Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello! I am doing a science fair project where I am testing to see the difference in bacteria growth on french fries from different fast food/sit down restaurants.

I placed 10 fries from each restaurant in an air tight jar in a dark room. Every week I take a photo to show the development.

However, I don't know if it is truly a controlled experiment, meaning there are so many factors that could have come to play...like feces on the fries or the amount of oil.

Please let me know your thoughts and if I should change anything about it.

And, I have no idea what I should call it, I would love something catchy and unforgettable.

Thanks,
Sciencegirl4

Moderator: I combined your two posts to the same topic so the experts who help you can follow your questions more easily. Please keep your posts on this project together.

Hey sciencegirl4,

That sounds like a great science fair project! The experiment sounds very controlled, as long as your independent variable is restaurant of fries. Don't worry about the amount of oil or feces differing because those are sub-variables that are covered by your overall variable. On the topic of the name of your experiment, I'm not the best with catchy titles, but you could always use a scientific name such as The Effect of [IV] on [DV].