Help with science project
Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:41 am
Hello,
My ten year old daughter has to do a science project using the Scientific Method. She chose the one on your website “ What is the fastest way to cool a soda”, after taking the wizard quiz.
She has done a good job , and made a good hypothesis based on her research and has proven it true based on the experiment your website provided. We all had fun and helped when she needed it. She understands what has happened with heat transfer , but I do not want to elaborate and give away information since other kids may read this before doing the experiment. My husband has gone over it with her as well. Her written problem and hypothesis though seem to simplistic , but it is her first time doing one. She has written for her question or problem as - What is the fastest way to cool a soda ?... I am thinking she needs to elaborate a little more with something like , “ What cooling method will bring a room temperature soda down to a nice cold temperature the fastest ? Basing this on the introduction the experiment details gave on the website.
On her hypothesis she has just written - “ I think the Ice-Water bath method will cool the soda down the fastest. “
I referred to the If __ then __ statement on writing a hypothesis. Should it be more like this ? – If a room temperature soda is to cool off in the fastest amount of time, then the ice water bath will be the fastest method. Also since the experiment involved the refrigerator , freezer ,ice- bath, and ice- water bath for testing , does she need to state those in the Problem or Hypothesis ? She has her controlled variables listed as the 12 cans of room temperature Coke. , and the time in each cooling device will be the same . Independent Variable is the different methods of cooling – Refrigerator, ice-bath, ice water bath and freezer. The dependent variable is the temperature of the coke that is being measured . Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I would also like to know with regards to the experiment , because we did it twice. When taking the temperature of the sodas at room temperature some were at 73.0 F and 72.9 F , 72.8 F respectively among the twelve cans used in each experiment. Should she list all twelve temperatures or take an average of those as well ? Thank you for entertaining my questions. It has been a long time since my science project days , and this 50 yr old mama is trying to guide as best as I know how. I am a perfectionist to a fault , so I am trying not to be to hard on her with this and ruin the experience, but I do feel she needs to pay attention to detail with regards to how she states things. Thank You
Sincerely,
Kristi Stimson
My ten year old daughter has to do a science project using the Scientific Method. She chose the one on your website “ What is the fastest way to cool a soda”, after taking the wizard quiz.
She has done a good job , and made a good hypothesis based on her research and has proven it true based on the experiment your website provided. We all had fun and helped when she needed it. She understands what has happened with heat transfer , but I do not want to elaborate and give away information since other kids may read this before doing the experiment. My husband has gone over it with her as well. Her written problem and hypothesis though seem to simplistic , but it is her first time doing one. She has written for her question or problem as - What is the fastest way to cool a soda ?... I am thinking she needs to elaborate a little more with something like , “ What cooling method will bring a room temperature soda down to a nice cold temperature the fastest ? Basing this on the introduction the experiment details gave on the website.
On her hypothesis she has just written - “ I think the Ice-Water bath method will cool the soda down the fastest. “
I referred to the If __ then __ statement on writing a hypothesis. Should it be more like this ? – If a room temperature soda is to cool off in the fastest amount of time, then the ice water bath will be the fastest method. Also since the experiment involved the refrigerator , freezer ,ice- bath, and ice- water bath for testing , does she need to state those in the Problem or Hypothesis ? She has her controlled variables listed as the 12 cans of room temperature Coke. , and the time in each cooling device will be the same . Independent Variable is the different methods of cooling – Refrigerator, ice-bath, ice water bath and freezer. The dependent variable is the temperature of the coke that is being measured . Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I would also like to know with regards to the experiment , because we did it twice. When taking the temperature of the sodas at room temperature some were at 73.0 F and 72.9 F , 72.8 F respectively among the twelve cans used in each experiment. Should she list all twelve temperatures or take an average of those as well ? Thank you for entertaining my questions. It has been a long time since my science project days , and this 50 yr old mama is trying to guide as best as I know how. I am a perfectionist to a fault , so I am trying not to be to hard on her with this and ruin the experience, but I do feel she needs to pay attention to detail with regards to how she states things. Thank You
Sincerely,
Kristi Stimson