Fifth Grade, Physics Science Experiments (Page 19)

Simulate Microchip Clean Room Contamination with Crayon Leaf Rubbings

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever made a leaf rubbing or imprint using paper and crayons? What do you think would happen if you got dirt or sand on the leaf? Would it mess up the result? In this project you will find out and learn about how this is related to the process of making the microchips that run our phones, computers, and other electronic devices. Check out this page for more science projects related to this process. 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

Slinking Slinkies

STEM Activity

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Have you ever watched a Slinky "walk" down a flight of stairs and wondered how it works? It's a fascinating thing to see and a big part of the Slinky's appeal. These spring toys have been popular for well over half a century; your parents, or even grandparents, may have played with them. Slinkies not only make fun toys, they are also great for doing physics and engineering activities. In this activity you will investigate how the angle of an inclined plane affects how well a… Read more

Slip Sliding Away: Experimenting with Friction

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

As you headed up the mountain to enjoy your last ski trip, you may have noticed a sign reading: Hazard! Icy Roads Ahead—Put On Your Chains. Putting chains on car tires increases the resistance between the tires and the road allowing the car to "grip" the road. This resistance to sliding is called friction. In this experiment, you will be investigating how to increase and decrease the friction between two surfaces. Read more

Space Elevator Problem Set

STEM Activity

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Space elevators zipping people and materials up into space might seem like a very futuristic and improbable idea, but is it that difficult? This activity will guide you through the mathematics. Try it out and see what is possible with materials that can be produced with current technology. Read more

Speedy Science: How Does Constant Acceleration Affect Distances Traveled?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever dropped something and wondered how fast it was moving while falling? If it was something fragile, like a cell phone, you might not have been thinking about this at the time – you were likely too busy trying to grab the phone! But you probably wanted to find out how hard it hit the ground afterwards. We all know that gravity forces an object to fall, but how does this affect how quickly something falls and its impact? For example, did the phone move faster right after leaving… Read more

Stick With It – Put Your Duct Tape To The Test!

STEM Activity

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You may have heard of the space shuttle Apollo 13, or seen the movie about the amazing survival of the ship’s crew after an explosion aboard the ship. What you may not know, is that duct tape helped save the lives of the Apollo 13 crew! NASA had to figure out a way to keep the 3 crew members alive in a tiny lunar module that was only meant to hold 2 people for 36 hours. They instructed the crew to build life-saving air filters using cardboard, plastic bags, space suit parts and –… Read more

Stretch It! How does temperature affect a rubber band?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever noticed that some objects tend to expand when they get hot, and contract when they cool down? For example, you might run hot water over the lid of a jar that's stuck - this causes the lid to expand, making it easier to twist off. Does this effect work the same way for all materials? Try this fun activity to find out! Read more

The Physics of Simulation vs Reality

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Science Buddies has many projects where you build something with moving parts or do an experiment with the physics of moving objects. Here are just a few examples, but this is not an exhaustive list! You can search our site to find many more. Ball launcher (Figure 1) Marble roller coaster (Figure 2) Rube Goldberg machine (Figure 3) Build A Wall Marble Run (Figure 4) Figure 1. A catapult-style ball launcher. … Read more

Theme Park Science with Jell-O® Loop-De-Loops

STEM Activity

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Have you ever wondered what keeps you in your seat when you are riding a giant loop-de-loop roller coaster? Surprisingly, it is not the seat belt! You are kept in your seat because of something called centripetal force. Centripetal force actually does much more than make a ride on a roller coaster's loop possible — it keeps a satellite in orbit and you in your bicycle when taking a tight curve! In this science activity, you will use marbles and Jell-O® to investigate centripetal… Read more

Fifth Grade, Physics Science Experiments (223 results)

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