Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
- 🌳 Outside
My hypothesis
If I change where the rain gauge stands, then how much rain the gauge catches in a week will ______, because ______.
You fill in the blanks. Think about what is above each gauge, and which way the rain usually blows in. A guess is a good because: the test finds out.
Change, measure, keep the same
CHANGE
where the rain gauge stands: Open yard, Under a tree, By the house wall
MEASURE
how much rain the gauge catches in a week, in mm
KEEP THE SAME
- the same kind of straight-sided jar for every gauge
- every gauge standing level on the ground
- reading them all at the same time each evening
Scientists call the thing you change the independent variable and the thing you measure the dependent variable. The things you keep the same are the controls: if one of them changed too, you wouldn't know which change made the difference. Try each of the 3 levels 3 times.
What you need
- A clear jar or tall glass: 9, all the same, with straight sides (plastic if you have them)
- Masking tape, to mark lines
- A pencil
- 📏 A ruler
Steps
- Pick a week when rain is forecast.
- Stand three jars in the open yard, three under a tree and three right by a wall of the house.
- Wedge each jar so it stands level and can't tip over.
- Every evening, stand a ruler in each jar and measure the water in millimetres.
- Write each number in your logbook, then pour the water out and put the jar back.
- Stay inside in a storm: read the jars once the thunder and lightning have stopped.
- At the end of the week, add up each jar's days.
- Find the mean for each spot and draw a bar graph.
Every step is one you can do yourself, with a grown-up nearby. Write each number down straight away, in the table below, so nothing is lost.
Your results table
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
I changed: Where the gauge stands I measured: how much rain the gauge catches in a week (mm)
| Where the gauge stands | Try 1 (mm) | Try 2 (mm) | Try 3 (mm) | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open yard | ||||
| Under a tree | ||||
| By the house wall |
MY GRAPH (a bar graph: where the gauge stands along the bottom, mm up the side)
What I noticed: ______________________________________________
From 4th grade, add the tries for each level and divide by how many there were: that's the mean, and it goes in the last column. Then draw a bar graph, one bar for each thing you tried.
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
If I change where the rain gauge stands, then how much rain the gauge catches in a week will ________________, because _____________________________________________
| I CHANGE | I MEASURE | I KEEP THE SAME |
|---|---|---|
| Where the gauge stands: Open yard, Under a tree, By the house wall | how much rain the gauge catches in a week (mm) |
|
What I think will happen, in my own words:
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
| Date | What I did | What I saw | What I think |
|---|---|---|---|
Name ______________________ Fair day ____________
Question: Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
My hypothesis was ☐ right ☐ partly right ☐ not right.
I know because my numbers show:
What surprised me, or what might have gone wrong (7th and up):
Next time I would test:
Idea: Change a second thing: stand a wide bowl and a narrow jar side by side in the open, and see whether the opening's size changes the depth.
Why it works
A rain gauge catches the rain that falls straight into its opening, so it shows how deep the rain would be on flat, open ground. Leaves and branches catch some rain before it reaches the ground, and a wall and its roof shelter one side. Wind often blows rain in at a slant, so a gauge by a wall can catch more or less, depending on which side the rain comes from.
Going further (7th and up): Change a second thing: stand a wide bowl and a narrow jar side by side in the open, and see whether the opening's size changes the depth.
Board layout
- ❓ Question (10 × 8 in): Where does the most rain land: the open yard, under a tree or by the house?
- 💭 Hypothesis (10 × 9 in): If I change where the rain gauge stands, then how much rain the gauge catches in a week will ______, because ______.
- 🧺 Materials (10 × 12 in): 3 things: see your list.
- 🪜 Steps (22 × 9 in): 8 steps, three tries at each level.
- 📊 Results (22 × 16 in): Your table (Where the gauge stands down the side, tries across) and your bar graph.
- ✅ Conclusion (10 × 14 in): My hypothesis was right / partly right / not right. I know because…
Materials to list: A clear jar or tall glass; Masking tape, to mark lines; A pencil.
Bring photos or drawings of your test. Nothing wet, hot, powered or alive on the table.
This project at your grade
| 1st–3rd grade | Tries: three at each level (one is fine at a first fair). The table: levels and tries, numbers or pictures. The graph: a picture, or a simple bar graph. The conclusion: what happened, in their words. |
|---|---|
| 4th–6th grade | Tries: three at each level. The table: units in the header and a mean column. The graph: a bar graph, or a line for a number that grows. The conclusion: right, partly or not, and the numbers that show it. |
| 7th grade and up | Tries: three or more at each level. The table: a mean for every level of both tests. The graph: a graph with two lines or two sets of bars. The conclusion: the numbers, what might have gone wrong, and a next question. Second variable: stand a wide bowl and a narrow jar side by side in the open, and see whether the opening's size changes the depth. |
From 4th grade up, the table gets a mean column. See every project for 2nd grade, or print a blank results table.
What a judge will ask
- What did you change, and what did you measure? I changed where the rain gauge stands and measured how much rain the gauge catches in a week, in mm.
- What did you keep the same, and why does that matter? I kept the same kind of straight-sided jar for every gauge and every gauge standing level on the ground the same, so the only difference was where the rain gauge stands.
- How many times did you test it? 3 times at each of my 3 levels.
- If you did it again, what would you change or test next? I'd stand a wide bowl and a narrow jar side by side in the open, and see whether the opening's size changes the depth.
Make it yours
Keep this project on this device and Peabody counts down to your fair day, with a plan for each day. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Try next
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