Science in the Real World
If you're interested in object motion and like taking mechanical objects apart to see how they work, then it sounds like you'd be interested in applied mechanics. Check out one of the Project Ideas below and you could find the science fair project you're looking for. Here are a few of the topics that are covered:
- Catapults and trebuchets
- Projectile launches, such as the trajectory of cannonballs
- Springs, levers, and mechanical mechanisms
- Stability, equilibrium, momentum, and inertia of various systems; for example, the results of differently shaped objects rolling down an incline
- How different surface types affect motion
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When you think of a machine, you probably think of computers or robots. But what if I told you that machines have been around for centuries? Would you believe me? Try this experiment to see which of these simple machines you use around your house. You might even use some of them everyday!
Working as a toy designer sounds like the coolest job ever, but you may be surprised how much brain power it takes. In this project you can design an entry to the Sally Ride TOYchallenge that teaches, demonstrates, or tests a scientific concept.
How many times have you heard from your parents: "Clean up your room!" or "Don't forget to unload the dishwasher!" By applying principles of industrial engineering and time management, you can speed through your chores and have more time to kick back and relax.
If you've ever been shot with a rubber band then you know it has energy in it, enough energy to smack you in the arm and cause a sting! How can the energy of a rubber band be put to work? In this experiment you will find out how the stretching of a rubber band affects the amount of energy that springs out of it.
| Want to do a project with a toy your parents, or even grandparents, might have played with? Slinkies are fun toys that also make great science fair projects. In this experiment you can build an inclined plane to compare the walking speed of Slinky to Slinky Jr.
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Oh no! Mom and Dad have only given you a half-hour to play your video game before you have to go do your homework. You need to maximize your score before your friends do. Learn to use ergonomics to your benefit! Investigate how different body postures and changes to the gaming environment can affect a person's score. By the end of this project, you can be the Gaming Master.
Have you ever broken a fishing rod? Or seen a treetop bend over and touch the ground (or even snap off) during an ice storm? These are examples of the effect of bending stresses on flexible rods. There are scientists who actually study this phenomenon and discover ways to prevent breakage, which leads to stronger fishing rods, building materials, car parts, and more. In this science project, you'll explore the bending stresses in flexible rods by testing asparagus stalks.
Robots come in many shapes and sizes. Everything from the Mars Rover to a toy dinosaur is a well planned machine designed to suit its purpose. In this experiment you will test different robot designs with an online simulator. How will each robot design respond?
Music boxes, bicycles, and clocks all have one thing in common: GEARS! You might say that gears make the world turn, since they are in so many mechanical instruments. How do they work and how do you know which gears to use? Find out in this simple experiment.
With this project you'll send ping pong balls flying through the air with a rubber-band powered catapult. This catapult makes it easy to reproduce the launch angle, and to measure the amount of force applied to the projectile. Armed with this information, can you find ways to keep the ping pong balls flying accurately on target?
When you open up your presents on your birthday, you probably don't spend a lot of time admiring the wrapping—you'd much rather see what's inside. It can be the same way with the packaging that products come in, but packaging is important for protecting the things we buy as they make their way from the factory to our homes. How much shock force is produced when a box gets dropped accidentally? What kinds of materials work best to protect products from damage? This project can show you how to find out.
How much force does it take to drive a nail through different types of wood? In this project you'll build a simple test apparatus to swing a hammer reproducibly so you can find out.
Do corked bats really hit the ball further? What about other materials? Here's a project to find out.
"Hey kids, step right up! Toss this ball and win a prize!" shouts the carny barker. Sounds easy enough—until you try it. Why are those "simple" games at the fairs, carnivals, and boardwalks so hard? Is it really lack of skill or coordination or do those concessionaires use some basic laws of science to help them set up the games in their favor? This science fair project can help you find out for yourself.
When something goes wrong, do you like to try to figure out why? Engineers do this all the time. They even have a fancy name for it: failure analysis. Understanding how different materials break is an important part of failure analysis. Here's a project with one approach to studying the way things break.
The funny thing about friction is that you couldn't get anywhere without it, yet it still acts to slow you down as you're getting there. Here is an easy project to measure the effects of friction.
Many materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. What do you think will happen to the elasticity (stretchiness) of a rubber band when it is heated or cooled to various temperatures?
Before the Industrial Age, people relied on muscle power for moving and lifting heavy objects. Here's a project that shows you how you can use your head to make heavy lifting easier on your muscles–and your back!
