Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 71)

Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

For example, think of hitting a baseball, heading a soccer ball into the net, or hitting a tennis ball with a racquet. Where the ball goes depends on...what? You can set up a simple model to start your investigation. You'll need a marble, a flat piece of wood, a flat piece of cardboard, a pencil, a ruler, a protractor, and a level surface. Lay down the cardboard down on a level surface and set up the flat piece of wood at one edge. The wood will act like a wall, and you're going to roll… Read more

Batteries: The Shocking Truth

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You probably use batteries to power different devices every day, ranging from toys to TV remotes, without giving it much thought. Figure 1, below, shows some common types of batteries. Eventually the batteries will die and you have to replace them with new ones (or recharge them if they are rechargeable batteries). How much do you actually know about how batteries work? This abbreviated project idea will give you some suggestions to investigate how batteries perform in common household… Read more

Bending Plant Roots with Gravity

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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How do plants know which way is up or down? How does this affect which direction their roots will grow? In this lesson plan, your students will investigate how changes in a plant's environment, like the direction of gravity, affect the shape of its growing roots over a period of several days. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.

Black in the Spotlight

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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How does light interact with matter? In this fun hands-on lesson, your students explore how different materials transmit, absorb and/or reflect light. They create their own experiments to demonstrate these phenomena and use a phones' built-in light sensor and a sensor app to add quantitative data to their arguments. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

Blocking RFID Readers from Reading your ID Card

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you've ever watched an adult pay for something by simply touching their credit card to a machine at a store, or you've done the same with a bus pass, you've seen an RFID tag in action. An RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) tag allows a card to be read by a computer from a short distance away. This is very convenient, but it also allows criminals to steal information about you. For instance, on the subway or the bus, someone standing next to you can use an RFID reader to access the data on… Read more

Blood Sugar Balancing Act: How Exercise Tips the Scales

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You are probably very familiar with the fact that over time, exercise changes your muscles, your lungs, your bones, and even your mindset; but did you know it has an immediate effect on your body's biochemistry? You can see this in the amount of glucose (a type of sugar your body uses for fuel) circulating in your blood. Blood glucose levels change as you exercise. For most people, this is not a big deal. But for top-level athletes in the middle of intense exercise (like a marathon), or for… Read more

Breath of Life: Does Exercise Increase Vital Capacity?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How much air do you think you breathe in when you take a deep breath? Can you increase your lung capacity by exercising regularly? Do athletes have greater lung capacity than non-athletes? This project shows you how you can find out. Read more

Bristlebot Shape and Motion Tracking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Bristlebots are tiny little robots with no "brain." They are powered by vibrations and move around randomly. Even if there is no brain, can you still influence how they move by changing their design? Find out in this fun robotics project! Read more

Bubbling Plants Experiment to Quantify Photosynthesis

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

Students learn a simple technique for quantifying the amount of photosynthesis that occurs in a given period of time, using a common water plant (Elodea). They use this technique to compare the amounts of photosynthesis that occur under conditions of low and high light levels. Before they begin the experiment, however, students must come up with a well-worded hypothesis to be tested. After running the experiment, students pool their data to get a large sample size,… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.
5-LS1-1. Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

Build a Bathtub Toy Raft Powered by Surface Tension

STEM Activity

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Have you ever wondered why a water strider can walk on water? Or how detergent can clean your dishes? If you look around you carefully, you can find dozens of similarly interesting phenomena that are all linked to the surface tension of water. In this science activity, you will make a little toy raft that is actually powered by surface tension, and use your vessel to investigate how surface tension works! Read more

Middle School Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,332 results)

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