[TheForge] Science fair project

[Bruce Freeman]

What many, if not most, people don't understand about science fair =
projects is that they are not supposed to be demonstrations, they are =
supposed to be experiments.  Some science teachers don't even know this.  =
This is a sore point with me because I'm a scientist and apply the =
scientific principal every day and think it's a great disservice to the =
community that it doesn't get taught on the elementary school level.  It =
ain't that hard to understand.

1) Form a testable hypothesis, based upon available knowledge.
2) Design an experiment that will test that hypothesis.
3) Perform the experiment, often including a "control."
4) Review the results of the experiment, including an examination of =
whether the experiment did indeed test what it was supposed to have =
tested.

In reviewing both the existing knowledge and the results of the expeiment, =
we apply "Occam's Razor", which is a rule that tells us that if there are =
two alternative explanations for a set of facts, the simpler explanation =
IS correct.  (Note:  It DOESN'T say "is more likely to be correct.")

Now that might SOUND complicated, but it isn't. =20

To gain a better understanding of how the scientific principal is applied, =
it is well to read about simple scientific experiments.  A biography of =
Louis Pasteur, who investigated fermentation and spoilage of wine and =
milk, can be useful.  In his time, it was still believed by many that =
organisms arose spontaneously in foods, etc. Early on, for instance, =
maggots were believed to naturally arise in spoiling meat.  The fact that =
flies laid eggs on the meat which hatched into maggots hadn't been =
observed.  By Pasteur's time, I believe these ignorant forces were on the =
retreat, but the were still holding sway in arguments about microorganisms.=
  Since we know now that microorganisms cause food spoilage and disease, =
it was an important step to find the truth in this matter.  Pasteur did so =
in an elegantly simple series of experiments.  Since I read his biography =
many years ago, I couldn't propose to repeat them here, but any good =
library will have such a biography.

In brief, Pasteur's hypothesis was that all organisms arise from previously=
 existing organisms.  This is obvious for higher animals and plants.  It =
can be fairly easily proven for smaller ones like flies/maggots.  For =
microorganisms, which cannot be directly observed except with elaborate =
apparatus, it was really NOT so unreasonable to believe in that such =
organisms arose spontaneously.  To show otherwise, Pasteur had to =
practically invent the concept of microbial sterility.

Going on to a related example, Robert Koch, who I understand was an =
ordinary physician of his day, proved that anthrax was caused by contagion =
from an infected animal in a monumental paper based upon very simple =
science.  Escerpts of this paper can be read here:  http://ce.ecn.purdue.ed=
u/~piwc/w3-history/koch/koch-anthrax.html  This, by the way, is a learned =
paper.  Koch was obviously familiar with the scientific literature of his =
day, and well educated in the sciences.  But that education alone does not =
constitute science.  It is the simple experiments he recounts that are the =
body of his science.  Some of these are so simple he doesn't even state =
the hypotheses.  For example, when he innoculates one mouse from another =
in a long series, he is testing an unstated hypothesis of alternation of =
generations.  Unless you're trained in biology, you might not even KNOW =
about alternation of generations. =20

The difficult part will be to encorporate blacksmithing into a science =
project.  I don't say it's impossible, but it might be difficult.

The best bet might be to prove something that's already known =AF but not =
necessarily known by 10-year olds.  In other words, let your son ask a =
question, then come up with a way of testing it.   Be careful that the way =
to test it really will test it.

Bruce
NJ

>>> kelogdog@adelphia.net 11/05/02 04:41PM >>>
My 10 year old son is going to do a science fair project soon. He =
frequently helps me at the forge and also likes to do his own little jobs. =
I thought that it would be a good idea to do his project on blacksmithing =
as no one at his school has done a project on this subject in recent past =
(that we know about).
My question would be: does any one know of a good project for him, or any =
recourses we could use? Please keep in mind that he is ten years old, and =
I want him to pretty much do the job him self with only my supervision.
Thanks in advance
John Kellough