Elementary School, Pure Mathematics Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 2)

Money Problems

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Math can make you money! If you understand some basic math, you can make good decisions about how to keep, spend, and use your hard earned dollars. Try an experiment comparing the same balance in different types of bank accounts. How much better is a savings account than a checking account? What difference does the interest rate make? Which is better, an account that earns compound or simple interest? Can you compare the short and long term costs of borrowing money compared to saving the cash… Read more

Play-Doh Math

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever had fun making different figures or colorful creations using some Play-Doh? You can squish and stretch a single piece of Play-Doh® to make all sorts of shapes. How does changing the shape of a piece of Play-Doh affect its volume? In this science project, you will find out by testing how changing a piece of dough's shape affects its dimensions (length, width, and height), and how these changes are related to the dough's volume. Read more

Around the World: The Geometry of Shooting Baskets

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Take shots at a set distance from the basket, but systematically vary the angle to the backboard. For a basic project: How do you think your success rate will vary with angle? Draw a conclusion from your experimental results. A bar graph showing success rate at different angles can help to illustrate your conclusion. For a more advanced project: Use your knowledge of geometry and basketball to come up with a mathematical expression to predict your success rate as a function of angle… Read more

Divide and Conquer: Proving Pick's Theorem for Lattice Polygons

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you like to play Tetris, then you might like this project. You will learn something interesting about the mathematics of complex shapes as you try to prove Pick's Theorem. The strange shape below is an example of a lattice polygon, which is a polygon whose vertices lie on points in the plane that have integer coordinates. As you can see, it is a complex shape, but there is an easy way to calculate its area, by simply counting lattice points! If you count the number of lattice points on… Read more

Draw a Spirograph with a Raspberry Pi

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever used a toy like a Spirograph® to draw precise, repeatable patterns on a piece of paper? What if you could use a computer to automatically draw the patterns for you? This project will show you how to do just that using a Raspberry Pi. Check out the video to see what this simple, but fun, project looks like. IMPORTANT: The instructions for this project were originally written using Scratch 2 on a Raspberry Pi 3B+. If you are using a newer Raspberry Pi running Scratch 3, you… Read more

Estimation and Population Size

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wanted to take a short cut? How about when doing your math homework? In this experiment you can learn how estimation can save you time doing math calculations. But beware, some estimations are better than others! Can you match this sample size with the best population? How accurate are your estimation skills? Read more

Frequency Histograms

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you remember what the weather was like last week? Last year? Here's a project that looks at what the weather was like for over a hundred years. You'll use historical climate data to look at moisture conditions in regions across the continental U.S. You'll use a spreadsheet program to calculate the frequency of different moisture conditions for each region and make graphs for comparison. Which part of the country has the most frequent droughts? The most frequent periods of prolonged… Read more

Frequency of Outcomes in a Small Number of Trials

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

People often draw conclusions from a small number of observations, and use those conclusions to evaluate the likelihood that an event will take place. But how easy is it to draw the wrong conclusion based on those observations? Will your predictions be accurate if an experiment is only performed a few times? The objective of this project is to determine what happens when a test with two equally-likely outcomes is performed only a small number of times. You can test this by flipping a coin. A… Read more

Geometry of Goal-Scoring

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Block off one-third of a soccer net with a cone, 5-gallon bucket or some other suitable object. Shoot into the smaller side from a set distance, but systematically varying the angle to the goal line. Take enough shots at each angle to get a reliable sample. How does success vary with angle? For a basic project: How do you think your success rate will vary with angle? Draw a conclusion from your experimental results. A bar graph showing success rate at different angles can help to… Read more

Measuring Up

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Measurements are very important for scientists. It is especially important that the measurements be accurate. Think about how important accuracy is when you want to know if you are taller than a friend of yours, every inch counts! In this experiment, you will investigate how different objects can be measured with accuracy. Are small or large objects more difficult to measure? Who in your family is the best at measuring? Maybe it will be you! Read more

Elementary School, Pure Mathematics Projects, Lessons, Activities (23 results)

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