Science Fair Questions
Coming up with good science fair questions can seem overwhelming. There are so many different topics from which to choose. Botany, Zoology, Medicine, Computer Science, and many other fields of study are fair game for science fair and other academic events. When entering a science fair, you get to choose a question that you want to study.
How Can I Think of a Science Fair Question?
When considering different science fair questions, keep in mind that you should select a topic that can be answered with research. Try to come up with an original question rather than choosing from among the most common science fair topics. It is also important to select something that interests you. You are more likely to enjoy working on the project and do a better job if you are interested in the question that you are trying to answer.
What are Some Example Science Fair Questions?
Chemistry is a popular science fair question topic. Consider the following possible questions related to this field: Maybe you're interested in finding out what metals are the most malleable? To dive into this question you need to set up a testing environment where you can record how much something bends or can be shaped. You’ll need heat and instruments to shape the metals and something to take their temperature. You'll need to take measurements, record the temperature, and keep track of other relevant variables.
Have you wondered how much pressure or strain it takes to break stuff? Why not make it into a science fair question? You’ll need a number of materials to break and a device that measures pounds per square inch. Your science lab probably has this type of device. If not, you can devise different ways to break stuff. Whatever you do, make sure the testing is the same throughout. For instance, you can drop a bowling ball on things to check the strength of materials, but ensure that you drop the same ball from the same height for each thing in order to keep the results accurate.
Do plants always grow towards sunlight? To answer this question, you can get different types of plants and keep a daily record of their growth. You will have to measure height and angle to the sun. Since most science fair questions have a testing phase of one or two months, you should have plenty of time to collect enough data to make a conclusion.
This question is more advanced, but perhaps you can answer “Can engines run on more than just gasoline? Solicit the help of something knowledge in engine mechanics in you can. Then, just test out different liquids to see if they will run or you can even thin out the liquids with a little gasoline to see if liquid diluted with a small amount of gasoline works.
What Do I Do Now?
After all the experimenting and fact-finding missions, the final step is to compete. You can select a science fair at your school level to county fairs and state-sanctioned science fairs. If you are interested in competing in upper division science fairs, it's a good idea to start small and get some practice with easier questions and experiments before heading to the bigger leagues of county and state fairs which require more detailed experiments and more sophisticated questions and research techniques.