Transcript Science Fair Projects

Soil Porosity
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Cover Page
Research Question
Written Research
Hypothesis/Purpose
Materials List
Procedure
Data Collection
Lingering Questions
Conclusions
Bibliography
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Soil Porosity
Classroom Demonstration
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START with the END in
MIND
Independent Variables are
changes that occur in an
experiment that are directly
caused by the experimenter
(you.)
Dependent Variables are
changes that occur due to
independent variables.
A Controlled Variable is
anything else that could
influence the dependent
variables.
Monday’s Notes
ISN page 2
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What is the most efficient angle for windmill
blades?
Ability of water surface tension to hold weight
How does the shape and mass of an object affect
its velocity when sinking through water?
Can quarters and feathers fall at the same speed?
Do different types of firewood produce different
amounts of heat?
What affects the rate of evaporation of water.
Monday’s
Assignment
ISN page 1
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What will have the greatest amount of
porosity, soil or sand?
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DMOZ – Open Directory Project
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For science projects and all science related material you can browse through
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For students and much support for school related subjects browse through
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Tuesday’s Notes
ISN page 4
Colored Words Only
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The Internet Public Library (IPL)
http://www.ipl.org/
The IPL, is a public service organization and
learning/teaching environment at the University of Michigan
School of Information. Originally an experiment that started
in 1995, the IPL tries to discover and promote the most
effective roles and contributions of librarians to the Internet
and vice versa. Like a library, the information is high quality
and well organized into a category format.
For students and supporting information for school subjects
browse through http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/
Tuesday’s Notes
ISN page 4
Colored Words Only
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SCIRUS - A Scientific Information Only Search Engine
http://www.scirus.com/
In their own words ...
Scirus is the most comprehensive science-specific search engine on
the Internet. Driven by the latest search engine technology, Scirus
searches over 200 million science-specific Web pages, enabling you
to quickly:
◦ Pinpoint scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the Web.
◦ Find the latest reports, peer-reviewed articles, patents, pre prints and journals that
other search engines miss.
◦ Offer unique functionalities designed for scientists and researchers.
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Scirus has proved so successful at locating science-specific results
on the Web that the Search Engine Watch Awards voted Scirus 'Best
Specialty Search Engine' in 2001 and 2002 and 'Best Directory or
Search Engine Website' WebAward from Web Marketing Association
in 2004.
Tuesday’s Notes
ISN page 4
Colored Words Only
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What Is a Paraphrase?
A paraphrase is a rewording of another writer's text, but is
substantially different in wording and sentence structure.
Why Paraphrase?
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to make sure that you fully understand what the text says
to discuss someone's argument or text directly
to use as expert evidence for a point you are making
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How to Paraphrase a Text
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Use alternative wording
If you use the author's words to name important ideas, enclose his
or her phrases in quotation marks.
Present the ideas of the original using your own sentence structure
and word choice.
Tuesday’s Notes
Cite your source
ISN page 4
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The flow of water within rocks depends upon
two properties: the rock's porosity and
permeability. Porosity is that part of a rock's
volume, which is made up of empty space or
with vessels that allow liquids to flow
through. Crystalline rocks have low porosity
which is why water finds it difficult to go
through. However, sedimentary rocks have
high porosity, hence water cuts through
easily.
http://www.pitara.com/discover/5wh/online.asp?story=29
Tuesday’s Assignment
ISN page 3
Paraphrase the Paragraph
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Some people have made it their life's work to
study such rivers. Speleologists - or scientists
who study and explore caves - have tried to
follow the course of some underground rivers
but many passages are too narrow to get
through. What they do then is to mix a dye in
the water so that when it surfaces they can
accurately identify where the underground
river started, and where it finally surfaced.
http://www.pitara.com/discover/5wh/online.asp?story=29
Tuesday’s Assignment
ISN page 3
Paraphrase the Paragraph
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POROSITY & PERMEABILITY
Description:
Porosity and permeability are the key factors
in determining how water moves through or
is held by the earth's surface materials. Using
models to determine grain size and real soil
samples for testing, discover one of the
mysteries of how the water cycle serves us.
http://www.cwec.ca/Act_PorosityPermeability
Tuesday’s Assignment
ISN page 3
Paraphrase the Paragraph
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Soils are made of particles of different types
and sizes. The space between particles is
called pore space. Pore space determines the
amount of water that a given volume of soil
can hold. Porosity is the percentage of the
total volume of soil that consists of pore
space. This is an important measurement in
areas where drinking water is provided by
groundwater reserves.
