A health sciences project examines some biomedical and/or clinical aspect of human life or lifestyle and its translation into improved health for humans, or more effective health services and products. Projects related to the health of specific populations, societal, cultural and lifestyle dimensions of health, and environmental influences on health are also included in this division. Health sciences projects include those related to human aging, genetics, cancer research, musculoskeletal health, arthritis, circulatory and respiratory health, nutrition, neurosciences, mental health, psychology, metabolism, human development, infection and immunology. In addition, projects involving animal research that have a direct application to human health are included in this division. Projects involving research on humans demand careful planning with respect to YSF Canada regulations. Please see the regulations at http://www.flasf.on.ca.

A Life Science project examines some aspect of the life or lifestyle of an organism, which encompasses all types of non-human life such as plants, animals, birds, fish and insects. Life Science includes botany, zoology and entomology. It also includes crop development projects pertaining to agriculture, horticulture or silviculture (forestry); animal science projects pertaining to animals involved in agriculture and aquaculture; and microbial projects pertaining to affect of microbes on productivity in agriculture, horticulture and forestry or their use in industrial processes. An Earth Science project focuses on topics relating to planetary processes, the relationships of organisms to those processes, and the relationships among organisms. Projects will fall into the following fields of study: geology, mineralogy, physiography, oceanography, limnology, climatology, seismology, geography, and ecology. Earth science includes environmental science. It can involve the study of pollution (air, water, and land). Studies dealing with resource management or sustainable development would fall into this category. Projects involving animals demand careful planning with respect to YSF Canada regulations. Please see the regulations at http://www.flasf.on.ca.

Those projects which are derived from a life science topic, but have as their major focus a problem in another discipline, are better placed in a different category.

Example One: An acid rain project that investigates the effect of acid precipitation on potted geraniums would be a life science project, while another that examined precipitation from varying weather patterns would be a physical science project.

Example Two: The effect of microwaves on germinating mung beans would be a life science project, while cooking the mung beans using microwaves would not.

Example Three: The meteorological characteristics of a Chinook would be physical science, while the effects of a Chinook on living organisms would be life science.

A Physical Science project studies an abiotic (non-biological) phenomenon in order to understand the relation of identified factors, perhaps including a cause and effect relationship, in fields such as physics, chemistry and astronomy. Comparison testing of projects, as it is descriptive, would be included. A Mathematical Science project seeks to demonstrate an application of mathematics or to solve a theoretical problem. The problem provides a context for the exploration of pattern and the search for a mathematical model. Some areas of investigation in this category include algorithm development (a mathematical model to describe a phenomenon or event), operational research (application of mathematical science to solve planning or operational problems), and statistics. A project highlighting a breakthrough technique that uses the computer to accomplish this task also falls in this category.

Example One: The factors affecting the size of a bubblegum bubble (time, brand, etc.) would be a physical science project, although factors to be considered would include the effect of digestion enzymes and saliva and the action of chewing, both of which are life science.

It is possible that some physical science studies may overlap into engineering. The student may need some guidance to focus on one area while perhaps maintaining the other as background work or as a related extension.

A separate "mathematics" division has not been created, as such, projects can be easily categorised into an existing division. However, you should be aware that pure mathematics projects are perfectly acceptable at science fairs and should be classified in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics category.

An Engineering project applies physical science knowledge to solve a problem or achieve a purpose. These projects investigate the utility of innovations and inventions and can focus on a new process or on a new product. Although a complete engineering project will include an outline of the need, the development of the innovation and some work on introducing the innovation to the community, many projects focus on just the development phase. A Computing Science project deals with computing, mathematical models, innovative software and hardware design. Computing sciences projects are applied science and technology projects that concentrate on the development of computer equipment or programs. They focus mainly on computers, their languages, their software, databases and their functions. Projects that store and handle data should be entered in their data-specific division.