Investigatory Projects in Sciences

You can use an investigatory project to determine the chlorophyll content of leaves of different color.

Investigatory science projects are scientific experiments that attempt to find causation in scientific phenomena. Such a project must control external influences on the investigation at hand so that the experimenter can directly observe the effect of one variable on another. Investigatory science projects begin with a hypothesis, proceed with an experiment and end with an analysis. All sciences can use investigatory projects.

Biology

Biological sciences make heavy use of investigatory projects. Because many of the processes of biology are invisible to the human eye, researchers use experiments to answer hypotheses. An example of an investigatory project in biology is the study of how a leaf’s color is related to its chlorophyll content. A biologist may select leaves of many colors and use chemical processes to determine the chlorophyll content of each leaf. She may find that the chlorophyll content declines as leaves turn brown.

Behavioral and Social Sciences

Investigatory projects are crucial in these fields of science. Researchers in psychology, for example, often bring subjects into their labs for experiments so that they can understand how environmental conditions affect individual behavior. One such example is an investigatory study in which psychologists request children to come into one of two offices to wait. In this study there are two conditions. In one office there is an unlabeled box; in the other office there is a box labeled "do not open." The variable of interest is whether the students open the boxes. Psychologists can use investigatory studies of this type to understand how certain commands and language affect how people make decisions.

Chemistry and Food Sciences

Sciences that examine chemical substances make heavy use of investigatory studies. Investigatory studies allow scientists to understand the chemical compositions of materials. For example, scientists in the United States Food and Drug Administration frequently test food products to check for false advertising. An example of an investigatory study the administration might use is to collect samples of standard beef and lean beef from grocery stores. Scientists can perform an investigatory project to determine whether the lean beef truly has less fat content.

Engineering and Physics

Engineers and physicists can use investigatory projects to help them determine how to design and build machines efficiently. For example, an engineer building a coolant system may choose to use an investigatory study as a way of determining what liquid provides the lowest temperature for a cooling system. He may select a variety of liquids and run an experiment to determine which liquid results in the coolant system with the lowest temperature.

References

• “Master the Scientific Method with Fun Life Science Projects”; Ann Benbow and Colin Mably; 2010
• “46 Science Fair Projects for the Evil Genius”; Bob Bonnet and Dan Keen; 2009
• “The Complete Handbook of Science Fair Projects”; Julianne Bochinski; 1991