Science Fair Experiment

February 27,2014

Title
Those Distractible Fourth Graders

Question (Purpose) Will fourth grade scores be affected by distractions?

Hypothesis:
I think fourth-graders will be distracted and have lower scores on the assessment.

Materials:
Class of fourth-graders Pencils 26 assessments x 2 Timer

Sound to distract

Procedure:
1. Pass out assessment #1 to 26 fourth-graders (upside down). 2. Time them for 1 minute and score assessments. 3. Pass out assessment #2 to same 26 fourth-graders (upside down).

Continue
5. Turn on distraction, and tell students to begin when distraction starts. 6. Time them for 1 minute and score assessments. 7. Compare the two assessment scores.

Variables:
Manipulated Variable:
-the distraction sounds

Variables:
Responding Variable:
-difference in scores

Variables:
Variables held constant (stayed the same):
-same students -same amount of time -assessment with same features -assessment given in same location

Graph:

Results:
My hypothesis was incorrect because most scores increased with the assessment with the distraction.

Conclusion:
Even though my hypothesis was incorrect, I wonder what the outcome would be if the experiment were done again. In the future I will conduct the experiment several times.