The goal of an experimental investigation is to determine how changes in an independent variable affects another variable, which is called the dependent variable.
Remember: When designing an Experimental Investigation it is important that you only have one independent variable and one dependent variable. All other variables must be controlled, meaning they must stay the same.
FYI: Controlled variables are not the same as a Control for your Investigation. The following will explain this.
Start Experiment Design:
I want you to understand some of the thought processes for designing an experiment that meets Science Fair Project requirements.
1. You need to have a purpose for your investigation. At this point you may not know exactly what you want to do but let’s assume you want to work with plants. I’d search the web and find different project ideas about plants.
You will find ideas on this page?
Let’s assume you decide to investigate how light effects plant growth. At this point you need to write a basic purpose. I point out that this is might only be a BASIC Purpose, meaning you may need to improve it.
Basic Purpose of Investigation: How light effects plant growth.
I’ll come back to the purpose, but next you need to write your science fair question.
2. The question for an experimental investigation must identify both the independent variable and the dependent variable. Your basic purpose identifies light as the independent variable and plant growth as the dependent variable.
Don’t Forget: The independent variable and the dependent variable for an experimental investigation must be measurable.
Measuring the Independent Variable
How does one measure light?
Light is very general. You need to be more specific about the independent variable. You will get the point after reading the following questions.
Do you want to measure how different types of light sources, such as sunlight, artificial light, or colored light effects plant growth? This is a good idea for a science project.
Do you want to measure how changes in the amount of one type of light effects plants growth?
This is another good idea for a science project.See for more ideas for how light affects plant growth.
You may have other ideas about the light you want to use, but for this article, I will give examples for measuring the amount of one type of light.
The Independent Variable is the amount of light the plant received.
Ideas for how to change the amount of light.
1. Use sunlight which changes during the day as well as from one day to the next.
You can also use direct and indirect sunlight.
2. If you use artificial light you can decide when and for how long the plant will receive this light. You also have the option to control the wattage of light used–its color–type (fluorescent, UV, incandescent). Just use the same type of light for each test plant–see controlled var
iables below.
