Snowflake activities are commonly used to learn about crystals. They are particularly useful in learning how crystals grow and what impacts their shape and size. Snowflakes are great to study because their parent material is water, which is cheap and easy to access by just about anyone.
In this chemistry science fair projects the hypothesis will be that colder freezing temperatures will create smaller snowflakes then warmer freezing temperatures. In this hypothesis the dependent variable, or the variable that will be measured will be the size of the finished snowflake, and the independent variable, or the variable that will be manipulated will be the freezing temperature.
Only a few supplies will be needed for this project. First you will need water vapor, a thermometer, a collection jar and a microscope or magnifying glass. You will also need a cooperative weather system.
This experiment will be done out in the field. This means that natural weather conditions will need to be tracked and targeted for gathering samples. When gathering a sample from the field the student will need to chart the current temperature.
To collect falling snowflakes the student will need a collection container that has been chilled, but that is free of ice crystals. The student can place the container on a surface and allow snowflakes to fall into it.
The student will then need to immediately examine the snowflakes in the container. They will want to measure the snowflake and draw the snowflake crystals. The student will need to repeat this experiment multiple time and during times when the outside temperature has varying degrees of freezing conditions. Such as when the temperature is 32 degrees, when it is 30 degrees and when it is 25 degrees.
Collecting data for this experiment will be challenging. First students will need to document external factors such as humidity levels and temperature. Next they will need to document snowflake size. Students will need to find an efficient way to measure tiny snowflakes without melting the crystals. All of this information will need to be recorded in their science fair project journals and analyzed for trends. Students are looking for a link between temperature and crystal size.
The analysis process for this snowflake science fair project is going to be pretty straight forward. The student will first want to organize their results in a table. The table will list the temperature in one column and the crystal size in the second column. The student will then need to find the average temperature to crystal size ratios for each of the temperatures that they studied. These ratios will then be compared to determine if there is a correlation between temperature and crystal size.
The steps taken to complete this project will determine how well it will do at a local science fair. Students will want to focus on drawing conclusions about their data, on writing up their report and on creating a quality display board. Students can also benefit from practicing their presentation and answering questions about their project with their friends and family before the day of the science fair.
