.
Check out the sample projects in this booklet,
which also contains a list of useful resources
to help make your project a winner!
Think like a sCienTisT:
the Scientific method
A good scientist learns about the world by
using the scientific method. The scientific
method tests a hypothesis, which is an
educated guess based on observations.
The six steps of the scientific method are
outlined in the diagram to the right. All
fields of science use the scientific
method as a framework for making
observations, gathering data, and
drawing conclusions.
You should use the scientific
method to help design your project.
The step-by-step instructions on
the following pages incorporate the
elements of the scientific method.
The sample projects on pages 10
through 14 provide ideas that will
help you use the scientific method.
GI v E You r P roJ E C t a t I t l E
Choose a title that describes what you are
investigating. Make it catchy, yet descriptive.
S tat E t h E P u r PoS E of You r
P roJ E C t
Ask yourself: “What do I want to find out?
Why am I designing this project?” Write a
statement that answers these questions.
D E v E loP a h Y Pot hE S I S
Make a list of answers to the questions
you have. This can be a list of statements
describing how or why you think the subject of
your experiment works. The hypothesis must
be stated in a way that will allow it to be tested
by an experiment.
D E S IGN aN E X P E r ImENt to
t E S t You r h Y Pot hE S I S
Make a step-by-step list of what you will do
to test the hypothesis. Define your variables,
the conditions t