Research question help

Ask questions about projects relating to: biology, biochemistry, genomics, microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology/toxicology, zoology, human behavior, archeology, anthropology, political science, sociology, geology, environmental science, oceanography, seismology, weather, or atmosphere.

Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators

Locked
hitchhiker123
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:19 am
Occupation: student: 8th grade
Project Question: How does the angle of the bend affect the length the coil stretches?
Project Due Date: January 18, 2011
Project Status: I am conducting my research

Research question help

Post by hitchhiker123 »

I need help writing a research question. My project is about testing angle bends of a human knee on muscle strain, but I'm testing this with a model, and my testing question is "How does the angle of the bend affect the distance a coil (on the model)?". I understand what parts of the testing question I need to research, but I feel I also need to incorporate the aspects of how it works in the human body. Can I combine a new research question with my testing question, or should I just go with the testing question? FYI: If I need to be more clear, say so
deleted-71603
Former Expert
Posts: 533
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:59 pm

Re: Research question help

Post by deleted-71603 »

Hi hitchhiker. Great project!

I'm going to ask a few questions of you just to ensure you are setting up your project for success.

For your overall science fair question, I would stick with the research question: How does angle of a human knee affect muscle strain? That way, it is more apparent in your question the relevancy of your research. In other words, people may not understand why distance of a coil matters, but they will understand the importance of measuring muscle strain caused by knee movement and see the real world application.

Your testing question is fine. I assume this is how you are going to model the knee bending and using the coil to measure muscle strain? You say you are going to measure distance of a coil. Can you elaborate on this, as I'm not sure, exactly, what you are measuring. I assume you are using this to measure muscle strain. Do you have sources that can help you determine how muscle strain equates to distance of the coil? How did you determine what coil you are going to use, as coils come with different levels of elasticity. The more elasticity it has, the easier it will be to move. This will affect your results.

I've thrown a lot of questions in your direction, but don't interpret that as you are doing something wrong. I just want to ensure you set up your test properly. Please write back with questions or if you want to walk through how you are going to set up your experiment, and we can go from there.

Good luck!
Deana
Deana
Locked

Return to “Grades 6-8: Life, Earth, and Social Sciences”