Physics Science Experiments (Page 17)

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

STEM Activity

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10 reviews

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

Use a Catapult to Storm Castle Walls

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You may have seen movies or read books where armies in medieval times catapulted large rocks or other objects at castles (or each other!). These armies used different types of catapults to accomplish different goals — for example, launching things over or into castle walls to knock them down. In this experiment, you will use a ping-pong ball catapult to lay siege to a "castle" and find the right settings to hit your targets. Read more

Use Surface Tension to Make Your Pepper Dance

STEM Activity

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You are probably used to seeing things float, be it a boat on the water, or a rubber duck in your bathtub. But did you ever wonder how the same water that you drink, splash, and dive into – how can that support the weight of giant boats? In this activity we’ll learn about surface tension and how it helps us keep afloat! Read more

Using a Laser Pointer to Measure the Data Track Spacing on CDs and DVDs

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You've probably noticed the colorful patterns "reflecting" from the shiny surface of a CD disk. What you are seeing is actually diffraction of white light, and the rainbows of color are diffraction patterns. In this project you'll learn about how diffraction patterns are generated, and you'll find out how you can use a laser pointer and a protractor to measure the microscopic spacing of data tracks on a CD. Read more

What Do You Hear Under Water?

STEM Activity

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Have you ever wondered how fish hear the sounds we make when we splash into the water or pass by in a motorboat? Now that the summer vacation is here, you might be spending more time in the water: an ideal occasion to investigate how we hear in the water! Maybe you will feel inspired to research how that transfers to aquatic animals, too! Read more

What's the Best Exposure Time for Sun Print Paper?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know you can make paintings or drawings using sunlight? You can do it by leaving objects on top of special sun print paper until the light creates an imprint of the objects. How does this process work? How long should you leave the paper in the sun to get the best result? What does any of this have to do with the process of making the microchips that power our phones and computers? Try this project to find out! Check out this page for more science projects related to this process. Read more

X Marks the Spot: Finding the Center of Mass

STEM Activity

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You can probably find the center of simple shapes, like circles and squares, pretty easily. But, how do you find the "middle" of an irregular shape, like a drawing of a dog or a cat? This project will show you how to do it using nothing but string and paper clips! Read more

A Simple Machine to Make Potato Holes

STEM Activity

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If you want a cool project that you can show to your friends, this activity is for you! Take a potato and a straw—maybe a pencil as well—and challenge your friends to drill holes into the potato with the least amount of effort. Chances are, they will not find a method that gets the job done with ease. The best method—the method that requires the least effort from you—will surprise them all! Experiment, investigate and have fun! Can you find a reliable way to get the job… Read more

Baking Soda Weight Loss

STEM Activity

Baking soda is not only great for cooking; it is also a useful chemical for science projects. You have probably heard about and maybe even used the baking soda/vinegar reaction to make volcanos erupt, shoot bottle rockets up in the air, or to detect acids and bases. However, there are many more chemical reactions that you can explore with the help of baking soda. One of them is called a decomposition reaction, which makes baking soda lose weight! Want to find out how it works? Then try this… Read more

Balancing Act

STEM Activity

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What makes an object balanced? Look around you—most of the objects in the room are probably balanced and not on the verge of tipping over. If someone hands you an object and asks you to put it down, you probably know, without thinking about it too much, how to place it so it won't fall over. But what's the science behind how an object balances? Why do certain objects only balance on some sides and not others? Try this project to find out! Read more

Physics Science Experiments (223 results)

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