How to Conduct a Scientific Experiment

Conduct a scientific experiment to help formulate, prove or challenge a hypothesis. An experiment can be physical test with varying elements under controlled circumstances. The word "science" is derived from a word that means having knowledge. Experiments are designed to obtain knowledge. Science projects used for education often involve experiments previously conducted with known outcomes. Students use instructions to illustrate such experiments and record the results for a science fair entry or lab project.

Instructions

How to Conduct a Scientific Experiment

1. Choose a topic for investigation and scientific research. For illustration, consider the effects of Mentos candy on soda. Mentos is known to create geysers when dropped into soda bottles.

2. Develop questions that can be answered through experimentation. Do all sodas react the same when the Mentos candies are added? Does the number of Mentos candies used affect the eruption? Does temperature affect eruption?

3. Propose experiments to answer the questions that can be reproduced by others. Three types of soda will be tested for reactions to various quantities of Mentos at two different temperatures.

4. Gather the materials for the experiments. The proposed experiment will require at least seven bottles of soda--three bottles of one type and two bottles of two other types, a few rolls of Mentos candies, a thermometer and a backdrop with horizontal lines measuring various heights.

5. Document a record of everything used, including the specific items and quantities that for each test. Outline all procedures and variables with exact measurements.

6. Perform the tests. Measure the outdoor temperature with a thermometer and set up the experiment outside. Place three different types of soda in bottles of the same size in a row in front of the backdrop. Drop three Mentos pieces into each bottle, one at a time. Watch the height of the spray coming up from the bottle and measure it against the horizontal marks on the backdrop. Next try each soda type with five Mentos candies. Then test one of the types at an indoor shower stall. Make a note of the indoor temperature. Take photos of each spray if possible.

7. Record all results. Measure the height of soda spray for each different soda, given the differing numbers of Mentos candies at each varying temperature. Make a written record of the figures. Use the results and any photos for display at a science fair.

8. Formulate hypotheses based on the results of the experiments. You may hypothesize that "diet soda reacts more violently to mentos than regular soda, and adding more mentos increases the reaction. A temperature difference between 40 and 68 degrees does not change results."