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 crystal project. Even though your project may not be about crystals, 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 crystals.

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

   If your topic is crystals, find out as much as possible about them:

   1. Check out crystals on different Web sites.
   2. Search books for information on crystals, such as Janice VanCleave’s Rocks and Minerals (New York: Wiley, 1996).
   3. As you research, write down inquiring questions, such as these:
      • What are crystals?
      • How does the evaporation rate affect the way in which crystals grow?
      • How does the concentration of a solute affect crystal growth?

      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 a solute affect crystal growth?

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 How do crystals grow? can be answered by finding information in a science book or dictionary. It cannot be answered by experimenting. But How do the growth rates of sugar and salt crystals compare? can be determined experimentally with measurable results.

Do limit your question. The question What changes occur in crystal growth? is not specific enough. What kind of crystals? What kind of changes? But How does solution concentration affect the growth rate of sucrose crystals? is about one type of crystal—sucrose—and is measurable.

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 Crystals grow fast. (You cannot test all crystals. What are the conditions for this growth rate?)
   • A non-measurable hypothesis might be A large amount of solution makes sugar crystals grow faster. (Does large amount mean concentration or volume? You need something specific to measure.)
   • A possible testable and measurable hypothesis might be If the concentration of a sucrose increases, then the growth rate of sucrose crystals will increase, based on the fact that crystals are like stacks of molecules stuck together, so if there are more molecules they should stick faster.
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:

Different concentrations of sucrose solutions can be used to grow sucrose crystals. The rate of growth of crystals in each solution will be determined. A specific size crystal will be predetermined and the time for at least one crystal in each solution to reach this size will be measured.

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 a ruler, scale, stopwatch, or other instrument or scale)? Yes, the time of crystal formation.
2. Does it have an independent variable (variable being changed by the experimenter)? Yes, the concentration of the sucrose solution.
3. Does it have a dependent variable (variable being observed that changes in response to the independent variable)? Yes, time for crystal formation.
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 sucrose solutions. For example, if there are five different sucrose concentrations, use the third concentration as a standard, and the rate of crystal growth in the other concentrations can be compared to the rate of the crystal growth in 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 temperature and light in the room, containers the crystals are grown in, etc.

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. For the sucrose crystal example, instead of making each solution four times, you could make four times as much of each concentration and pour it into four separate containers.

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.