Science Fair Preparation and Forms

Forms & Documents | Information | What's New? | Abstract Info


Important Information for Regional Science and
Engineering Fair Participants

Forms- All SSEF Forms.

  1. Display and Safety Checklist- Region Science and Engineering Fair Participants must comply with the State Display and Safety Regulations .
  2. Abstract- Alachua Region Science and Engineering Fair Participants must use the SSEF Abstract form. Teams, please use this form. This must be displayed in the left hand corner on the board or in a non glass frame in an upright position.
  3. Photos- Credit lines are required for photos that appear on display board. If subject is person other than participant, human subject forms( Form #4) must be completed for that subject. See # 8 on page 14 of the ISEF Rules: Human Subjects.
  4. Forms- All ISEF Forms.
  5. Bibliography- APA Style recommended. Five references required.
  6. MSDS forms- Material Safety Data Sheets 


Important Changes in 2006-07 Science and Engineering Fair

 There have been some major changes so please look at the rules and regulations book instructions carefully. Please refer to page 4 of the ISEF Rules and Regulations Booklet: "Changes and Modification for 2007-2008".

Forms & Documents


ISEF Rules and Regulations Booklet --http://sciserv.org/isef/document/Rule2008.pdf 
If you're not sure what forms you need, see the Rules Wizard.

Student Handbook  http://sciserv.org/isef/document/hbk2007.pdf

Forms  http://sciserv.org/isef/document/form2007.pdf

Improperly completed forms could result in failure to qualify for the science fair competition.

Abstract Form

All about Abstracts

Writing an Abstract

 Student abstracts for RSEF and SSEF must be on the approved SSEF Abstract form that is attached. The official abstract with SRC approval must appear on the display board or in a vertical position on the project. Pg. 6 of rule book. Download the official SSEF Abstract form.

Each student who completes a science fair project must write an abstract to be displayed with the project. An abstract gives the essence of the project in a brief but complete form — it should not exceed 250 words. Judges and the public should have a fairly accurate idea of the project after reading the abstract.

The abstract must focus on the current year"s research and give only minimal reference to previous work. Details and discussions should not be included in the abstract, but may be put in the longer, written research paper (if required), or given on the project exhibit board.
An abstract must include the following:
Purpose of the Experiment

  • An introductory statement of the reason for investigating the topic of the project.
  • A statement of the problem or hypothesis being studied.

Procedures Used

  • A summarization of the key points and an overview of how the investigation was conducted.

  • An abstract does not give details about the materials used unless it greatly influenced the procedure or had to be developed to do the investigation.

  • An abstract should only include procedures done by the student. Work done by a mentor (such as surgical procedures) or work done prior to student involvement must not be included.

Observation/Data/Results

  • This section should provide key results that lead directly to the conclusions you have drawn.

  • It should not give too many details about the results nor include tables or graphs.

Conclusions

  • Conclusions from the investigation should be described briefly.

  • The summary paragraph should reflect on the process and possibly state some applications and extensions of the investigation.

An abstract does not include a bibliography unless specifically required by your local fair. The Intel ISEF requires the bibliography as part of the research plan to be provided on Form 1A.

 

Sample Abstract
Effects of Marine Engine Exhaust Water on Algae

Jones, Mary E.
Hometown High School, Hometown, PA

( Purpose of experiment) This project in its present form is the result of bioassay experimentation on the effects of two-cycle marine engine exhaust water on certain green algae. The initial idea was to determine the toxicity of outboard engine lubricant. ( Conclusions) Some success with lubricants eventually led to the formulation of "synthetic" exhaust water which, in turn, led to the use of actual two-cycle engine exhaust water as the test substance.

( Procedures used)Toxicity was determined by means of the standard bottle or "batch" bioassay technique. Scenedesmus quadricauda and Ankistrodesmus sp. were used as the test organisms. Toxicity was measured in terms of a decrease in the maximum standing crop. (Observation/Data/Results) The effective concentration - 50% (EC 50) for Scenedesmus quadricauda was found to be 3.75% exhaust water; for Ankistrodesmus sp. 3.1% exhaust water using the bottle technique.

(Procedures Used) Anomalies in growth curves raised the suspicion that evaporation was affecting the results; therefore, a flow-through system was improvised utilizing the characteristics of a device called a Biomonitor. ( Observation/Data/Results)Use of the Biomonitor lessened the influence of evaporation, and the EC 50 was found to be 1.4% exhaust water using Ankistrodesmus sp. as the test organism. Mixed populations of various algae gave an EC 50 of 1.28% exhaust water.

(Conclusions)The contributions of this project are twofold. First, the toxicity of two-cycle marine engine exhaust was found to be considerably greater than reported in the literature (1.4% vs. 4.2%). Secondly, the benefits of a flow-through bioassay technique utilizing the Biomonitor was demonstrated.