Holy Family students excel in science fair

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Neighbors | Submitted.Holy Family students Brennan Bizon (left) and Anne Alcorn recently earned Best of Show at Holy Family School's Science Fair with projects on paint additives and the odds of winning the "best" prize on a game show, respectively.

Holy Family eighth-graders Brennan Bizon and Anne Alcorn recently earned Best of Show at the school’s Science Fair. Seventh- and eighth-grade students participate in the science fair by completing a project that is judged by a panel of qualified science professionals. Charlotte Eskay is the science instructor for grades six through eight at Holy Family School.

Bizon chose his topic after noticing paint chipping off the pillars on his family’s front porch. Bizon found that paint fails from exposure to natural elements such as heat, freezing, dust and rain, and that expansion and contraction leads to cracking in the painted surface. Water often seeps in, freezes inside the paint in cold weather, and leads to flaking.

Bizon hoped to develop paint that lasted longer by using paint additives and his hypothesis tested modifying the binder using rubber particles to extend the lifetime of the paint. Bizon designed an experiment to test the elasticity and adhesion of the paint and also tracked the adhesion of the paint.

In his conclusion, Bizon confirmed that by adding the rubber particles to the binder, he increased the elasticity of the paint. However, he also discovered that the paint’s adhesion was significantly decreased with the rubber particles.

Always harboring a dream to be a contestant on shows like Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, or Let’s Make A Deal, Alcorn researched how to win the best prize in a game show.

She made a hypothesis that there is a way to win the best prize by taking the option to “switch to the remaining door,” and conducted an experiment where 15 people played a game.

When given the option, 11 contestants stayed with their current door — eight lost and three won with their choice. When four contestants switched their choice, they all won.

Alcorn repeated an experiment and had Subject A always switch their choice of door and Subject B remain with their current door. After repeating this 30 times, Subject A won 21 times and lost nine times, while Subject B won eight times and lost 22 times.

Alcorn said her project was fun and that her hypothesis was proven because in her research, she found that switching the choice of door will likely lead to a win.