Help with Science Fair Project

[pbeck]

Good afternoon!

 

My daughter did this years science fair experiment on how temprature effects borax crystal growth. Her hypothesis was that colder conditions would grow crystals faster than warmer condidtions. By the time she got to recroding her findings she seemed to have shifted and was recording the size of the crystals (which one was larger) rather than which one formed first (which she does have that information, just not in great detail).

 

I say all this to give just a little background.

 

So, she was chosen to move on to the regional science fair (got 3rd place at her school) and she was told that she can use the judges/teacher comments to make changes to her board (changes due by 2-14-13) She was somewhat confused at what to change. The judges commented that she focused her conclusion on the size/weight of crystals, not which grew first. Along with a few other comments on her conclusion not including "data".

 

I guess overall our question is how do you "correct" her project. Do you change the hypothesis to correspond with the results she recorded? And also, they have requested that she create an "Abstract" to be included at the regional fair. We know this is a sort of "summary" of the project, but are unsure what information should be included. Since it can only be 250 words, she is worried about not being able to provide enough detail to "catch" the judges attention, which is what her teacher said the purpose of the abstract is.

 

Can you please offer any suggestions on changes that can be made, or assistance in what to include in the abstract? We have all of her work that can be attached if needed.

 

Thank you for your assistance.