MS-2000

FAIR GUIDE

St. Rose Elementary Science Fair, 3rd grade. Six parts, six due dates, and a 45-point rubric.

Final project due Monday, February 1. Exhibition Wednesday, February 3 at 2:00 PM in the Parish Hall. Winners go to the Archdiocesan fair on February 25.

Due dates

The orange one is next.

  1. Part 1 · Wed Nov 18

    Question

    One question that a test can answer. It names what gets changed and what gets counted.

    Rubric: Purpose, hypothesis, and variables

    How to do it
  2. Part 2 · Wed Dec 2

    Research notes, bibliography, Catholic connection

    3 to 5 research bullet points, 2 or 3 sources, and how the project connects to our faith.

    Rubric: Analysis and conclusions · Religion reflection

    How to do it
  3. Part 3 · Wed Dec 9

    Hypothesis

    Your best guess before any test runs, and the reason for it. Plus the variables.

    Rubric: Purpose, hypothesis, and variables

    How to do it
  4. Part 4 · Tue Jan 19

    Conduct and complete experiments

    All 30 runs done, written in the journal, with a photo of every setup.

    Rubric: Experimental procedure and materials · Journal · Other

    How to do it
  5. Part 5 · Mon Jan 25

    Data, results, and conclusion

    Averages, one bar graph for each test, and what the data says about the hypothesis.

    Rubric: Data and results · Analysis and conclusions

    How to do it
  6. Part 6 · Mon Feb 1

    Final project

    The trifold board, the journal, and the MS-2000, all turned in.

    Rubric: Display · Journal · Oral presentation

    How to do it
Wed Feb 3, 2:00 PM
Parent exhibition
Parish Hall. Judging and the demo.
Thu Feb 25
Archdiocesan Science Fair
For the projects St. Rose picks as winners.

Rules to remember

Six parts, six grades
Each part is graded on its own due date. The project also counts for a writing grade and a handwriting grade.
The journal is cursive, by hand
Every journal page is handwritten in cursive. No typing, no printing.
The board can be typed
Title, question, photos, data, graphs, and captions can be printed and glued on.
Addie writes it
Research and writing happen in class. This page asks the questions; the answers are in Addie’s own words.
Experiments happen at home
The build, the runs, and the board are done at home.
Laser rules first
Ask Miss Taggart about laser rules for the Parish Hall and the Archdiocesan fair before the board is made.

Part by part

What each part needs, questions to answer, and a checklist before turning it in.

1

Question

Due Wed Nov 18

A question the MS-2000 can answer by testing. A good test question names the thing you change and the thing you count.

The question the MS-2000 was built to test
What makes the MS-2000 miss more: a faster mosquito or a smaller one?
Addie writes it her way.
Questions to answer
What will I change on purpose? For the MS-2000: how fast the mosquito swings, and how big the target is. One at a time.
What will I count? Hits in 30 seconds, and how long until the first hit.
Can a test answer it? If the answer comes from counting, yes.
Why does it matter? Real mosquitoes are small and fast. Finding what makes the MS-2000 miss shows what a real laser turret has to be good at.
Before turning it in
  • Written as a question with a question mark
  • Names what changes
  • Names what gets counted
  • In my own words
Fair test lessonThe experiment planRubric: Purpose, hypothesis, and variables
2

Research notes, bibliography, Catholic connection

Due Wed Dec 2

Three to five research facts written as bullet points, a list of the two or three places they came from, and a Catholic connection.

Questions to answer
What do mosquitoes do that makes them dangerous? Mosquitoes lesson
Has anyone built a laser that zaps mosquitoes? The real laser fence lesson
How much laser power would it take to kill one? The 14,000 times fact
How does a camera find an object? How a camera learns lesson
How does a pendulum make speed? Pendulum lesson
Before turning it in
  • 3 to 5 bullets, each one fact
  • Each fact in my own words
  • 2 or 3 sources, written the same way
  • Catholic connection in 2 or 3 sentences
Learn the scienceThe lethality mathRubric: Analysis and conclusions · Religion reflection
3

Hypothesis

Due Wed Dec 9

The best guess about the answer, written before any test runs, with a reason. Write one for each test.

Fill in the blanks
If the mosquito ______, then the MS-2000 will get ______ hits, because ______.
Questions to answer
Speed If it swings faster, more hits, fewer, or the same? Why?
Size If the target is smaller, more hits, fewer, or the same? Why? (Hint: the laser dot does not always land dead center.)
Biggest miss Which of the two will make it miss more? Why?
Before turning it in
  • Written before the first real run
  • Has if, then, and because
  • One for each test
  • Uses the variable words
Variables lessonHow a hit is feltRubric: Purpose, hypothesis, and variables
4

Conduct and complete experiments

Due Tue Jan 19

All 30 runs done and written down. Two tests, three settings each, five runs each, 30 seconds a run, always 3 feet from the camera.

Steps
  1. 1Set upBackdrop up, mosquito 3 feet from the camera lens (tape mark), the right target cover on, room lights on, a charged power bank in the turret, fresh batteries in the wand.
  2. 2Label the runSet the wand to the test, the setting, and the run number.
  3. 3ArmA grown-up turns the arm switch on.
  4. 4ReleasePull the mosquito back to the angle mark, let go, and start the 30 seconds.
  5. 5RecordThe wand saves it. Also write hits and time to first hit on the paper sheet.
  6. 6ResetArm switch off. Next run. Five per setting.
Before turning it in
  • Every run counts; redo only broken runs, with a note
  • One test per day
  • Same room, same person holding the line
  • Photo of each setup
  • Journal entry every test day
The experiment rulesBuild itRubric: Experimental procedure and materials · Journal · Other
5

Data, results, and conclusion

Due Mon Jan 25

Turn the 30 runs into averages and graphs, then say what they mean.