Whoopee! No matter what age, who doesn't like flying down the slides at parks and pools? In this experiment, you might be surprised what you can learn about the fascinating forces of friction while sliding down (or sticking to) those fun, slippery slopes. Caution: only speed demons need apply for this activity . . .
A trebuchet is a catapult that uses a counterweight to supply the energy for throwing. They were used in the Middle Ages for attacking castle walls. In this project, you build your own model trebuchet and investigate how design changes affect throwing distance.
Hooke's law says that the opposing force of a spring is directly proportional to the amount by which the spring is stretched. How accurately Hooke's law describe the behavior of real springs? Can springs be used to make accurate scales for weighing objects? Spring into action and find out for yourself with this project.
Are you interested in things like prosthetic limbs and artificial joints that can help people with disease or injury to lead a normal life? Or maybe you're interested in sports medicine or physical therapy? Either way, this project could be a good match for you. Find out how the tension on the knee joint changes as a function of angle by building a simple mechanical model.
Strike a key on the piano, and you hear the string vibrating. Just about any object vibrates when it's knocked, but how much and how fast? What properties of the material affect the way it vibrates? This project helps you find out. You'll build a simple light-sensing circuit for measuring the frequency of vibrating springs.
Additional Project Ideas
Note: The following project ideas are abbreviated, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.
If you have a multi-speed bike, you know that you can make it easier or harder to pedal just by shifting gears. Ever wonder how that works? You can investigate this a number of ways. A basic approach is to use a selection of spools of thread (with different diameters), a board with two nails, and a rubber band. Place a spool over each nail, and...
How does the air pressure in a tire affect the rolling resistance of a bicycle or wheelbarrow? Do you need more or less effort to move the bicycle (or wheelbarrow) as the air pressure is changed? Use a tire pressure gauge to monitor air pressure (don't exceed the recommended tire pressure). For the bicyle, you could probably use a spring scale...
Tennis racquets, baseball bats and golf clubs all vibrate when they hit the ball. You can often feel it in your hands, particularly if you "mis-hit" the ball. You can find the point(s) on your racquet, bat or club—called the "sweet spot"— that minimize unwanted vibrations. Low-tech method: hang the racquet or bat straight up and down with a...
How much force can a rubber band withstand before breaking? Do rubber bands that stretch longer take more or less force to break? How does the elasticity of a rubber band change with temperature? Use a spring scale to measure the applied force, and a meter stick or ruler to measure the change in length. Recording with a video camera (or...
Have you ever set up a line of dominoes and watched them fall? If you wanted to make your line of dominoes fall faster, do you think you should set the dominoes up with more or less space between them? Set your dominoes up in a straight line, using a ruler to keep the spacing between them constant. Try different spacings at 0.5 cm increments. ...
How does ski wax affect the sliding friction of skis? You can model this with an ice cube sliding down a plank: how high do you need to lift the end of the plank before the ice cube starts to slide? Try this with one side plain wood and the flip side waxed wood (use paraffin wax, candle wax or ski wax). Make sure both sides are equally smooth...
How much force is required to advance a lag bolt (large wood screw with a hex-shaped head) into a piece of wood? You can measure the force by using a spring scale attached to the handle of ratchet. Pull on the spring scale until the bolt starts to turn, and note the required force from the spring scale. There are many potential experiments you...
Resources
Sources for Additional Project Ideas
- Coy, A.R., 2005. "How Does Temperature Affect a Rubber Band's Elasticity?" California State Science Fair Project Abstract [accessed April 18, 2006] http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0204.pdf.
- Coyle, C.P., 2005. "Some Variables Affecting the Torque Required to Turn a Screw," California State Science Fair Project Abstract [accessed April 18, 2006] http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0205.pdf.
- Barr, George. Sports Science for Young People. New York: Dover Publications, 1990.
- Brody, Howard. Tennis Science for Tennis Players. Philadelphia: The University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
- Brody, Howard et al. The Physics and Technology of Tennis. Solana Beach, CA: Racquet Tech Publishing, 2002.
- Gatanaga, D.A., 2004. "How Does the Distance Between Dominoes Affect the Speed That Dominoes Fall?" California State Science Fair Project Abstract [accessed April 18, 2006] http://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2004/Projects/J0211.pdf.
- Wiese, Jim. Sports Science: 40 Goal-Scoring, High-Flying, Medal-Winning Experiments for Kids. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2002.
