Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hey,
Well I've already started writing up the information for my project but I am not really sure what an abstract is supposed to be like. So I just need help finding out what an abstract is. Please help me and thank you.

Hi,

Science Buddies has a great write-up of what you should include in an abstract, here: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ract.shtml . Take a look and then see if you still have questions .

Hi,

Just a quick addition to what was provided above. For certain fairs (eg the California State Science Fair), they want you to use a specific format (Objective/Goal, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion), so be sure to check the rules for whatever fair or competition you apply to.

Also, to give you a rough idea of how much wording you should put in each section, here's what I generally use (note, this is not the best, just something you can use as a reference, I have no idea what is 'best;' it will depend also on how much you have to say):

Introduction: 1-3 sentences, depending on how much detail you want to go into
Hypothesis: 1 sentence, but a clear one (2 if really necessary)
Methods: 1-2 sentences (not that much detail necessary here but list your major methods)
Results: 1-3 sentences, depending on how much data you got back (this should kind of be intertwined with discussion)
Discussion: 2-4 sentences, the largest part of your abstract

Hope this helps,
Aaron Lin