Scientific Method-Practical Research Question: What percentage of cars parked at superchain stores only have one license plate(rear) compared to having both front and rear license plates?

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that a majority cars (estimated 90%) surveyed will have both license plates because it is a law in Ohio that you need both. Without both, you could get fined a large sum of money. It is better to be safe than sorry in this situation.

Prediction: If we go to popular stores with lots of different cars to survey, then we will find that a majority (estimated 90%) of the cars have both plates.

Observations: We have noticed that some cars around town (particularly older jeeps and SUV's) don't seem to have a set place for a license plate. These vehicles had their license plates nailed to the front and back in the general vicinity where the placard should be.

Most cars that we have seen around town have two license plates. However, we have seen a few with only a rear plate. These cars are usually nicer-looking cars/sports cars and sedans. We infer that the owners of these cars don't want to put a metal plate on the front of their nice cars. We have seen more trucks, SUV's, Jeeps, etc. that appear to have both plates.

Background information: Thirty-one states and the Districe of Columbia currently require having two license plates installed on a car (front and rear). These states are: Missouri, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island. The other nineteen only require a rear plate. These are: Michigan, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Delaware.

The penalty for only having one plate in a state that requires two varies from state to state. However, in most states you will get a fine. For example, in Texas, you will be fined between $112 and $134 per citation. If your license plate is displayed improperly, you might just get a warning.

Some people are not satisfied with the current laws. For example, there is a group of activists in California that created a petition to reverse the double license plate law. This petition argues that a front license plate increases costs for production, storage and shipping,"restricts the performance" of vehicles, and causes unnecessary damage in collisions.

Experimental Set-up: On Sunday, September 9, 2012, Taylor Maddox and Ben Morgan drove out to a few stores (Meijer, Target, and Lowe's) in Middletown to collect data. Taylor and Ben surveyed 100 cars at each store randomly and collected their data using tally marks. They made columns for "1 plate" and "2 plates" and surveyed a variety of vehicles.

Conclusion: In conclusion, most cars in Ohio do display two license plates, as the law requires. On average, over 90% of cars found at these stores had two license plates. One possible source of error is that we only went to these stores at one time. We could have reduced the possible error by going to these stores at different times and dates. The day (Sunday) could change the outcome compared to other days. However, in the end, the information seems accurate and matches up with state law.