To Be In 7th Grade Again

As a project this semester we were given the task of designing a science fair project as a seventh grader.  We were to follow the rubric given to Mrs. Foster-Faith’s middle school students.  Mrs. Foster-Faith asked us to complete this project as if we were middle school students and then present the project at the school-wide science fair.  

    My project was called What Makes Ice Melt Faster?  I started by remembering the steps of the scientific method: identify the problem, formulate a question, construct a hypothesis, gather information, test your hypothesis, analyze and draw a conclusion, and communicate the results.  I started with the problem of wanting to know is there was any substance that could melt ice.  Then, I came up with the question what makes ice melt faster?  Based off my question I constructed the hypothesis of if you add 1 tablespoon of salt to water than the ice cubes will melt faster.  After the hypothesis was made I did an experiment using three cups of water, each marked with the substance that was added to it.  The cups were labeled water, sugar, salt.  I then added three ice cubes to each cup along with a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of sugar to the marked cups.  I then started a timer and waited for the ice to melt.  I repeated the experiment four times in total and recorded the data for each experiment.  I also documented the experiment by taking picture every ten minutes.  When my last experiment was done, I think averaged the times together to get the final totals.  The results the experiments were as follows: cup with water had an average of 84.34 minutes, cup with sugar had an average of 92.45 minutes, and cup with salt had an average of 78.43 minutes.  Based off the results of the experiments I wrote up my conclusion.  My conclusion is that my hypothesis was proven correct.  By adding 1 tablespoon of salt to water the ice cubes in that cup melted faster.  When you look at the result table you see that the cup with salt melted on an average of 5 minutes and 51 seconds faster than the control which was the water and 14 minutes and 2 seconds faster than the cup with sugar in it.  When putting my tri-folded board together I kept in mind organization and neatness.  On my board I displayed my problem, question, hypothesis, material list, process, results, conclusion, and pictures.  The final step of the scientific method is to communicate the results, which we did by being a part of the school-wide science fair.  

I followed Mrs. Foster-Faith’s rubric when designing my project.  The project was graded on hypothesis, materials, procedure/experimental design, results using tables/graphs, conclusion, visuals, organization/neatness, mechanics, originality, and research.  After seeing my rubric grades I realized that I designed my science fair project to a high standard.  I did however leave a whole part out.  That part was the research aspect of the scientific method.  I think this task was an enlightening one.  By seeing this project in a student's eyes you understand the anxiety and the doubt that a student may go through when getting this project.