Wednesday’s Notes
ISN page 6
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Your hypothesis is a prediction of the outcome
Your prediction is based on your understanding of
the science
First find out what are you measuring or
manipulating
The term variable describes what you are
measuring
An independent variable is the variable you are
controlling
A dependent variable is what you measure in the
experiment
The dependent variable changes because of the
independent variable
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Does music affect on animal behavior?
Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like
them?
Where are the most germs in your school?
Does music have an affect on plant growth? Wednesday’s
Assignment
Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?
ISN page 5
Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they
grow?
Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
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I believe that sand will have the greatest
amount of porosity because sand has much
tinier particles that will provide more space in
between.
Purpose
To measure the amount of water stored in the
pore space of a soil sample.
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Have you listed all necessary materials?
Have you described the materials in sufficient
detail?
Must be done in advance
Must represent good planning
All supplies and materials should be listed
Must show thorough research
Thursday’s Notes
ISN page 8
Colored Words Only
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Does music affect on animal behavior?
Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like
them?
Where are the most germs in your school?
Does music have an affect on plant growth?
Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?
Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?
Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
Thursday’s Assignment
ISN page 7
Write a materials list for 7 of the
questions above
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dry soil sample or sand
two 500 ml beakers
water
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Step by step instructions on how to do the
experiment
Each procedure is numbered
Skip a line between each procedure
Use as many steps as possible
Be very specific
Each procedure should be only 1-2
sentences
Friday’s Notes
ISN page 10
Colored Text
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Does music affect on animal behavior?
Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like
them?
Where are the most germs in your school?
Does music have an affect on plant growth?
Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?
Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?
Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
Friday’s Assignment
ISN page 9
Write a detailed procedures list
for 4 of the above questions
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Fill one beaker, up to the 500 ml mark, with dry soil or
sand. Place it on a table or flat workspace.
Fill the other beaker, up to the 500 ml mark, with water.
Slowly pour the water from the second beaker into the
soil sample. Stop pouring when the water level reaches
the top of the soil. The soil has reached saturation and
cannot hold any more water.
How much water is left in the second beaker?
How much water is now held in the pore spaces of the
soil sample?
Use your answer from question 5 to compute the
porosity (the percentage of pore space) of the soil
sample.
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Gather data and observations and present
them in a chart or graph
Monday’s Notes (None)
ISN page 12
Complete the Experiment
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Can consist of the following:
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Logs or journals
Graphs
Charts
Pictures
Observations
Monday’s Assignment
ISN page 11
Gather data and put it in a
chart, graph, or table
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There should be at least 3 questions.
Questions must deal with the experiment
itself.
Answers should come from your
observations.
Answers should be in complete sentences
and should include the question.
Skip a line between questions.
Write on front page only.
Tuesday’s Assignment
ISN page 14
Colored Text
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Does music affect on animal behavior?
Does the color of food or drinks affect whether or not we like
them?
Where are the most germs in your school?
Does music have an affect on plant growth?
Which kind of food do dogs prefer best?
Which paper towel brand is the strongest?
What is the best way to keep an ice cube from melting?
Can the food we eat affect our heart rate?
How effective are child-proof containers and locks.
Can background noise levels affect how well we concentrate?
What is the best way to keep cut flowers fresh the longest?
Does the color of light used on plants affect how well they grow?
Does the color of a room affect human behavior?
Tuesday’s Assignment
ISN page 13
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What soil should be used when building
houses?
What soil should be used when planting new
plants?
Why do different soils have different porosity
and how could this knowledge be used in
different professions?
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Your conclusions summarize how your results
support or contradict your hypothesis
Summarize your science fair project results in a few
Include key facts from your background research to
help explain your results as needed
State the relationship between the independent and
dependent variable.
Summarize your experimental procedure, comment
on its success and effectiveness.
Suggest changes and possibilities for further study.
Wednesday Notes
ISN page 16
Colored Text
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Complete sentences
Incorporate data
List real world applications
Wednesday’s Assignment
ISN page 15
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Two to three paragraphs
Conclusion about the experiment only
What happened?
What do you think you did right?
What might you change?
Revisit your hypothesis.
Check your data and the answers to your
questions.
Thursday’s Notes
ISN page 18
TBA
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http://all-science-fairprojects.com/science_fair_projects/25/302/4
82e064ec45c82c25b7cd893a69246df.html
Thursday’s Assignment
ISN page 17
Complete Bibliography using
online application