Polymer+Investigation+Abstract

__**HOW TO WRITE A SCIENCE ABSTRACT** __ ** An __abstract__ is a brief, written discussion of your science investigation. Abstracts should clearly summarize the main points of the experiment; it consists of a brief discussion of the essential, or most important, details about your laboratory experiment. Your abstract lets people quickly determine what you have done in your science experiment without reading an entire lab report. **
 * __ Each student will write an abstract instead of a full laboratory report. __**** Your abstract will be 1-2 pages in length and typed. This particular assignment has two parts: **

Ø **__ Part I - Experiment Summary __**** : Overview of your polymer investigation and results. **
 * You will complete (individual assignment) in class or at home. You will need all of the information and data from your experiment to complete this section.

Ø **__ Part II – Research: __**** How does the polymer investigation connect to the real world? ** > The guidelines below will help you complete the assignment. Read, follow and use these steps as a checklist to make sure that you have completed all criteria for writing your science abstract.
 * You will learn how to access credible website resources on Thursday in the library, and you will complete this abstract assignment over the weekend for homework. NOTE: due date at top.

1. Include your name, teacher and title “Polymer Investigation Abstract” 2. Restate the purpose of the lab, use the correct title format “the effect of the (insert IV) on the (insert DV). Why did your group select the IV that they did? __3. Explain the design of your experiment - how did you vary your levels of IV and how did you measure the effect of this change?__ 4. Was your experiment a controlled experiment? How did this impact the validity of your results? __5. Restate your hypothesis. Discuss whether or not your findings supported the hypothesis. (**INCLUDE** **DATA** in your response.) __ 6. What conclusions can you draw based on your results? Give the collected data meaning. 7. Describe any possible errors that could have affected your results. Consider the following: correct tool choice, measurement accuracy, did you forget/skip any important steps, etc. 8. Give an example of how the results from **THIS** experiment may relate to something in your daily life or a connection/purpose for real-world use. 9. If you were able to do this experiment over again, what would you do differently and why?   **__Science Abstract Part II – Research__**  **// Next Step! How are super absorbent polymers (SAP’s) used today? // ** The unknown material you tested is considered a **super absorbent polymer ( aka SAP).** Sap’s have the awesome ability to absorb substances of great quantity. You witnessed the amount of water that the unknown polymer soaked up – it was incredible! You may be familiar with products that have this super absorbent property, such as the Sham Wow ™. SAP’s have an unbelievable range of uses! In this part of the assignment, you will research how SAP’s are used in a variety of ways. Whether you are a gardener, an environmentalist, health care provider or award winning snowboarder - SAP’s may come in handy! **Part II Guidelines:** (Click for review of [|Credible_websites_2009.ppt]- the last slide has the two plastic websites that require you to evaluate as a credible resource or not-so-credible). 1. U se your research skills to locate credible websites about SAP’s in order to __identify__ two different functions SAP’s currently serve. 2. ** Complete the research tables ** to verify that your resource passes the CRAAP inspection. (click here for the [|RESEARCH_TABLES.doc] - you can use as many as you need. Hard copies will be required when you hand in your completed abstract.) 3. If your source does not pass – you must continue to research for credible SAP information. 4. Use the credible information to describe how each specific SAP is used for the two different functions (jobs). 5. Review the list below and select the appropriate category for each of the functions you described.
 * __Science Abstract Part I - Experiment Summary __ **

Think of your paper like it is an article that will be published in a professional science magazine. It should be TYPED and 1-2 pages in length. It should follow a similar outline as described below: - Summary of your experiment process and findings - Discussion of how SAPs are used today - Identification of the range of categories that SAPs can be found in.
 * Home || Garden ||
 * Entertainment || Military ||
 * Sports & Recreation || Health Care ||
 * Environmental Clean-up || Other?? You decide. ||

**Your completed assignment will have the discussion outlined above, and research tables for the four sites you have evaluated (2 plastic sites given from the creible internet sources powerpoint and 2 SAP websites that you have found and have taken information from) **