Conducting background research is the first step in any science project. In a chewing gum flavor project, this might include finding out which types of gum are known to last long. Choose a few types of gum to study.
Form a hypothesis after you complete your research. A hypothesis is a statement you will attempt to prove through your investigation. An example hypothesis for this experiment could be: "Gum A's flavor will last longer than Gum B's."
Discovery Education explains that a well-designed investigation includes procedures that take into account all the factors that could affect the results of the investigation; these are known as the variables. The five steps to the experiment are: clarify the variables, list materials, list steps, estimate time and check work.
The variables in the gum project might be the amount of time someone chews the gum, the best before date of the gum and how fast someone chews the gum. The materials are the types of gum. In this experiment, collecting data involves writing down how long it takes each gum to run out of flavor as well as the speed at which the gum was chewed.
The last steps prior to creating the presentation are analyzing the data you collected and drawing a conclusion from the data. A chart or graph of some type helps to demonstrate the data.
Presentation is key in showing the work done in an elementary science project. You can use a tri-fold or posterboard to present the experiment from start to finish, using photos, graphs and other visual elements.