Eighth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 102)

Only If They Think They Can Get Away with It?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How many times have you seen a car without the appropriate permit (either a license plate or placard that hangs from the rearview mirror) parked in an accessible parking space reserved for people with disabilities? If you find this behavior upsetting, you might be interested in figuring out how to discourage "cheaters" who use these spaces to make a quick trip into the store. Is it enough to let them know someone might be watching? Read more

Physics of Vibrations

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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 string from its handle. Lightly hold the handle with your thumb and forefinger and have a helper sharply tap the bat, strings or club face… Read more

Picture This: How Visualizing Data Can Lead to the Right (or Wrong) Conclusion

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Big data is one of the most promising and hyped trends in technology and business today. Big data refers to data-analysis jobs that are too large and complex to be analyzed by applications that are traditionally used. Big data sets hold valuable information. Many publicly available data sets have the potential to improve our everyday lives by giving us insight into the things we care about. How well-equipped are we to extract information from the data? Visualizations and aggregations (or… Read more

Pinwheel Magic: Take a Spin with Animation

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you enjoy watching cartoons and animated movies? Do you have fun playing video games? What do all of these things have in common? Fantastic computer animation, that's what! It's a cool job to take an interesting story or game and make it more entertaining by animating it. In this computer science project, you won't animate a full-length feature movie, but you will animate a pinwheel—a project that can go a long way toward creating your own longer animations! You will create an animated… Read more

Pitch Perception

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do violin students have better relative pitch than piano students? Since the violin requires the player to choose the correct location to stop the string in order to sound the proper note, you might think that violin players would, as a result of practice, have better ear training than piano students. On the other hand, you could argue the opposite viewpoint, since piano students would have the benefit of hearing correct intervals (assuming that the piano is in tune). Which hypothesis do you… Read more

Plastic Deformation: Glass Transition of Some Plastics

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Some plastics undergo an unusual transition, from a hard, glassy state to a soft, rubbery state, with increased temperature. For this project, you should do background research on the effects of temperature on different types of plastics. Make sure that you understand the difference between thermosetting and thermoplastic polymers. You should also look for information on the glass transition temperature (Tg) for different plastics. Pure polyvinyl acetate has a Tg of 28 C (about… Read more

Playing Games

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Almost all of the games we play are based on math in some way or another. Card games, board games, and computer games are designed using statistics, probabilities, and algorithms. Begin by reading about games and game theory. Then you can choose your favorite game and investigate the mathematical principles behind how it works. Can combinatorial game theory help you to win two-player games of perfect knowledge such as go, chess, or checkers? (Weisstein, 2006; Watkins, 2004) In a multi-player… Read more

Porosity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Soils are made of particles of different types and sizes. The space between particles is called pore space. Pore space determines the amount of water that a given volume of soil can hold. Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of soil that consists of pore space. Compare the porosity of different types of soil. Which types of soil hold the most water? Can you see this under a microscope? Read more

Practice

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

We've all heard that "practice makes perfect," but what is the best way to practice? For example, does "mental practice" do any good? You'll need at least 9 volunteers for this project. Pick a well-defined sports activity, with a measurable outcome, such as shooting basketball free-throws (measure number of shots taken and number of shots made), or balancing on one foot on a slightly raised beam (measure how long you can do it; if it's too easy, try closing your eyes). Test all volunteers… Read more

Preventing Outbreaks with Herd Immunity

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

What is herd immunity, how is it achieved, and what impact does it have on outbreaks? Students will explore these questions and more in this lesson plan. They will then use SimPandemic, a free online tool, to model different levels of viral immunity in communities to understand how a population can reach the herd immunity threshold and the impacts that has on individuals and populations during a COVID-19 outbreak. Remote learning adaptation: This lesson plan can be conducted remotely. … Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-8. Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species' chances to survive and reproduce.

Eighth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,099 results)

Explore Our Science Videos