Science Event
Types of Projects
Types of Science Projects
The Scientific Method
There are two types of science projects: Hypothesis-Driven and Descriptive. Here is the difference between the two…
Hypothesis-Driven Project: This type of project asks a question about something that interests you based on what you see and learn through research. When scientists do this type of project, they develop a hypothesis, which is a guess based on what they think will happen. Next, scientists gather materials, perform experiments, and write down their results. Scientists use their results, which are also called data, to test and judge their hypothesis. Finally, scientists decide whether their guess or hypothesis was right or wrong. They base their opinion on what their observations tell them. All of these steps are known as the Scientific Method. To learn more about the Scientific Method, check out this fun YouTube video; The Scientific Method Rap.
Don’t worry if things don’t turn out exactly as you thought. You can still gain valuable information. Some important science has been discovered this way!
Examples of this type of project are: does mold grow better on a wet piece of bread or a dry piece of bread? How does the speed of a toy truck affect the size of the crash it makes?
Descriptive Project: This type of project describes and explains an interesting natural event, for example, the relationship between electricity and magnets, how an airplane flies, how the blood system works, or how a fossil was discovered and how its age and species were determined. A descriptive project should be more than a display of a collection or model; it needs to answer the question of how something works, how something was discovered, or why something happens.
Hypothesis-Driven Project: This type of project asks a question about something that interests you based on what you see and learn through research. When scientists do this type of project, they develop a hypothesis, which is a guess based on what they think will happen. Next, scientists gather materials, perform experiments, and write down their results. Scientists use their results, which are also called data, to test and judge their hypothesis. Finally, scientists decide whether their guess or hypothesis was right or wrong. They base their opinion on what their observations tell them. All of these steps are known as the Scientific Method. To learn more about the Scientific Method, check out this fun YouTube video; The Scientific Method Rap.
Don’t worry if things don’t turn out exactly as you thought. You can still gain valuable information. Some important science has been discovered this way!
Examples of this type of project are: does mold grow better on a wet piece of bread or a dry piece of bread? How does the speed of a toy truck affect the size of the crash it makes?
Descriptive Project: This type of project describes and explains an interesting natural event, for example, the relationship between electricity and magnets, how an airplane flies, how the blood system works, or how a fossil was discovered and how its age and species were determined. A descriptive project should be more than a display of a collection or model; it needs to answer the question of how something works, how something was discovered, or why something happens.