Experimental Design B/C

[duckiegirl2]

Or try to draw a circle on the foam and aim for it. thenfind how deep the impression that it makes is.

[zyzzyva980]

Just drawing on a circle doesn't guarantee that you'll be able to hit it. Plus, the items might not always drop at the same speed each time, which would have an effect on the impression it leaves.

[Avis_de-Incendia]

ROll it down the meter stick at alternating heights, at a constant angle.

I mean, no one is expecting you to make a perfect, OCD experiment.

One could argue that the PURPOSE of the event is not to test whether you have the ideal experiment. It's whether you have a perfect, OCD write-up.

[binary010101]

Drop them from different heights, measuring elasticity.

[packer-backer91]

Drop them from different heights, measuring elasticity.

I agree elasticity is easy to measure and conduct an experiment on, leaving you with time to work on the rest of the write up.

[lllazar]

Hey guys, i had regionals today, and my team did well 1st place and goin to state...

So i was just wondering, is an OCD write up the key to design? Cause we did that and got second....not great but we felt good about it.

[zyzzyva980]

Nothing is ever OCD in Experimental Design. You can never put too much down (well, if the judges get bored and don't read the rest of the report... that's too much).

[Phenylethylamine]

Hey guys, i had regionals today, and my team did well 1st place and goin to state...

So i was just wondering, is an OCD write up the key to design? Cause we did that and got second....not great but we felt good about it.

For the materials, procedure, variables, statistics and analysis sections of the event, yes, you basically have to be OCD. Everything else doesn't need to be quite as detail-oriented; clear and concise is your best bet for the conclusion, recommendations for further experimentation, etc. If you have a rubric, assume about one sentence per point (for the later sections, that is- procedure/materials/variables have their own rules, which I'm not too familiar with since I don't typically do that part of the event, and statistics aren't verbal).

[packer-backer91]

Really this event is all about efficiency to but as little as needed that gets you the full points so that all areas can be done with time left over to reread and look for things that can be added to the write up. I know from doing 6 years of this event it does not matter how detailed you are it's about how well you write out the experiment, simple, clear and concise is the best way to go, remember "entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" [that’s Occam's Razor] don't put anything more than what is necessary.

[zcshiner]

Are we allowed to bring any reference materials? It says that we need to bring goggles, rulers, calculator, and a stopwatch, but never forbids anything else.