Testable QuestionsVariables Science Fair Preparation Testable Question A

Testable Questions/Variables Science Fair Preparation

Testable Question A question that asks how one change (independent variable) has a measureable effect on something else (dependent variable).

Testable Question Does changing the height of the ramp affect the speed of a car going down the ramp?

Testable Question Does the amount of light exposure affect the rate at which a plant grows?

Testable Question Does the temperature of water affect how fast a sugar cube dissolves?

Common formats of testable questions. . . Does changing ______________ affect ________? How does changing ____________ affect ________? If I change ____________, will it affect _________?

How do we start?

Helpful questions. . . If you had to pick a documentary on Netflix what category would it fall under? What do you enjoy doing in your free time? What grabs your attention/what do you find interesting? What have you enjoyed studying in science?

What science topics do you find interesting? Think general and big picture For example: Psychology- how people think/why we think the way we do Chemistry- how materials interact/what things are made of Physics- mechanics of how things work Biology- the study of life/how living things work Geology- the study of the Earth/organic material

Example - I LOVE watching documentaries on food - I enjoy trying new foods/restaurants/cooking - Biology/chemistry/cultures and different foods interest me What should I research? FOOD SCIENCE

Why should we care about answering your question? Does your question lead to more questions? How could it help the real world? Why should you spend a month researching this topic? CONVINCE me this is important!

My Example On average a family of 4 spends $1500 on wasted food each year. Roughly ⅓ of the food produced in the world (1. 3 billion tons) is wasted each year. On average 21, 000 people die everyday due to hunger or hunger related causes.

Procedure Needs to include controls and variables Needs to be so specific that someone who knows nothing about science could run your experiment and get the same results

Testable questions have two variables. . . Independent Dependent

Variables Independent Variable: What the scientist is changing in the experiment

Variables Dependent Variable What the scientist is measuring in the experiment

Variables Controls All of the things that are kept the same in an experiment so that we can accurately conclude what is causing the change