Ninth Grade, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 7)

Rubber Band Car Challenge for Grades 9-12

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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In this fun engineering lesson plan, your students will build rubber band-powered cars using readily available craft supplies. The challenge is to build a car that goes as far as possible while making careful use of materials. Elementary school and middle school versions of this lesson plan are also available. This lesson was part of the 2024 Science Buddies Engineering Challenge. Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

High School - Science & Engineering Practices

Science Fair CSI: Can You Predict the Spatter?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

There is evidence to be gathered at every crime scene. The hard part is making sense of it all. That's where crime scene investigators and forensic scientists come in. In this science fair project, you will investigate blood spatter using fake blood. Your job, as an impartial scientist, is to deliver facts so that justice can be served. Are you up to the challenge? Read more

Skiing and Friction: How Does Ski Wax Affect the Sliding Friction of Skis?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You can model this with an ice cube sliding down a plank: how high do you need to lift the end of the plank before the ice cube starts to slide? Try this with one side plain wood and the flip side waxed wood (use paraffin wax, candle wax or ski wax). Make sure both sides are equally smooth to start with. Do at least three trials. More advanced: using what you know about the forces acting on the ice cube, derive equations to calculate the coefficient of friction for each case. Variation: chill… Read more

Spare-Change Circus: Walking Coins on a (Vertical!) 'High Wire'

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here is a project that is almost like a magic trick: with a strong magnet and a simple apparatus you can build yourself, you can make a coin "walk" up and down a wire coat hanger! This project is an interesting way to learn about the distance over which magnetic forces act on magnetic materials. Read more

The Joly Photometer: Measuring Light Intensity Using the Inverse Square Law

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You have probably seen light bulbs with different wattages, for example 50 W or 100 W. Higher-wattage lights are brighter but they also consume more electrical power. Are some bulbs more efficient than others, meaning they produce more light per unit of electrical power? You can find out for yourself by making a simple photometer to compare the light output from different bulbs. This project shows you how. Read more

Volleyball Machine Challenge for High School

Lesson Plan Grade: 9th-12th

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Teach your students about the engineering design process with this fun lesson plan. They will design and build two "volleyball machines" that launch a ping pong ball back and forth over a net. While the 2019 Engineering Challenge is over, your students can still try this project and compare their scores to top scores from around the world! Teachers, note that elementary school and middle school versions of this lesson plan are also available. Looking for this year's challenge? Check out… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

High School - Science & Engineering Practices

Water Striders & Surface Tension

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Water striders (also called water bugs, pond skippers, etc.) are insects that can hop around on the surface of water (Figure 1). Unlike boats or other floating objects that are partially submerged and held up by the resulting buoyant force, water striders are held up by surface tension. Figure 1. Water striders (image credit Isaka Yoji). You can build your own water striders using thin wire (Figure 2 and summary video). Do some background research about… Read more

What is the Maximum Intermediate Height for a Siphon?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A siphon is a handy device for emptying out a liquid reservoir that has no drain. For example, they're great for cleaning fish tanks. An interesting aspect of a siphon in action is that the liquid flows "uphill" for a portion of its journey through the tube. This project asks the question, is there a maximum height for that uphill part of the siphon? Read more

Ninth Grade, Physics Projects, Lessons, Activities (68 results)

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