High School Projects, Lessons, Activities (847 results)
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Have you ever had to adjust to a new time zone and noticed that it takes a while before you start to feel normal again? By shifting your sleep and activity schedule, you have altered the pattern of your body's circadian rhythms. Human beings, like many other living things, have a number of internal processes that show a distinct circadian rhythm. The most obvious is our sleep cycle, with activity during the day, followed by sleep during the night. Circadian rhythms have also been demonstrated…
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Chlorophyll is a natural pigment found in green plants. It is the primary pigment that absorbs light energy from the sun for photosynthesis. This energy is then used by the plant to synthesize glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Chlorophyll in the leaves of plants can be extracted and separated using chromatography. A good source of chlorophyll for an extraction is a dark green leafy vegetable like spinach. Rub a fresh spinach leaf on the bottom of a strip of filter paper. You can get a…
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Did you know that a scientific study has shown that chewing Big Red Gum reduces mouth microbes? (ScienceDaily contributors, 2004) The cinnamon oil in the gum is a natural defense against mouth bacteria that cause tooth decay and bad breath. Conduct an experiment to compare products with cinnamon essence in gum, candy, toothpaste, and mouthwash to see if they can decrease mouth germs. Do a before and after swab of the mouth with a Q-tip. Which treatments work the best? Can you find another…
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Engineers are trying to tackle the world's ocean pollution problem using robots. Some robots, like Mr. Trash Wheel and the ship featured in this Mark Rober video, are stationary and collect trash as it flows out of rivers before it gets into the ocean. Others, like the Jellyfishbot, are mobile and can squeeze into narrower spaces to collect trash:
Can you build and test your own trash-skimming robot? If you do not have access to a natural body of water to test it in, you can use a bathtub or a…
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What color is grape soda? If you pour it into a clear glass you can easily see it is purple, but that is usually not its natural color. Manufacturers add red and blue dye to the soda. The dyes mix together and you get purple soda. What if you wanted to un-mix the dyes, could you? Yes! In a chemistry laboratory, using a technique called column chromatography, you could separate the two dyes again. But what about at home, can you use low-tech supplies to do the same thing? In this science…
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Have you ever wished you could control your own suit of power armor like Iron Man? What about building a set of Wolverine-like retractable claws? You can get started by using electromyography (EMG) sensors, which can measure the tiny electrical signals generated by our muscles when they contract (Figure 1). You can interface these sensors with a microcontroller like an Arduino and use the output to control LEDs or motors.
Getting these sensors to work can be tricky. The electrical signals…
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Have you ever wondered how your smart devices can recognize and distinguish your face from that of others? In this project, you will explore how to create and modify a facial recognition model using a type of artificial intelligence known as neural networks. This project is designed for beginners and requires little to no coding experience. Ready to give it a shot?
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Many scientists are currently very excited about CRISPR, as it has the potential to revolutionize gene editing. But what exactly is CRISPR and what does it do? CRISPR is a novel tool in gene editing that allows the modification of genetic DNA at specific target sites in many different organisms. Researchers have high hopes that this technology can, one day, cure genetic diseases, as mutated DNA sequences can easily be corrected. In this project, you will use CRISPR to mutate a DNA sequence…
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Everyone's used to the idea that people are either right-handed or left-handed for particular tasks. That is, one hand is preferred (or dominant) over the other for a particular task. Did you know that people also have a dominant eye? This project is designed to look for consequences of having the dominant hand and eye on the same side of the body (uncrossed) vs. having the dominant hand and eye on opposite sides of the body (crossed).
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Ultraviolet light can damage DNA molecules. If a cell's DNA repair mechanisms can't keep up with the damage, mutations are the result. As harmful mutations accumulate, the cell eventually dies. How much ultraviolet light is too much for a bacterial cell?
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