Fill in the blanks
My hypothesis was (supported / not supported). The data showed ______. The biggest surprise was ______. Next time I would ______.
Questions to answer
Averages For each setting, add the 5 runs and divide by 5.
Graphs One bar graph per test. One bar per setting. Label both sides and give it a title.
Compare Which setting had the most hits? The fewest? Was the difference big or tiny?
Answer Which test dropped the hits the most? That is the biggest reason the MS-2000 misses.
Connect Does the answer match the research? Why might it miss more in some settings?
Before turning it in
  • A table of all 30 runs
  • 3 averages per test
  • 2 bar graphs with titles and labels
  • Conclusion answers the question
  • Uses numbers from the data
How to averageOpen the MY_DATA fileRubric: Data and results · Analysis and conclusions
6

Final project

Due Mon Feb 1

The trifold board, the finished journal, and the MS-2000. Then the exhibition on Wednesday, February 3.

Steps
Left panel Engineering goal, science question, research bullets, hypothesis, variables.
Middle panel Title, a big photo of the MS-2000, how it works, and the two graphs.
Right panel Materials, procedure steps, results, conclusion, Catholic connection, sources.
On the table The MS-2000, the mosquito on its line, the journal, and a laser safety sign.
Before turning it in
  • Big title you can read from across the room
  • Every graph has a title and labels
  • Photos have captions
  • Laser label showing
  • Practice the 30-second demo
Board layouts and print-outsThe 3 foot tableThe demo script3D model for the drawingRubric: Display · Journal · Oral presentation

The variables

Change one thing, count the same things, keep the rest the same.

TestWhat I changeWhat I countWhat stays the same
SpeedSwing angle: 10, 20, 30 degreesHits in 30 s, time to first hit3 feet away, 40 mm target, room lights on. Same room, a charged power bank, same person on the line.
Target sizeHole in the black cover: 40, 20, 10 mmHits in 30 s, time to first hit10 degree swing, 3 feet away, room lights on. Same room, a charged power bank, same person on the line.

5 runs × 3 settings × 2 tests = 30 runs, 30 seconds each, all at 3 feet.

Catholic connection ideas

Pick one and explain it in two or three sentences, in your own words. Part of the Dec 2 grade.

Caring for people
Visiting the sick is a work of mercy. Mosquitoes spread malaria, which makes millions of people sick each year. Inventions that stop mosquitoes protect people.
Caring for creation
In Genesis, God puts people in the garden to take care of it. In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis asks us to care for our common home. A laser that aims only at one kind of pest is gentler than spraying poison everywhere.
Saints who cared for the sick
St. Damien of Molokai cared for people with leprosy. St. Roch is the patron saint against plagues and sickness.
Faith and science
God made a world we can study. Catholic scientists like Gregor Mendel, a monk who discovered how traits pass from parents to children, used science to understand creation.

Sources for the bibliography

Pick two or three that the research bullets came from. Write each one the same way: who, title, where, year.

American Mosquito Control Association. "Mosquito FAQs." mosquito.org.World Health Organization. "Malaria" fact sheet. who.int.Keller, M. and others. "Optical tracking and laser-induced mortality of insects during flight." Scientific Reports, 2020.DFRobot. "HuskyLens object tracking with micro:bit." learn.dfrobot.com.Pope Francis. Laudato Si’. Vatican, 2015.

The journal

Handwritten in cursive. It is graded on its own and counts for handwriting. Write in it every day you work on the project.

Every entry has
The date. Top of every page.
What I did today. One or two sentences.
What I saw. Observations. What worked, what did not.
Numbers. Anything measured or counted.
Problems and fixes. Judges like these. Something broke? Say how it got fixed.
Next time. What comes next.
Entries to write
Sep 15. Brainstorm: air cannon, vacuum, lasers. The requirements list. Why I picked Design A over B and C.
Sep 16. Design locked. The labeled drawing of the MS-2000. The 3D printed parts were designed.
When the parts arrive. Unboxing, measuring, what matched and what did not.
Every build day. What got printed or wired, and what went wrong.

Practice for the judges

The oral presentation is graded. Practice these out loud with the family.

  1. 1What does the MS-2000 do?
  2. 2Why did you use such a weak laser?
  3. 3How does the camera know which thing is the mosquito?
  4. 4How do you know it really hit?
  5. 5What did you change, what did you measure, and what did you keep the same?
  6. 6Why did you do five runs for each setting?
  7. 7What surprised you?
  8. 8What went wrong while you were building it?
  9. 9What would you change next time?
  10. 10How could this help people?

Score it yourself

The rubric the judges use. Tap a score for each row to see where the project stands. Nothing is saved.

1.Purpose, hypothesis, and variables
Purpose is clear; hypothesis addresses the purpose; variables are included.
2.Experimental procedure and materials
Procedure written in clear steps.
3.Data and results
Observations are organized; good use of photos, charts, and graphs to display data.
4.Analysis and conclusions
Related to purpose and research; supported by the data.
5.Religion reflection
Makes connections between the project and our Catholic faith.
6.Journal
Records all steps and observations.
7.Display
Neat, attractive, and well organized.
8.Oral presentation
Knowledge gained is expressed clearly; questions answered correctly.
9.Other
Originality, creativity, presentation, multiple trials.
0 not evident · 1 not clear · 3 somewhat clear · 5 very clear
0 / 45