Example of a STEM Fair Project

Please note: The STEM Fair Project listed below is just a model. It doesn't reflect actual data. It's just an example of all of the parts of one experiment except for the 3 required pictures of the actual experiment.

Question-  Which temperature of water ( hot, luke warm, or cold) will mix into red dye the fastest?

Hypothesis- I predict that red dye will mix into cold water the fastest because when my dad mixes Hershey's Syrup into cold milk, I can use a spoon to stir it and it mixes smoothly.

Variables:
Independent variable- different temperatures of water (hot, luke warm, cold)
Dependent variable- how fast red dye can mix
Controlled variables- same amount of each liquid, each liquid placed inside of the same type of container, same amount of drops of red dye placed into each liquid

Materials:
3                                    454 gram containers
3                                    500 ML of water
1 bottle                          of red dye
1                                    eye dropper
1 thermometer              using the Celsius side only because that is the METRIC units side
a microwave
timer or stop watch


Procedure-
1.    Gather all of your materials
2.    Label each container. Label first container HOT. Second container LUKE WARM. Third
       container COLD.
3.    Pour 500 ml of water into  your 454 gram container and place it in the microwave for 300 secs.
       This will make the water hot. Check the temperature with a thermometer to ensure that it is 68
       degrees C. If it's less than 68 degrees C, place it back into the microwave for another
       60  seconds and check the temperature again. If it's more than 68 degrees let it cool to the correct
       temperature. Once the correct temperature is achieved use the eye dropper to insert one drop
       of red dye into the hot water, and record in seconds, how long it took to mix into the hot water.
4.    Pour 500 ml of water into your 454 gram container and place it in the microwave for 60 secs.
       Check the temperature with the thermometer to ensure that it is 35 degrees C because that is my 
       measure of luke warm water. Add 30 more seconds in the microwave if the temperature is below
       35 degrees C. Use the thermometer to check the temperature. If it's more than 35 degrees C, let it
       cool till it reaches the correct temperature. Once the correct temperature is achieved, use the eye
       dropper to insert one drop of red dye into the luke warm water, and record in seconds, how long
       it took to mix into the luke warm water.
5.    Pour 500 ml of tap water from the cold side of a water faucet into your 454 gram container.
       Then, take the temperature of the tap water. If it is -15 degrees C, it is the correct temperature. If
       not, place it inside of the freezer for 900 seconds. Then, take it out and check the temperature
       again. If it's still not -15 degrees C, place the tap water in the freezer for another 900 seconds
       and check the temperature again. Repeat this step as many times as necessary to ensure that
       you have the correct temperature of water. Once you have achieved the correct temperature,
       use the eye dropper to insert one drop of red dye into the cold water, and record in seconds, how
       long it took to mix into the cold water.
6.    Repeat steps 2-4 at least two more times.
7.    Record all of the times you found.


Data Collection Tool:

                                       Effect of Temperature on Mixing into Red Dye

                                                   Trials Recorded in Seconds

Temperature of Water            Trial One         Trial Two       Trial Three          Mean Time
Hot water( 68 degrees C)           35 secs                  38 secs               36 secs          36.33 secs
Luke warm (35 degrees C)         42 secs                 55 secs               48 secs          48.33 secs
Cold        ( -15 degrees C)          95 secs                105 secs              99 secs          99.66 secs


Graph

Written Explanation:

The mean time for all of the trials was under 100 seconds. The longest time was red dye mixing into cold water, which was 99.66 seconds. The median time was red dye mixing into luke warm water, which was 48.33 seconds. The shortest time was red dye dissolving into hot water, which was  36.33 seconds. Since my means were on a wide spectrum, (ranging from 36.33 secs - 99.66 secs) I would say that the trend that I noticed is that the colder the water temperature was, the longer it took for the red dye to mix into the liquid.


Conclusion:

My hypothesis was incorrect. I predicted that the red dye would mix into cold water the fastest. However; red dye mixed into hot water the fastest ( within an average time of 36.33 seconds) followed by luke warm water (with an average time of 48.33 seconds.) Red dye actually mixed into cold water the slowest (with an average time of 99.66 seconds.) I didn't experience any difficulty while conducting this experiment. If, I were to do this experiment again, I would change the color of dye that I used, to see whether or not the temperature of the water really impacted how fast the dye mixed. Another thing that I would investigate would be the same topic of mixing red dye into liquids but not water, instead I would use milk, orange juice, lemonade and observe the rate of mixing. What I learned applies to the real world because if a mother wanted to host an Easter Egg Hunt for the neighborhood kids and she wanted to color the eggs, she could know that mixing the dye in hot water, will be faster than luke warm or cold water. Thus, she can save time.