High School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 75)

Ocean Currents and Weather

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Ocean currents have a huge impact on our weather. If not for the ocean currents, the global climate would be similar to an ice age. Do you live near the coast? Find out which currents are near your coastline. How do they affect your climate? Where do they come from? Do they bring colder or warmer water to your area? Are they seasonal? What do you think your area would be like without them? Every three to seven years there is a weather phenomenon called El Niño, which is caused by… Read more

Physics Secrets for Hula Hooping

STEM Activity

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Have you ever spent time spinning a hula hoop around your waist or arm? Could you easily do it, or was it difficult? Have you ever wondered how hula hoops work, or, in other words, what makes them be able to spin around a person's waist or arm? It comes down to the physics that is involved. Physics can help you determine what makes one hula hoop a winner and another a flop. In this activity you will get to create your own hula hoops and investigate how their masses affect how they spin. … 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

PID Controller Tuning for a Drone

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Note: to do this project you will need the DIY Mini Drone Kit, available from our partner Home Science Tools®. An Arduino must be purchased separately. The Electronics Kit for Arduino, available from our partner Home Science Tools®, contains the additional parts you will need, including an ultrasonic sensor. The program in the DIY Mini Drone: Arduino™ Altitude Control project uses a proportional controller to control the drone's altitude. A potentiometer is connected to one… Read more

Ping Pong Pickup Challenge for Grades 9-12

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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In this fun engineering lesson plan, your students will build devices from paper, tape, string, and paper clips to pick up and retrieve a ping pong ball. The challenge is to pick up the ball from as far away as possible! Elementary school and middle school versions of this lesson plan are also available. The 2023 competition is over, but you can see what students built and learn about the winners on the 2023 Engineering Challenge summary page. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

High School - Science & Engineering Practices

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

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

Pluck Out & Pick New String Materials for Your Guitar

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Walk into any music store and you'll find a dizzying array of string choices for your classical guitar, including rectified nylon, clear nylon, carbon fluoride, bronze wound, phosphor bronze wound, silver-plated copper wire, Polytetra-flouro-ethylene (PTFE), each in a range of tensions from low to high. There is no single best brand or best material. All have their advantages and disadvantages. A set of strings that sounds "sparkling" on one guitar might sound dull on another, primarily because… 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

High School Projects, Lessons, Activities (849 results)

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