Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 111)

May the Best Plant Win! Experiment with Genetically Modified Seeds

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Farmers face a variety of challenges in their efforts to grow crops. One of the chief challenges is the presence of unwanted plants (weeds) that compete with the crop plants for water, nutrients, and light. If the weeds are not suppressed, they can reduce or completely eliminate the amount of food derived from the crop at harvest. In this biotechnology and plant science fair project, you will simulate the competition between crop plants and weeds, and determine whether the use of an herbicide,… Read more

Mean & Green: Fruit & Vegetable Hardening

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you open a can of green beans, have you ever wondered why the beans are not mushy, or more like a puree? Canning requires boiling the beans for a long period of time to kill bacteria, so why don't the beans fall apart into small pieces? Some fruits and vegetables—like cherries, apples, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, beans, cauliflower, and tomatoes—have the ability to undergo hardening, or firming of their plant tissues. A special enzyme, called pectin methyl… Read more

Measuring Concussion Risk in Football and Other Contact Sports

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Playing sports can be a lot of fun, but some sports pose higher risks of concussions, or brain injuries resulting from collisions, especially in contact sports like football. Some coaches, teams, and players use new warning devices mounted on helmets that sound an alarm after the head receives a serious impact. This gives an advanced warning of concussion risk (possibly before any of the medical symptoms might appear), signaling that the player should stop playing and see a medical… Read more

Measuring Earthquakes

Lesson Plan Grade: 4th-8th

Measuring Speed with a Video Camera

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A video camera records 30 "frames" or distinct images per second. (That's for an NTSC camera in the U.S. PAL cameras in other areas of the world take 25 frames per second.) You can use this fact to time events and measure speed. One student has used a video camera to measure the speed of an arrow shot from a bow. The following project can help you set up your experiment: Distance and Speed of Rolling Objects Measured from Video Recordings. Read more

Measuring the Diameter of the Sun and the Moon

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You can measure the diameter of the Sun (and Moon) with a pinhole and a ruler! All you need to know is some simple geometry and the average distance between the Earth and Sun (or Moon). An easy way to make a pinhole is to cut a square hole (2-3 cm across) in the center of a piece of cardboard. Carefully tape a piece of aluminum foil flat over the hole. Use a sharp pin or needle to poke a tiny hole in the center of the foil. Use the pinhole to project an image of the Sun onto a wall or piece… Read more

Measuring Vibrational Frequency with Light

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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. Read more

Mix It Up: Transferring Heat by Convection in a Tank

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Big, puffy, cotton-like clouds, and the bubbles in a pot of boiling water may not seem like they have much in common, but they do—both are formed by a heat-transfer process called convection. Warmed gases and liquids rise, while cooler ones fall, creating currents and mixing things up. Whether making processed foods in a factory or making plastic or metal parts, knowing how to mix up a big tank of hot and cold liquids or gases quickly is important. Engineers must rely on experimentation… Read more

Mixing Mystery: Why Does Tumbling Sometimes Separate Mixtures?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do sand and cereal have in common? They are both granular materials, which means they are made up of solid particles, but they can actually flow like liquid. When two granular materials with very different-sized particles are mixed, you can actually separate each type by putting them in a rotating device called a tumbler. In this science project, you will examine how common household granular materials behave when mixed together in a moving container Read more

Model How R naught (R₀) Shapes an Epidemic

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Even during a global pandemic like COVID-19, there are differences in how the epidemic unfolds within communities. Some communities see early, large waves of infected individuals, while others see smaller numbers of infections over a longer period of time, and others may not appear to have an epidemic at all. Could R₀ (pronounced R naught), account for some of this variation? R₀, the basic reproduction number of a disease, quantifies how many people, on average, an infected… Read more

Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,335 results)

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