Before you start your project, acknowledge that you are preparing an entry to a contest. Contests, whether they are associated with sports or academics, have rules. Football players must follow the rules to score. Science fair contestants must also follow the rules if they intend to receive a high score. The basic rule for the science fair contest is that the entry must have a problem that can be solved experimentally with measurable results. There are other science fair project rules that must be followed, and these may vary from one local fair to another. Your teacher is the source for a list of these rules for your fair.

Read the following information carefully. It contains a basic outline for a moon project. Even though your project may not be about the moon, the example can assist you in designing a project about any topic.

Getting Started
In designing a science fair project, you need to start with research. Then take a "bird’s-eye view" of the whole project before definitely deciding on the project question.

I. Research

1. "Tinkering" Research or "I Don’t Know What Topic to Choose" Research

   Begin your research by reading different printed science materials, performing exploratory investigations, asking questions of knowledgeable people, and checking out information on the Web. From your research information, decide on a topic that you find interesting, such as the moon.

2. Project Research or "I Have a Topic; Now What Kind of Problem Can I Solve?"

   If your topic is the moon, find out as much as possible about this celestial body:

   1. Check out the moon on different Web sites.
   2. Search books for moon information, such as Janice VanCleave’s Solar System (New York: Wiley, 2000).
   3. As you research, write down inquiring questions, such as these:
      • What are the lunar phases?
      • What is the difference between a lunar month and a sidereal month?
      • Do the surface features of the moon change position from day to day?

      Select one of the inquiry questions that most interests you and proceed to the next step.

II. Project Question

Assume the inquiry question selected is Do the surface features of the moon change position from day to day?

Determine whether this can be your science fair question by asking yourself these questions:

1. Is it about animals? No, it is not. (If the answer had been yes, you would need special permission from your teacher to work with animals.)
2. Does it compare products? No, it does not. (If the answer had been yes, you would need to check with your teacher to make sure product comparison is an acceptable project. While some local fairs encourage product evaluation, others do not. Often, regional fairs have a special section for product comparisons.)
3. Can you state a hypothesis for the question? (A hypothesis is a guess about the answer to the question, but the guess must be based on facts. It must be something that is testable with measurable results.) Yes, a hypothesis can be stated for the inquiry question. (If the answer is No, I cannot state a hypothesis for the question, then reword the question or select another one.)

Sample Project Questions
Do choose a question that can be answered experimentally with measurable results. The question What is the difference between a lunar month and a sidereal month? can be answered by finding information about time based on the moon in a science book or dictionary. It cannot be answered by experimenting. But How do lunar rotation and revolution rate compare? is a good question because it can be determined experimentally by observing and measuring any angular change in the position of one or more lunar surface features during a sidereal month (time of one revolution) of about 27 days.

Do limit your question. The question What changes occur on the moon’s surface during a lunar month? is not specific enough. What kind of changes? Creation of new craters? But What changes, if any, are there in the position of the lunar surface feature Copernicus during a lunar month? would require that only the position of one surface feature be determined.

III. Hypothesis (A testable and measurable guess as to the answer of the project question, based on facts.)

1. Is your hypothesis testable and measurable?
   • A non-testable hypothesis might be Lunar surface features never change. (Never? You have to have a time limit for testing. Also, the word change doesn’t indicate what is to be tested.)
   • A non-measurable hypothesis might be There are big changes in the appearance of the moon during each month. (What are the changes? Big in what way—diameter or something else? You need something specific to compare and something specific to measure.)
   • A possible testable and measurable hypothesis might be If the moon’s rotation and revolution time are equal, then there will be no change in the position of Copernicus, based on the fact that if the rotation and revolution rate of a moon are equal, the same side of the moon faces the planet it orbits.
2. Can you think of a way to test your hypothesis experimentally with measurable results? If the answer is no, then you need to reword your hypothesis or select another one.

IV. Project Experiment (Experiment designed to test a hypothesis.)

The project experiment at this stage needs to be only a basic design in your mind, not a step-by-step procedure. Think about the experiment and ask yourself the following questions. If the answer to any of these questions is no, you need to redesign the experiment.

A possible experiment might be the following:

To observe the location of the lunar surface feature Copernicus as often as possible to determine whether there is any angular change in its position from time to time during a lunar month.

Determine whether this can be your science fair experiment by asking yourself these questions:

1. Does it have measurable results (results that can be measured with an instrument like a ruler, scale, stopwatch, or other type of scale (such as angular measurements using your hands as the measuring tool)? Yes, the angular measurement of Copernicus’ position can be made in order to determine whether its position changes during a lunar month.
2. Does it have an independent variable (variable being changed by the experimenter)? Yes, the time of observations—a lunar month.
3. Does it have a dependent variable (variable being observed that changes in response to the independent variable)? Yes, the position of Copernicus.
4. Does it have a control (a test in which the independent variable is kept constant in order to measure changes in the dependent variable, or a reference decided on by the experimenter as a standard for comparison)? Yes, the control could be the apparent flat, circular surface of the moon facing Earth. The location of Copernicus could be compared to the rim and compass coordinates of this circle.
5. Does it have controlled variables (all the variables that will be the same in each experiment—not to be confused with the control)? Yes, controlled variables are such things as the time of day each observation is made and the type of measuring tool used to make the angular measurements.

V. Data

Data is the only way that a judge has to determine whether or not you did an experiment. Judges like to see tables, charts, or graphs of the measured results. Any project that has data generally gets an automatic second look by judges. If there is no data, judges start to look for the reason why, and they usually conclude that the student doesn’t understand what an experiment is or how to do one.

VI. The Experiment

Once you have decided on your project question, your hypothesis, and basically how you are going to test your hypothesis experimentally and record data, then start your project by designing the experiment step by step. Do perform the experiment four or more times. Since time is a factor in this example investigation, you may wish to make four observations as close together as possible each day. Record all the results, dating and recording the time of each.

For information on how to develop an idea into a science fair project, record data, and write the conclusion, reports, and abstracts, as well as display the project, see these books:

Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects.
Janice VanCleave. Wiley, 1997.

Guide to More of the Best Science Fair Projects.
Janice VanCleave. Wiley, 2000.