Eighth Grade, Chemistry Science Experiments (Page 13)

Measuring Enzyme Activity: Yeast Catalase

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Yeast contains an enzyme, called catalase, that acts as a catalyst for the reaction that breaks down hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water (2H2O22H2O + O2). Safety note: oxygen is a highly reactive gas, adult supervision recommended for this project. For your background research, be sure that you understand substrate, catalyst, reaction rate, catalase, enzyme saturation and protein denaturation. Use a solution of 3% H2O2 for the substrate. Construct an apparatus that allows you to collect… Read more

Milk Curdling with Enzymes!

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43 reviews

Have you ever gone to pour yourself a cup of milk, and all you get is clumps? What happened to the milk is called coagulation, which is the mechanism that occurs when proteins in the milk clump together. While you do not necessarily want this in your milk, without coagulation (or curdling), there would be no cheese or yogurt, which is why it is a very important process in the food industry. Wonder how you can make milk curdle? Do this activity to find out! Read more

Puffing Up Marshmallows

STEM Activity

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6 reviews

With the peak of camping season behind us, any leftover marshmallows can be offered up to science exploration! Did you realize that this sticky, tasty treat is nothing more than air trapped in a stretchy substance? Have you ever tried to expand a marshmallow without getting your hands all sticky? How did you do it? And how big did it get? Blowing up marshmallows is what this activity is about. You might not “see” a gas like air, but could it help puff up a marshmallow? Be ready to… Read more

Race Your Marbles to Discover a Liquid's Viscosity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How do you like your mashed potatoes? Thin and whipped smooth? Or thick and mashed into chunks? Your mouth checks out not just the taste of your food, but its viscosity, or how it flows on your tongue, every time you take a bite! In this science fair project, you'll learn what viscosity is, and how to measure it in common liquids around your home. Read more

Separate Liquids with Salt!

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You probably know that some liquids, such as oil and water, do not mix together. If you pour them into the same container, they will form two separate liquid layers on top of each other. Other liquids, for example rubbing alcohol and water, can be mixed with each other. But did you know that once both of these liquids have mixed, you can separate them again into two different layers? How can you do that? The answer might surprise you: with salt! In this activity, you will find out how this… Read more

Separation By Distillation

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Do you like cooking? If you have helped in the kitchen at home, you have probably heated up lots of liquids, like water, milk, and soup. Did you notice that once the solution boils, a lot of steam develops; and have you ever wondered what the steam is made of? What happens to all the substances, such as sugar or salt, that are dissolved in the solution you are boiling? Do they boil off, too, or do they stay behind in the solution? In this activity, you will build a distillation device that… Read more

Shattering Sugar – Make Your Own Hollywood Sugar Glass

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You’re watching an action movie, and suddenly the hero dives through a glass window! Or a car window shatters as the hero navigates an exciting car chase! The glass looks so real, but believe it or not, Hollywood movie sets rarely use real glass for those scenes. Can you guess what they use instead? If you guessed candy…you’re right! Instead of using real glass, which is expensive and difficult to replace for multiple shots, Hollywood movie sets use Sugar Glass! This cheap,… Read more

Shine Bright Like a….Penny!

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‘See a penny pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck!’ – maybe you’ve heard this phrase before, and maybe you’ve even stopped to pick up a lucky penny off the sidewalk. But sometimes those pennies you see on the ground look anything but lucky. They look brown or black, and sometimes they’re so dirty looking that you can’t even tell whether they’re pennies! In this activity we’re going to explore why pennies don’t… Read more

Spot the Fat in Your Snack

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Do you love potato chips? If you do, you are not alone. Potato chips are a very popular snack food. In fact, many people eat more than one bag of chips per month. When eating potato chips, have you ever noticed that your hands get really greasy? Maybe you have heard people telling you not to eat potato chips because they are bad for you and contain too much fat. But is this really true? Do this activity and find out by making the fats in potato chips visible. Read more

Study Chirality with a Homemade Polarimeter

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Some molecules can be either left- or right-"handed." The left- and right-handed molecules have the same number and type of atoms, and their chemical structures look identical, but they are actually mirror images of each other. Many naturally occurring molecules have this property, called chirality. Chiral molecules can interact with polarized light in an interesting way—they rotate the plane of polarization. This chemistry science fair project describes how to make a homemade polarimeter… Read more

Eighth Grade, Chemistry Science Experiments (165 results)

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