"Idea for an Experiment?" Answer This Question Here!

Do you need to perform experiments for school science fair projects? Science experiments are fun, informative, and great in advancing the hands-on element of learning. However, you may be asking yourself, "How do I come up with an idea for an experiment?" It's easy to find great ideas, if you keep these simple tips in mind.

• Remember that a science experiment focuses on how some dependent variable or variables are affected by other independent variable or variables. The independent variables are what you change throughout the science experiment. The dependent variables change based on the change in the independent variables. They might also not change, if no relationship among the variables exists. Finding out whether the dependent variables will change is your goal as an experimenter.
• When coming up with a science fair idea, think about something that already interests you. Fun science fair projects can be done in areas you already enjoy. Virtually all games, hobbies, and disciplines can be related in some meaningful way to chemistry, physics, biology, psychology, sociology, economics, mathematics or other areas of science. But once you've selected an idea to explore, you might still be asking, "How do I come up with an idea for an experiment in this area?"

• Your experiment needs to be highly specific. Find an aspect of that idea - some measurement, quantity, or series of qualitative states, that can be easily varied at your will. The more precise your independent variables are and the more they are under your control, the better the experiment will be.
• For instance, when doing an experiment with plants, independent variables can include how much you water the plants, how much sunlight you expose them to, and what fertilizers, if any, you use. Dependent variables might be plant growth rate, leaf size, plant color, or the amount of seeds the plant produces.
• So, once you have selected your science fair project ideas, the most important key to answering the question, "How do I come up with an idea for an experiment?", is to figure out what factors you can control and what factors you cannot affect directly. Factors you can control will make good independent variables. If you cannot control a variable directly, then use it as a dependent variable.

In applying just these basic tips, you will come a long way toward answering the question, "How do I come up with an idea for an experiment?" Also, explore our vast array of resources regarding science experiments.