Sixth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 108)

The True Cost of a Bike Rack: Aerodynamics and Fuel Economy

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Race car drivers need every advantage they can get to give them the competitive edge in a race. In addition to human factors, like driving skill and reaction time, their cars must overcome physical forces, like air resistance, to maintain their high speeds. While this science project will not have you driving around a race track at 200 miles per hour, you will get to test how increased air resistance affects a real car's fuel economy. You will do this by measuring and comparing the gas mileage… Read more

The Turn of the Screw

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How much force is required to advance a lag bolt (large wood screw with a hex-shaped head) into a piece of wood? You can measure the force by using a spring scale attached to the handle of ratchet. Pull on the spring scale until the bolt starts to turn, and note the required force from the spring scale. There are many potential experiments you could try. Think about answering the following questions: How does the force change as the bolt advances deeper into the wood? Why? How does the… Read more

Throwing You Some Curves: Is Red or Blue Longer?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This a straightforward, but interesting, project in geometry. It is a good first proof to try on your own. You should be able to figure it out by yourself, and you'll gain insight into a basic property of circles. Figure 1 below shows a semicircle (AE, in red) with a series of smaller semicircles (AB, BC, CD, DE, in blue) constructed inside it. As you can see, the sum of the diameters of the four smaller semicircles is equal to the diameter of the large semicircle. The area of the larger… Read more

Tightening the Turns in Speed Skating: Lessons in Centripetal Force & Balance

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Enjoy the thrill and pace of speed skating, do you? Well, this project's for you. Fast turns around the track become your laboratory tests in these experiments whether you skate on ice, wood, or pavement. The goal is to determine which type of turns are best in a race-tight, medium, or wide-and then to figure out why. You'll analyze the speed and stability of your turns and compare your results with those of a few fellow skaters. This is a friendly competition where the prize is learning… Read more

Tracking a Virus

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

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Students simulate the spread of a virus such as HIV through a population by "sharing" (but not drinking) the water in a plastic cup with several classmates. Although invisible, the water in a few of the cups has already be tainted with the "virus" (sodium carbonate). After all the students have shared their liquids, the contents of the cups are tested for the virus with phenolphthalein, a chemical that causes a striking color change in the presence of sodium carbonate.… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS1-3. Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.

Traverse the Terrain

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-8th

In this design challenge, learners will explore using coordinate planes to navigate a rover through uncharted territory on Mars. They will engage in communication and quality control best practices by mapping obstacles and checking other teams' instructions for accuracy. Learning Objectives Students will: Collaborate with their team to build a test model of the terrain of Mars with obstacles. Map the coordinates of the obstacles of a different team's model terrain. Practice quality… Read more

Turning Mushrooms into Environmentally Friendly Packaging

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever questioned the packaging of an item in a plastic container, secured in a plastic mold, that also slides into a plastic box, or a small item packed in twenty times its volume of polystyrene noodles to keep it from breaking? In this project, you will explore if mycelium composite material, an eco-friendly material obtained from organic waste and mushroom roots, can serve as a viable eco-friendly packaging alternative. Packaging material made of foams and plastics (Figures 1 and 2)… Read more

Underground Water Flow and Darcy's Law

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project shows you how to build a simple model system to simulate underground water flow. Underground water flow is important for understanding replenishment of underground aquifers, migration of underground contaminant plumes, and cave formation. With your model system, you can simulate various underground conditions, and test your predictions about the effects they have on water flow. Read more

Understand Shock Levels and Packaging Principles

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you open up your presents on your birthday, you probably don't spend a lot of time admiring the wrapping—you'd much rather see what's inside. It can be the same way with the packaging that products come in, but packaging is important for protecting the things we buy as they make their way from the factory to our homes. How much shock force is produced when a box gets dropped accidentally? What kinds of materials work best to protect products from damage? This project can show you… Read more

Using Vaccines to Fight Outbreaks

Lesson Plan Grade: 6th-12th

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What exactly is a vaccine? Can vaccines prevent outbreaks? How effective does a vaccine need to be to help a population during an outbreak? Students will explore these questions and more in this lesson plan by first learning the biology behind vaccines. They will then use SimPandemic, a free online tool, to model different vaccine parameters to understand how vaccines affect both individuals and populations during a COVID-19 outbreak. Remote learning adaptation: This lesson plan can be… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
HS-LS2-8. Evaluate evidence for the role of group behavior on individual and species' chances to survive and reproduce.

Sixth Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (1,096 results)

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