Variables in Your Science Fair Project
Information From http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_variables.shtml
Scientists use an experiment to search for cause and effect relationships in nature. They design an experiment so that changes to one item cause something else to change in a predictable way.
These changing quantities are called variables. A variable is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types. An experiment usually has three kinds of variables: independent, dependent, and controlled.
The independent variable is the one that is changed by the scientist. To ensure a fair test, a good experiment has only one independent variable. As the scientist changes the independent variable, he or she observes what happens. This is what you are testing (it is the thing your are changing that is impacting the outcome).
The scientist focuses his or her observations on the dependent variable to see how it responds to the change made to the independent variable.
Experiments sometimes have controlled variables. Controlled variables are quantities that a scientist wants to remain constant (or the same throughout the experiment), and he must observe them as carefully as the dependent variables.
In a good experiment, the scientist must be able to measure the values for each variable. Weight or mass is an example of a variable that is very easy to measure. However, imagine trying to do an experiment where one of the variables is love. There is no such thing as a "love-meter." You might have a belief that someone is in love, but you cannot really be sure, and you would probably have friends that don't agree with you. So, love is not measurable in a scientific sense; therefore, it would be a poor variable to use in an experiment.
For example, if we were testing the effect of fertilizer on plant growth, we would want to make sure that the amount of water and their sun exposure was equal or constant.
controlled variables = water and sun (plants will be given 12 oz of water every other day, and exposed to the sun 8 hours a day)
independent variable= fertilizer
dependent variable= plant growth
Science Fair Check-in
Name:____________________________
Where are you in the Science Fair Project Process?
(just starting/thought of idea, gathering supplies for the experiment, doing the experiment, analyzing data from the experiment, working on bulletin boards, completed project etc.)
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How is it going? (How are you feeling about your choices, what are your next steps, is there something you need help with)
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What are you testing and trying to figure out?
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What is your controlled variable (the thing you are keeping the same)?
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What is your independent variable (the thing you are changing)?
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What is your dependent variable (the thing you are measuring or seeing if it is changed)?
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What is a possible graph or chart you might use to show your data/results:
If you have NOT turned in your proposal please complete to the back page page.
Project Proposal
Project Title: _________________________________________________
Purpose/Problem Statement:
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Investigative topic/Question: (What I want to find out?):
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Hypothesis (What I think the answer to my question will be):
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Parent Signature: _____________ Date: ________________
Teacher Approval : ____________ Date: _________
Please rewrite and submit again ________________________
Monday 1/11- NO School
Tuesday 1/12- Science Fair Project Check-In definitions
Wednesday 1/13- definitions
Thursday 1/14- write detailed sentences that use
the word correctly and show understanding (half)
Monday 1/18- NO School
Tuesday 1/19- Finish sentences
Wednesday 1/20- crossword
Thursday 1/21- study for quiz
Civil Rights Vocabulary
Amendment
– a change made
or offered in a law or bill by addition, omission, or alteration of language.
Desegregate
– to abolish
racial segregation.
Disenfranchise
– to take any
right or privilege away from.
Equality
– the condition
or quality of being equal; exact likeness in amount, size, value or rank.
Freedom Rider-a
person who challenged racial laws in the American South in the 1960s,
originally by refusing to abide by the laws designating that seating in buses
be segregated by race.
Integration
– the inclusion
of people of all races on an equal basis in neighborhoods, schools, parks, or
other facilities.
Jim
Crow – discrimination
against Negroes.
Non-violence
(Non-violence movement) – a
political or philosophical belief based on peaceful methods to achieve any
goal; opposite to any form of violence.
Nullify
– to make of no
effect; destroy; cancel; wipe out.
Protest
– a statement
that denies or objects strongly.
Rebellion
– resistance
against any power or restriction.
Rights
– The power or
privilege to which one is justly entitled.
Segregation
– separation
from others; setting apart; isolation.
Separate
but Equal –
having to do with a policy of racial segregation between African Americans and
whites, as in education, employment, or transportation, by providing ostensibly
equal facilities for all.
Sit-ins
– a form of
protest in which a group of people enter and remain seated for a long period of
time in a public place.
Supreme
Court – the highest
court in the United States, consisting of the Chief Justice and eight associate
justices.
