Senior Project
Proposal
My Senior Project coincided with my Science Fair project for the 2013-2014 school year. My question was "Can mercury emissions, from oil refineries in the Great Salt Lake Basin, transferred in snow contribute significantly to mercury levels in the Great Salt Lake?" I planned to conduct an experiment involving sampling snow from various oil refineries in the Basin and then analyze the samples for mercury.
Research Plan 2013-2014
In my Research Plan, I presented all the background information and research necessary for me to formulate my question and hypothesis. This information also helps inform about certain aspects of my experimental design.
Project Notebook 2013-2014
My project notebook included a lot of the collection of research that I had done for my project. Originally, I brainstormed about possible science fair projects. As time went on and as paths led to dead ends, I moved from idea to idea. Finally I narrowed down an idea and that became my Science Fair project. This information includes notes from lectures, articles, meetings with professors, as well as other things.
Conclusion and the Science FairMy project relied completely on the weather. It depended on generous amounts of snow to come down in the Salt Lake Valley surrounding the Great Salt Lake. From when I was fully prepared to conduct my experiments (January 1, 2014) to today (March 5, 2014) snow has not fallen in suitable amounts. The snow that did fall quickly melted and was exposed to the elements which would lead to sample contamination. My project was not completed. However, I still participated in the AMES Science Fair. I made a board, presented to judges, and received awards. Although my project was essentially a failure, I learned a lot about the various aspects of my project. This experience also taught me that sometimes things don't go as planned.
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