Tri-High Physics Symposium!

Tri-High Physics Symposium! 2013 Theme:Transportation

Overview • All general Physics students must complete a project as part of a small group (up to three) in order to meet the requirements for course completion. The following elements are expected: • Independent development and testing of an appropriate physics research question • Development of teamwork • Development of planning skills • Minimum of 8-10 hours of involvement time (outside of class) related to data collection and analysis • Mandatory participation in an evening symposium in which you will present your experimental results to others • Appreciation of the implications of science and the limitations of scientific study

Groups of 3! • In this project you will work collaboratively with up to 2 other physicists. There is a strong emphasis on team work, sharing of ideas, and cooperation. You will be assessed on the following: • The quality of your experimental procedure and analysis • The effectiveness of your presentation • Your ability to adhere to deadlines • Your ability to work collaboratively within your team.

Groups of 3! • You will be responsible for selecting a partner or partners with whom you will be able to meet outside of the regular school day in order to complete your project. • Those of you who do not have a preference about who you work with can let me know and I will provide a group. • Very little work, other than initial planning, will be completed during your physics class period. • It is highly recommended that you and your partner(s) exchange contact information (i.e. cell phone number, e-mail address, Facebook friends, etc.).

Introduction to the Project (Mon 3/25 – B, Tues 3/26 - A) • Choose your partner(s) • Partners will agree on one of the following general categories in which you will complete your experiment: Kinematics; Dynamics; Energy and Work; Momentum; Wave Behavior. • Come up with three potential research ideas within your chosen category. • Signups: Fri 3/29 (B), Mon 4/1 (A) • Be creative. Choose a research question that you truly want to answer and that will possibly have results that are relevant to some aspect of your life. • Please note: Your chosen research question will not be approved if it is too similar to something that we have already done in class, or if it is too simplistic.

Introduction to the Project A good research question has the following characteristics: • Must be testable with available resources • Must have one manipulated and one responding variable. All other variables must be controlled. • Must have quantifiable (measureable) variables • Should have a format such as: “What is the effect of (MV)__ on (RV) ?” • Some examples of good “transportation” research questions: • What is the effect of the transparency of a car window on… • What is the effect of the surface area on…

Research Questions DueFri 3/29 (B), Mon 4/1 (A) • Get your chosen research question approved - first come, first served. • Must be in our theme: transportation • Your teacher has final veto power. • (No whining on that last one, please )

Abstracts DueWed 4/17(B), Thurs 4/18 (A) • A TYPED abstract detailing what you will be testing, why you will be testing it, how you will be testing it, and ahypothesis. • You will turn in one (1) per group. • I will get back to you early the week of April 22nd to let you know if your experiment is approved or not.

Perform Experiments! (April 22-May27) • Performing your experiments, paying attention to safety, ethical, environmental considerations. • Experimenting must be done outside of school time. • Expect a MINIMUM of 8 hours of experimentation outside of class! • Schedule for “Open Lab Hours” on my website (not required to attend). • Set up times with me AT LEAST 2 DAYS BEFORE you want to collect data

Timesheet Check! Thurs 5/ 9 (B), Friday, May 5/10 (A) • As you complete your experiment, create a record log of all activities related to your experiment each day that you work on the project. • It is expected that you will spend a minimum of 8-10 hours collecting data, recording observations and completing multiple trials. • These hours must be documented (date, time, thorough description of what was done) and must only be the time you spent doing the experiment (not writing up the report or performing analysis). • See page 3 in your packet.

Experimental Poster Draft Tues 5/ 21 (B), Wed 5/22 (A) • This is a complete rough draft of how you plan to present your experimental design and results. • You and your partner(s)will work together to create the draft. • You must also include a brief description of what you plan to bring in for your visual aid that will accompany your poster. • See the “Example of a Scientific Poster” for standard layout guidelines (pages 4-5).

Group# What did your experiment tell you about your research question? Explain your data. Theme Results Project Title Team Members (School, Teacher) Research Question Explain the experiment that your performed to answer your research question. What did you do? How? Why? Display your data using proper table formatting. Procedure Data Tables What information do we need in order to understand the project? What research did you need to do before you did your experiment? Introduction/ Background Info What can you conclude about your research question? How are your variables related? Conclusion Based on your experience, would you try anything new/do something differently? Why? Display any graphs or figures that will help explain your results. Using proper formatting. This is also where you will put the pictures from your experiment. Graphs and Figures Recommendations List your manipulated and responding variables Variables List the materials you used for your experiment Materials Cite any sources used Works Cited

Tri-High Physics Symposium! (Tuesday, May 20 (28) @ 4:30p-9:30p) • THIS IS A MANDATORY EVENING EVENT! • Only school-related, mandatory events will be considered in scheduling your presentation time • More details to follow, PLAN AHEAD. Youare responsible for getting yourself to Skyline on time! • You and your partner(s) will attend the Tri-High Physics Symposium (Poster presentation) to share your completed tri-fold poster board and manipulative props with teachers, parents, other physics students, community members, and the press.

Tri-High Physics Symposium! (Tuesday, May 20 (28) @ 4:30p-9:30p) • Dress appropriately and act professionally! • No jeans! • During the symposium your poster will be scored by your peers according to the rubric on page 6. You will also need to view the results of each other’s projects related to your topic and make collective interpretations and conclusions about how the experiments relate to each other. • I will evaluate you according to the rubric on page 8.

The Finishing Touches Tues 6/ 4 (B), Wed 6/5 (A) • Completed time record log due to teacher • Peer poster evaluations due • You will evaluate your partner and yourself on participation, cooperativeness, and contribution of ideas. See page 7. • This will be a Form that you will fill out after the Symposium.

Tri-High Physics Symposium!