Robert Gardner - Ace Your Space Science Project

COSMIC SCIENCE

Why doesn't the Moon fall to Earth? Why do the seasons change? The far-out space experiments in this book will help you make a model of a lunar eclipse, build a spectroscope, and more! Learn about the scientific method with these fun science experiments. Many experiments include ideas you can use for a science fair project.

About the Authors

ROBERT GARDNER is an award-winning author of science books for young people. He is a retired high school teacher of physics, chemistry, and physical science. MADELINE GOODSTEIN, PhD, is a retired professor of chemistry from Central Connecticut State University. She is the author of numerous science project books with Enslow Publishers, Inc.

When you hear the word science, do you think of a person in a white lab coat surrounded by beakers of bubbling liquids, specialized lab equipment, and computers? What exactly is science? Maybe you think science is only a subject you learn in school. Science is much more than that.

Science is the study of the things that are all around you, every day. No matter where you are or what you are doing, scientific principles are at work. You dont need special materials or equipment or even a white lab coat to be a scientist. Materials commonly found in your home, at school, or at a local store will allow you to become a scientist and pursue an area of interest. By making careful observations and asking questions about how things work, you can begin to design experiments to investigate a variety of questions. You can do science. You probably already have but just didnt know it!

Perhaps you are reading this book because you are looking for an idea for a science fair project for school and you are interested in space. Maybe you want to learn about Earth or the Moon or the other planets in our solar system. Perhaps you are fascinated by the Sun and other stars or the sky beyond. This book will provide an opportunity for you to learn all about space. It will provide opportunities to build sundials, spectroscopes, and even rockets. It will explore topics such as latitude, seasonal changes, eclipses, distances between stars, and the diameters of planets. If you are particularly interested in rockets, satellites, how humans study space, or life in space, something is sure to catch your interest in the last chapter. You will discover scientific principles that will help you expand your understanding of the sky above you and beyond!

All scientists look at the world and try to understand how things work. They make careful observations and conduct research about a question. Different areas of science use different approaches. Depending on the phenomenon being investigated, one method is likely to be more appropriate than another. Designing a new medication for heart disease, studying the spread of an invasive plant species such as purple loosestrife, and finding evidence about whether there was once water on Mars all require different methods.

Despite the differences, however, all scientists use a similar general approach to do experiments. It is called the scientific method. In most experiments, some or all of the following steps are used: making an observation, formulating a question, making a hypothesis (an answer to the question) and prediction (an if-then statement), designing and conducting an experiment, analyzing results and drawing conclusions, and accepting or rejecting the hypothesis. Scientists then share their findings with others by writing articles that are published in journals. Afterand only aftera hypothesis has repeatedly been supported by experiments can it be considered a theory.

You might be wondering how to get an experiment started. When you observe something in the world, you may become curious and think of a question. Your question can be answered by a well-designed investigation. Your question may also arise from an earlier experiment or from background reading. Once you have a question, you should make a hypothesis. Your hypothesis is a possible answer to the question (what you think will happen). Once you have a hypothesis, it is time to design an experiment.

In many cases, it is appropriate to do a controlled experiment. This means there are two groups treated exactly the same except for the single factor that you are testing. That factor is often called a variable. For example, if you want to investigate the effect of surface area on a falling object, two groups may be used. One group is called the control group, and the other is called the experimental group. The two groups should be treated exactly the same except for the variable being tested. Suppose you conduct an experiment to investigate whether surface area of a ball affects how quickly it will drop. You might use balls of different sizes (and therefore surface area). The balls should be of equal weight and should be dropped from the same height. The variable is surface area; it is the only difference between the two groups.

During the experiment, you will collect data. In this case, you might use a stopwatch to time how long it takes for each ball to reach the ground. You might also calculate the surface area of each ball. By comparing the data collected from the control group with the data collected from the experimental group, you can draw conclusions. Since the two groups were exactly alike except for surface area, a shorter falling time would allow you to conclude with confidence that it is the result of the one thing that was different: surface area.

Two other terms that are often used in scientific experiments are dependent and independent variables. The dependent variable here is falling time, because it is the one you measure as an outcome and it depends on the balls surface area. Surface area is the independent variable; it is the one that the experimenter intentionally changes. After the data is collected, it is analyzed to see if the hypothesis was supported or rejected. Often, the results of one experiment will lead you to a related question, or they may send you off in a different direction. Whatever the results, there is something to be learned from all scientific experiments.

Some of the experiments in this book may be appropriate for science fair projects. Experiments marked with a symbol () include a section called Science Fair Project Ideas. The ideas in this section will provide suggestions to help you develop your own original science fair project. However, judges at such fairs do not reward projects or experiments that are simply copied from a book. For example, a model of the solar system, which is commonly found at these fairs, would probably not impress judges unless it was done in a novel or creative way. On the other hand, a carefully performed experiment to find out whether surface area affects how quickly an object falls would probably receive careful consideration.

Science fair judges tend to reward creative thought and imagination. However, its difficult to be creative or imaginative unless you are really interested in your project. Take the time to choose a topic that really appeals to you. Consider, too, your own ability and the cost of materials. Dont pursue a project that you cant afford.

If you decide to use a project found in this book for a science fair, you will need to find ways to modify or extend it. That should not be difficult because you will probably find that as you do these projects new ideas for experiments will come to mind. These new experiments could make excellent science fair projects, particularly because they spring from your own mind and are interesting to you.