Mr. English AP Chemistry, Material Science Research project instructions.

Introduction

Chemistry is an applied science which has brought about the discovery of new materials for use in an array of products:  textiles, personal care products, toys, electronics, machine parts, foods and even new mediums for artistic expression.  Your project this marking period will be to do some material science research of your own.  The goals of this project are:

Produce something useful or interesting by means of a chemical process.
Conduct an experiment to improve your product by altering one aspect of the process.
Report on your results.

Your Product

Recipes appear in print or on-line to make all sorts of interesting materials: Make your own hand soap or soap bubble solution, paper, lip balm, rayon, nylon, ice cream, taffy, yeast bread, cheese, “slime”, bouncy balls, pottery glazes, natural or synthetic scented oils, candles.  You could make a toy vehicle powered by baking soda and vinegar, or some other safe reaction.  Demonstrate the casting of a concrete statue or cast a low melting metal into an ingot.  Safely demonstrate a chemical reaction or physical separation method and capture your demonstration on film.  Build a model hot air balloon (inflated safely by means of a hair dryer). Demonstrate the use of solder for constructing an electrical circuit.  Demonstrate fire by friction. Grow your own crystal garden.  Make your own paint or play-dough or glue.  Make your own natural or synthetic dyes then use them to color eggs, or a funky tee-shirt.  Build a battery to power a flashlight.  You could even construct your own solar cell from basic materials.  Better yet, propose your own project.

Some of the projects described in the previous paragraph might require a bit of planning and time spent in the classroom lab.  Many of the other projects listed could be made in your own kitchen or workshop using readily available household materials.  Pick something you think will be interesting.  You are encouraged to try something you haven’t done before, and to choose a project which is distinct from any of your classmates.  The only requirements are that your project should involve some chemical process, that it is something which does not pose unnecessary safety hazards, and that it involves some measured quantity (volume, mass, time, temperature, etc.) which you can experimentally adjust in your effort to improve the process.

Your Experiment

        The first time you do something new, you may not be satisfied with the results.  Your project may not work at all.  In any case, there will always be some aspect of your product you’d like to correct or improve.  Choose a specific aspect of your product you’d like to improve.  Identify a way to measure that aspect of the product.  This will be your dependent variable.  Choose one aspect of the production process which you can vary in a measurable, systematic way to affect the dependent variable.  This will be your independent variable.  Now conduct the experiment and record the results.

        Depending on the difficulty of your original project and the amount of time required, you may need to run your various experimental trials simultaneously.

Your Results

To report your results, you must provide some evidence that you actually completed the experiment, together with a poster which explains your methods, results, and the relevant chemical principles applied.

To provide evidence of the experiment, bring in samples of the product with and without the experimental manipulation.  You may wish to supplement this with some video and photographic documentation of your experiment, especially if the project involved observations of some transient reaction.

The poster should communicate your experimental design, results, and conclusions, together with a detailed explanation of all relevant chemical principles.  Review the remaining sections of this assignment for additional guidelines on poster design and content.

Grading

Be ambitious in planning your project. Experiments which are original and require some skill or challenge will earn points.  Experiments involving multiple trials, and showing a clear relationship between variables, are better than those involving only limited trials.  Effective, engaging communication earns points.  By contrast, projects which seem hastily completed or poorly communicated will lose points.  Projects must involve an experimental component.

30 points:  Research and explain any chemical principles related to your project. There is probably more than one chemical principle related to your project, and you will earn more points by discussing several of them.  Explanations which are comprehensive and effectively communicated will earn points.  Explanations which are limited in scope, shallow in depth or poorly communicated will lose points.  At least one of the chemical principles described should be directly related to the experimental variables you’ve identified.  Communicate this relationship clearly.

40 points:   Present a description of the methods you followed to make your project and the experiment you completed to improve your project.  The final report should include some evidence that you actually did what you claim—provide a sample of the finished material, or a video/photographic account of the process.  Experiments should be described in terms of independent and dependent variables, indicating what aspect of the product you hoped to improve, and what change you made in your procedure to improve that aspect.  Describe the results of your experiment clearly.

10 points:  Present an analysis of your experiment.  Did your change have the expected result?  What further experiments would you try, time permitting, to improve your product even further?

10 points for creativity and visual quality of the overall presentation.  Projects which are original, eye-catching, or especially well organized will earn points.  Projects which appear sloppy, disorganized or hastily completed will lose points.

10 points for evidence of substantial research, including five or more relevant research citations in MLA format.  Review MLA standards carefully.

Deadlines:

May 13:  Submit a typed paragraph with a proposal for the project you’re going to choose, at least one reference citation, and an analysis of any potential safety concerns with your project.

May 27:  Your project should be nearly complete at this time.  Submit electronically all five references, and a first draft of any typed material you plan to include in your poster.

June ___:  Your completed project is due at this time.  We will reserve at least one class day this week to share information about our project with the class.