Scenario
|
Everything you do
from sleeping at night to getting to school in the morning is connected to
energy in one form or another. Just to read this web site, you need
several types of energy:
 | chemical, including the biochemical energy that
fuels your body |
| electrical |
| heat (thermal) |
| light (radiant) |
Because energy is so important, your teacher has asked you to create a Science Fair
Experiment that explains AND demonstrates a fundamental law about energy
for your school's upcoming Science Fair. As you design and conduct
your experiment, you will need to think about the ways energy plays an
essential role in every aspect of daily life.
|
Essential
Question: How will the results of my energy experiment help me
to understand the world?
|
|
Task
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Your task begins by wondering about all of the amazing things happening
around you.
|
Why does the light turn on when you push a switch?
|
|
Why do you sometimes receive a shock when you are walking across
carpet in your socks?
|
|
How does energy travel from the batteries to power your GameBoy
Advanced?
|
| How do magnets pick up metal objects? |
|
 |
|
After you begin to ask questions, you gather research and refine
your question. Then, you develop a hypothesis, or educated
guess, about why something happens.
|
|
Your next step is to create
an experiment which tests your hypothesis. You collect and
record data from your experiment. You analyze the data to see if
your hypothesis is correct. Then, you do additional research to
see if you can understand the scientific principles underlying your
experiment.
|
|
Finally, you present the results of your research
and experiment. This process is called the scientific method and
it is how scientists throughout history have been able to explain the
amazing universe around us!
|
|
Product
|
Your product must be an original science fair experiment that begins with
a question you have about energy. Your experiment must be designed
to answer your question. Your final product must contain:
| Your Question |
| Your Hypothesis |
| Data you collected from your experiment organized into a chart or
graph |
| A description of the procedures and materials you used in your
experiment |
| A conclusion that explains the results of your experiment AND
includes a description of what you learned about energy as a result of
your use of the scientific method |
| A bibliography of all resources you used for background information |
ALL of the above should be neatly displayed on a poster board or in a documentary video that you
will use when you present your experiment to your classmates. Last,
but not least, you must include:
| Your completed experiment |
|
Assessments
|
Assessment for Note-taking
Assessment for Science Fair Experiment - html;
Word
Assessment for Display Poster
Science Fair Judging Rubric - html;
Word
|
Question
|
Essential
Question: How will the results of my energy experiment help me
to understand the world?
|
 |
Subsidiary questions
| What is energy?
| What are the different forms of energy?
| What are the different types of energy?
| What are the different energy sources?
| Are some energy sources better than
others?
| How is energy stored?
| How is energy transformed (changed), but never reduced, in your
experiment?
| How is my experiment related to energy?
| How does my experiment relate to the real
world?
| What is the scientific method and how
does it work?
| What happens if my hypothesis proves to
be false? Am I a total failure as a scientist?
| | | | | | | | | | |
|
Gather and Sort
|
Gather information about from a variety
of sources.
Sort your research findings using
this graphic organizer. Be sure to avoid plagiarism and keep track of your resources for a bibliography.
|
Organize
|
Analyze your
research and the data you collected from your experiment.
Synthesize your
findings by answering the following questions:
| What new insights have emerged about the
importance of energy to our lives?
| Which facts in your experiment and in
your research were critical to your conclusion?
| How did your use of the scientific method
help you develop new knowledge?
| | |
Then,
| Write a conclusion that explains the results of your experiment AND
includes a description of what you learned about energy as a result of
your use of the scientific method.
| Prepare your science fair experiment for
display!
| |
Evaluate the effectiveness of your research for the task.
| Have you gathered sufficient
facts/results to be able to write your conclusion?
| Is your research reflected in
your experiment AND in the display poster?
| |
|
Conclusion
|
| Reflection and/or Extension Activities: How does researching
and performing a science experiment help you better understand that energy
affects every aspect of our lives? |
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[ Home ] [ Teacher Notes ] [ Resources ]
Last update: July, 2003
Created by Sharon Grimes
BCPS Research Module,
Copyright 2001, Baltimore County Public Schools,
MD, all rights reserved. This Research Module may be used for educational,
non-profit school use only. All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are
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