Science Fair Week

Parents and Students,

This week is science fair week at our school. The assignment for the students is for them to come up with their own experiment that will be showcased in the science fair. Here are some examples of some experiments that were presented in the past. Hope you have fun this week.

Mrs. Phillips

Real Life Science Project

Fresh Bread

When you go to the grocery store, what are some of the factors that make you choose the products that you buy? Could it be the flavor, the price, or the length of shelf life? This project focuses on the shelf life of an essential found in every kitchen.....bread.

I began the experiment buying four different brands of bread. I bought :

• Nature's Own White Wheat Bread
  
  
  
• Nature's Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread




• Mary Jane's Old Fashioned White Bread
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Wonder Whole Grain Wheat Bread

I wanted a different variety of popular brands.

Important Variables

There were four variables that were addressed in this experiment.

1. Expiration Date- the dates had to be the same: April 13
   
   


2. Storage- I wanted the storage to be common-the kitchen counter
   
   
3. Simulation of Use- I opened each bag once a day to expose the bread to air



4. Temperature- temperature of the kitchen stayed at 72-76 Fahrenheit
   
   

The experiment began on March 28, 2008.


I charted each day's progress. I charted the same characteristics for each bread. The softness was charted on a scale from 1 to 5. 1 being the softest and 5 being the hardest. The presence of mold would be noted with an (M).

• Softness or Hardness
  


• Presence of Mold

Link to CHARTING THE PROGRESS

RESULTS
The Wonder Whole Grain Wheat Bread began and ended with a (1) on the scale of softness. However, this bread developed mold on the bottom of the loaf on April 23. The Natures White Wheat Bread began with a (2) on the scale, but changed to a (3) on the scale. This bread did not develop mold. The Natures Pride 100% Whole Wheat Bread began and ended with a (1) on softness scale. However, this bread developed mold the quickest. Mold was discovered on the bottom of the loaf on April 17, only four days after the expiration date. The Mary Jane Old Fashioned White Bread began on with a (2) on the softness scale but ended with a (4), which was the largest change on the scale. Also, this bread did not develop mold.

Pictures of Mold

Limitations
There wer two differnt limitations that I recognized. The first is the packaging of the breads. The whole wheat breads had clear packaging on the bottom of the loaves, where the mold began first. The white breads had colored packaging on bottom of the loaves. The white breads did not have mold. The packaging may have had an affect of the growth of mold. Also, I wasn't able to seperate the slices of bread and allow more air in the package. In real life, the slices of bread would be exposed to more air. This could also affect the growth of mold.

Other Links

A child’s mold experiment
http://www.kidzone.ws/science/mold.htm

http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/ProjectDetail.aspx?ProjectID=77

Scientific article about bread mold
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/05/08/bread.mold.may.hold.secret.eliminating.disease.causing.genes

Prevention of Mold
http://www.ehow.com/how_4549588_preventing-bread-mold.html

FDA : Molds on food

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/molds_on_food/index.asp

Standards:

GLE 0407.Inq.1 Explore different scientific
phenomena by asking questions, making logical
predictions, planning investigations, and
recording data.

GLE 0407.Inq.6 Compare the results of an
investigation with what scientists already accept
about this question.

GLE 0407.Inq.4 Identify and interpret simple
patterns of evidence to communicate the findings
of multiple investigations.

Bead Racing

BEAD RACING EXPERIMENT p 30

Which material will “conduct” heat the quickest?

Needed Materials
1.Glass beaker
2.Butter
3.Beads
4.Wooden Spoon
5. Metal Spoon
6. Drinking Straw
7. Plastic Spoon

Beginning the experiment

We began by placing a small amount of butter on the different utensils, and we placed the beads on each one. We boiled water and put it in the glass. Then we waited.

Which utensil was the best conductor of heat?

After about 5 minutes the winner was the metal spoon’s bead. The metal was the best heat conductor.

Second Place

Second place goes to the plastic spoon. The plastic was second best conductor of heat.

Third Place

A close third place goes to the drinking straw. It was the third best conductor of heat.

Last Place

Last place goes to the wooden spoon. It was the worst conductor of heat.