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When I was 16 I did a project on whether plants could be used to remove heavy metals from soil. I don’t know why I did this but I did a nitrate test on the plan

When I was 16 I did a project on whether plants could be used to remove heavy metals from soil. I don’t know why I did this but I did a nitrate test on the plants (because I had been putting lead nitrate into the soil) and drew the conclusion that it must’ve worked. About 2 weeks before the city science fair I realized my error (none of my teachers had said anything). So in an attempt to lose, I made my backboard as bad as possible. I didn’t use scissors or glue, I just tore the paper and used masking tape. Long story short, I have no idea how, but despite my best efforts, I won the city science fair including an HP-48 graphing calculator and a trip to the state science fair. At the state science fair my backboard (you had to use the same one as the city contest) was mocked by much more studious 8-year olds. I found out that teachers weren’t allowed in the exhibition hall so I just abandoned my space and went to the beach. I did not win the state science fair.

tocs3 2y ago
Did you tell the judge or could you get a sense of what they thought?
- paulcole 2y ago
  I probably talked to 3 or 4 judges and explained to all of them exactly what I did and never lied. But I also wasn’t forthcoming about the error. I just explained the experiment and the result. None of them asked any questions that I couldn’t answer. I remember I was sitting next to a girl who had an amazing project. At the end of the day they called her name for 2nd place and I remember thinking, “Wow, who beat her?!” And then they call my name… I thought it was either all a mistake or that maybe the judges thought I was mentally challenged on account of my backboard and it was a pity situation? In hindsight, perhaps an emperor has no clothes situation where everybody sees the error but nobody wants to be the first one to call it out?
jmercouris 2y ago
why would you try to lose instead of just writing about the null hypothesis? why even make a submission?
- paulcole 2y ago
  I was 16 and didn’t want to do any more work. My school was making me submit my project. In hindsight, obviously there was a lot I could’ve done differently. Also, I didn’t know what a null hypothesis was then. TBH I still don’t!
- rileymat2 2y ago
  I am not sure it shows the null hypothesis either, unless I am missing something because it was not chance or sampling error.

tocs3 2y ago

Did you tell the judge or could you get a sense of what they thought?

paulcole 2y ago
I probably talked to 3 or 4 judges and explained to all of them exactly what I did and never lied. But I also wasn’t forthcoming about the error. I just explained the experiment and the result. None of them asked any questions that I couldn’t answer. I remember I was sitting next to a girl who had an amazing project. At the end of the day they called her name for 2nd place and I remember thinking, “Wow, who beat her?!” And then they call my name… I thought it was either all a mistake or that maybe the judges thought I was mentally challenged on account of my backboard and it was a pity situation? In hindsight, perhaps an emperor has no clothes situation where everybody sees the error but nobody wants to be the first one to call it out?

jmercouris 2y ago

why would you try to lose instead of just writing about the null hypothesis? why even make a submission?

paulcole 2y ago
I was 16 and didn’t want to do any more work. My school was making me submit my project. In hindsight, obviously there was a lot I could’ve done differently. Also, I didn’t know what a null hypothesis was then. TBH I still don’t!
rileymat2 2y ago
I am not sure it shows the null hypothesis either, unless I am missing something because it was not chance or sampling error.