STEM Fair Project

Please note somethings have changed since this STEM Fair Example was typed up. Questions are now referred to as Purpose. An abstract is now required. An abstract is a synopsis of your STEM Fair Project. It should be 150 words or less. It should be typed up in the form of a paragraph with a topic sentence and concluding sentence. I have requested an example of an abstract from the Science Chairperson in my building. Once I receive it, I will send it home. Another change is that 10 trials are now required instead of 3 when conducting your STEM Fair experiment. The new Board layout is attached to the back of this packet. Tomorrow 10/8/15- is Science Night from 6:30-8:00 pm. The Science Chairperson will be available to answer any additional questions that you may still have about the STEM Fair Project.


Dear Parents,
Your child's STEM Fair Project is due 12/11/15. Please ensure that your child has typed up all of the parts of the stem fair project from their STEM Fair Journal and placed each part in the correct place on their board. Page V of your child's STEM Fair Journal, shows where each part of the project is suppose to be placed on the board. Please make sure that you have a catchy title on your board. Boards should have no more than 2 colors displayed. Boards should be 36 inches by 48 inches. Boards can be purchased from Michael's Craft Store or Staples. Please get the large display boards not the miniature one from the Dollar Store. Research papers are NOT required for third graders. Please have your child start practicing for their oral presentation of the project. They can write the main parts out on index cards and study them. They can look back at the index cards during their presentation but can not merely read right off of the cards. Please have them practice telling you what the project was about without reading right off of their board, because this will not be allowed the week that they have to present orally. The rubric for the Oral Presentation and Display Board are located towards the back of your child's STEM Fair Journal. Please familiarize yourself and your child with both rubrics so that they are prepared for what will come.  Please email me at
cheveonne.edwards@pgcps.org     if you have any questions about the STEM Fair Project.

Any child/student that doesn't submit a STEM Fair Project in the 3rd -6th grade, will automatically receive a grade of an E on their second quarter report card.

                                           STEM Fair Timeline

Component                                                                                Due Date

Question                                                                                      9/28/15
Prediction                                                                                    9/28/15
Variables                                                                                     10/1/15
Materials                                                                                     10/9/15
Procedures                                                                                  10/15/15
Data Collection Tool                                                                  10/23/15
Results, Actual Investigation                                                      11/06/15
Results, Graph of Data                                                                110/6/15
Conclusion                                                                                  11/20/15
Display Board to School                                                             12/11/15


Please view the example of one complete STEM Fair Project below. This project includes all of the required parts except for the 3 pictures of the actual experiment. Please ensure that you have 3 pictures of your experiment that don't include your child's face.

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

Your materials and procedure sections should use METRIC Units ONLY. See those two sections below. The STEM Fair Journal, breaks down customary units of measure to Metric units of measure. See page 14 of the STEM Fair Journal for the break down. You can also use this website to help you convert from customary units of measure to metric units: http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html


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

This website can be used to help you graph your data:

https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

If you need help deciding which type of graph to use, please refer to pg 25 of your child's STEM Fair Journal.

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.

Homework 12/09/14

Tonight's Homework is- First in Math-Skill Sets and Area and Perimeter of a rectangle and a square-US Customary


Dear Parents,
Your child's STEM Fair Project is due this Friday 12/12/14. Please ensure that your child has typed up all of the parts of the stem fair project from their STEM Fair Journal and placed each part in the correct place on their board. Page 57 of your child's STEM Fair Journal, shows where each part of the project is suppose to be placed on the board. Please make sure that you have a catchy title on your board. Boards should have no more than 2 colors displayed. Unfortunately, as of 12/05/14, Ms Cunningham no longer has boards for sale. Boards can be purchased from Michael's Craft Store or Staples. Please get the large display boards not the minature one from the Dollar Store. Research papers are NOT required for third graders. Please have your child start practicing for their oral presentation of the project. They can write the main parts out on index cards and study them. They can look back at the index cards during their presentation this week but can not merely read right off of the cards. Please have them practice telling you what the project was about without reading right off of their board, because this will not be allowed this week. The rubric for the Oral Presentation and Display Board are located towards the back of your child's STEM Fair Journal. Please familiarize yourself and your child with both rubrics so that they are prepared for this week's expectations in Science. Please email me at
cheveonne.edwards@pgcps.org     if you have any questions about the STEM Fair Project.

