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 dye project. Even though your project may not be about dyes, 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.

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 dyes.

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

   If your topic is dyes, find out as much as possible about the process of dyeing materials:

   1. Check out dyes on different Web sites.
   2. Search books for information on dyes.
   3. As you research, write down inquiring questions, such as these:
      • What is the difference between natural and synthetic dyes?
      • How does a mordant affect colorfastness?
      • How does the concentration of dyes affect their colorfastness?

      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 How does the concentration of the colorfastness of beet dye affect its colorfastness?Determine whether this can be your science fair question by asking yourself these questions:

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 natural dye? can be answered by finding the definition of the term in a science book. It cannot be answered by experimenting. But How does the colorfastness of natural dyes compare to that of synthetic dyes? can be answered experimentally by measuring the time of fading of the two types of dyes.

Do limit your question. The question How does the concentration of the colorfastness of dyes affect their colorfastness? is not specific enough. You would have to test all dyes. How does colorfastness affect colorfastness? would require only that you test dye made from beets and design a measuring scale for colorfastness.

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 Natural dyes are not colorfast. (You cannot test all natural dyes.)
   • A non-measurable hypothesis might be A large amount of dye is better than a small amount. (Does large mean a greater concentration or just a larger container of dye? What is meant by better? You cannot test or measure whether something is “better.” You must have something specific to compare and something specific to measure.)
   • A possible testable and measurable hypothesis might be If the concentration of beet dye is increased, then its colorfastness will increase, based on the fact that as the concentration increases, there will be more color pigments in the dye, so it should take longer for them to fade.
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:

An experiment using different concentrations of beet dye. White pieces of fabric will be stained with the dye and allowed to dry. The fabric pieces will be placed side by side in an area that receives direct sunlight. After a specific length of time, the degree of fading will be measured. A dye fading scale will be designed, such as different shades of a specific color with number values. Keep this scale out of the sunlight so the fabric pieces on the scale do not fade. If a # 4 color changes to a #2 color, then there was a 2-degree color change.

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 a dye fading scale)? Yes, the degree of fading can be measured using the dye fading scale.
2. Does it have an independent variable (variable being changed by the experimenter)? Yes, the concentration of the dye.
3. Does it have a dependent variable (variable being observed that changes in response to the independent variable)? Yes, the amount of fading in a specific time period.
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 one of the fabric pieces. For example, if there are five different dye concentrations, use the third concentration as a standard and the fading of fabrics dyed in the other concentrations can be compared to that of the fabric dyed with the control (third concentration).
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 type of fabric used and the time the fabric pieces remain in the sunlight.

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 your data, then start your project by designing the experiment step by step. Do perform the experiment four or more times. In the beet dye example, this would be done by dyeing four or more pieces of cloth with each dye concentration. Record the results of each test and average the results.

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.