Any child/student that doesn't submit a STEM Fair Project in the 3rd -6th grade, will automatically receive a grade of an E on their second quarter report card.

Please view the example of one complete STEM Fair Project below. This project includes all of the required parts except for the 3 pictures of the actual experiment. Please ensure that you have 3 pictures of your experiment that don't include your child's face.

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.

Homework 12/08/14

Tonight's Homework is- First in Math-Skill Sets and Area and Perimeter of a rectangle and a square-US Customary


Dear Parents,
Your child's STEM Fair Project is due this Friday 12/12/14. Please ensure that your child has typed up all of the parts of the stem fair project from their STEM Fair Journal and placed each part in the correct place on their board. Page 57 of your child's STEM Fair Journal, shows where each part of the project is suppose to be placed on the board. Please make sure that you have a catchy title on your board. Boards should have no more than 2 colors displayed. Unfortunately, as of 12/05/14, Ms Cunningham no longer has boards for sale. Boards can be purchased from Michael's Craft Store or Staples. Please get the large display boards not the minature one from the Dollar Store. Research papers are NOT required for third graders. Please have your child start practicing for their oral presentation of the project. They can write the main parts out on index cards and study them. They can look back at the index cards during their presentation this week but can not merely read right off of the cards. Please have them practice telling you what the project was about without reading right off of their board, because this will not be allowed this week. The rubric for the Oral Presentation and Display Board are located towards the back of your child's STEM Fair Journal. Please familiarize yourself and your child with both rubrics so that they are prepared for this week's expectations in Science. Please email me at
cheveonne.edwards@pgcps.org     if you have any questions about the STEM Fair Project.

Any child/student that doesn't submit a STEM Fair Project in the 3rd -6th grade, will automatically receive a grade of an E on their second quarter report card.

Please view the example of one complete STEM Fair Project below. This project includes all of the required parts except for the 3 pictures of the actual experiment. Please ensure that you have 3 pictures of your experiment that don't include your child's face.

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.

Homework 12/04/14

Tonight's Homework

First in Math- Skill Sets and Area and Perimeter -Rectangle and Square- US Customary


The STEM Fair Projects are due next Friday 12/12/14. Please ensure that your child has typed up all of the parts of the stem fair project from their STEM Fair Journal and placed them in the correct places on their boards. Page 57 of your child's STEM Fair Journal, shows where each part of the project is suppose to be placed on the board. Boards should have no more than 2 colors displayed. Boards can be purchased from Ms Cunningham, the school counselor, at the school store for $6.00. Research papers are NOT required for third graders. Please have your child start practicing for their oral presentation of the project. They can write the main parts out on index cards and study them. They can look back at the index cards during their presentation next week but can not merely read right off of the cards. Please have them practice telling you what the project was about without reading right off of their board, because this will not be allowed next week. Please email me at
cheveonne.edwards@pgcps.org     if you have any questions about the STEM Fair Project.

Any child/student that doesn't submit a STEM Fair Project in the 3rd -6th grade, will automatically receive a grade of an E on their second quarter report card.


Ms Edwards

Homework 12/3/14

Tonight's Homework

Math- First in Math- Skill Sets and Area and Perimeter (US Customary)

Health- Read pages 42-45 and answer questions 1-3 on page 45.

Parents,
STEM Fair Projects are due on 12/12/14. Please review the information that was shared on this blog in regards to this project.

Homework 12/01/12

Tonight's Homework is to work on First in Math- Skill Sets as well as Area and Perimeter -US Customary.

STEM Fair is due next week on 12/12/14.

Please ensure that your child has completed and is ready to submit their board by the above mentioned date.

Homework 11/24/14

Tonight's Homework

FIRST IN MATH- Skill Sets

First in Math - Just The Facts