Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

lakshu_s wrote:Dear JSK,
Yes due to lack of time and shifting our home now, my mom recommended to take the project I have already did and make enhancements to it.
I took this project idea from the below link
http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2010/zhenxm2

Based on that please let me know if the below information looks good or if any changes required.

Title: Using Banana Peels to Zoom Fast

Are Banana Briquettes an energy efficient and eco-friendly Bio-fuel?
(The degree of rise of temperature and the amount of joules of energy for every fuel with Time)

Question: When Banana Briquettes are heated, will it be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly substitute than Coal?

Independent Variables: Time of Observation (in min)
Dependent Variables : Degree of rise of Temperature and the amount of joules of energy for every fuel (coal vs banana briquettes vs co-firing)
Constant: Enviornmental location, amount of water for heating, weight of fuel
Control group: coal

Hypothesis: If Banana Briquettes are heated and measured for a period of time, then the degree of rise of temperature and heat energy is high and hence could be an alternative energy source for coal and more ecofriendly.

Can you please provide me catch title if you think otherwise. I have to submit the science fair project on Jan 18. it is already late

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hey Lakshu,

Okay, now I understand why you switched directions! (I'm sorry that you are short on time; I thought you had a good start on the 1st project ). This looks like a solid outline!

As for titles, because it's going to be judged in science fair competition(s), I would suggest a more formal title as opposed to silly/more catchy ones like "An Alternative Energy Source Better than Coal? That's Bananas!".
A more appropriate title would perhaps be in this format: Comparing Energy Efficiency of Banana Briquettes and Coal (or "Are Banana Briquettes As Energy Efficient as Coal?")!

Hope this helped,

JSK

Dear JSK,
Thanks for all your help. I got selected in my school level and happy to let you know that i got placed first in my regional science fair and awarded 1st place for grades 6-8 by American chemical society, got Naval research award, nominated for Broadcom masters. I even got free membership in st.louis science center. For all the work done so many months finally rewarded. I would like to do good work next year too. I will let you know if I need any help filling out the Broadcom masters paper work.

Thanks,
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Dear JSK,
Thanks for all your help. I got selected in my school level and happy to let you know that i got placed first in my regional science fair and awarded 1st place for grades 6-8 by American chemical society, got Naval research award, nominated for Broadcom masters. I even got free membership in st.louis science center. For all the work done so many months finally rewarded. I would like to do good work next year too. I will let you know if I need any help filling out the Broadcom masters paper work.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Dear Lakshu,

That's AMAZING! Congratulations, and I'm so proud of all the work that you've done! The work was all you, trust me And I, along with the rest of the SciBuddies Experts, am always happy to help!

-JSK

Dear JSK,

Thanks for your mail. I am working on Broadcom. Can you please help me with the below questions.
1. How did you collect your data?
I am writing something as : Data was recorded at the end of each step for 3 individual trials and values were written down as experiment progressed. Information was measured on variables of interest.
Please correct me if I need to provide more details here.

2. How did you analyze and interpret your data?
My answer is : he data recorded was analyzed and interpreted to compare the results observed when heating with Coal vs. Banana Briquettes vs. Co-firing.
Coal showed a consistent increase of temperature with time. The initial rise in temperature was less compared to heating with Banana Briquettes & Co-firing and about the same amount of heat energy was produced. The initial rise in heat energy was less than produced with Banana Briquettes & Co-firing.
Banana Briquettes showed a consistent increase of temperature with time. There was a high initial rise in temperature than using Coal but almost the same as with Co-firing. It produced high heat energy initially than heating with Coal, but almost the same as with Co-firing and then remained consistent.
Co-firing (Banana Briquettes and Coal) showed a consistent increase of temperature with time. There was a high initial rise in temperature than with Coal but almost the same as with Banana Briquettes. It produced high heat energy initially than heating with Coal, but almost the same as with Banana Briquettes and then remained consistent.

3. What lessons did you learn from doing your project? What lessons did you learn from presenting your project?
Can you help me how to answer this question.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi JSK,

How are you.. Long time. Now again science fair time and I started my project which we started last year but i switched to another project at the last minute.
I really need your guidance for successful completion of this project. I am doing the below project
"CO2 and Global Warming": http://www.all-science-fair-projects.co ... 121_1.html

I already started the documentation and experiment. Can you please help me with below topics and check if I am right and suggest me if any changes.
Title:
Will an increased level of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to rise in Global Temperatures?
(The effect of different levels of Carbon dioxide concentration on the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour)
Question:
When Carbon dioxide levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, will the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour be slower for the high Carbon dioxide level percentage, thus contributing to the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere which results in Global Warming?
Hypothesis:
If Carbon dioxide levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, then the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for the high Carbon dioxide level percentage from Car Exhaust compared to the Carbon dioxide level percentage from the other two sources.
Variables:
Independent Variables: Carbon dioxide source (Normal Air, Air from lungs, Car Exhaust)
Dependent Variables: Rate of Temperature variation (in degree Celsius) in 1 hour
Constants: Environmental location, Initial temperature of the air in the tank, Type of the soil, Amount of the soil at the base of the tank, Volume of the tank

Controlled Variables: Normal Air

Please let me know ASAP so i can start documenting. Thanks so much for all your help you have done so far.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi,
I was previously talking with JSK.
I started the below project. I really need your guidance for successful completion of this project.
"CO2 and Global Warming": http://www.all-science-fair-projects.co ... 121_1.html

I already started the documentation and experiment. Can you please help me with below topics and check if I am right and suggest me if any changes.

Title:
Will an increased concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to the rise in Global Temperatures?
(The effect of different Carbon dioxide concentration levels on the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour)

Question:
When Carbon dioxide concentration levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, will the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour be slower for higher Carbon dioxide concentrations ( which will contribute to the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and result in Global Warming)?

Hypothesis:
If Carbon dioxide concentration levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, then the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide concentration level) compared to that of the other two sources.
Variables:
Independent Variables: Carbon dioxide concentrations of different sources (Normal Air, Air from lungs, Car Exhaust)
Dependent Variables: Rate of Temperature variation (in degree Celsius) in 1 hour
Constants: Environmental location, Initial temperature of the air in the tank, Type of the soil, Amount of the soil at the base of the tank, Volume of the tank

Controlled Variables: Normal Air


Please let me know ASAP so i can start documenting. Thanks so much for all your help you have done so far.

Thanks,
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Hi,
I was previously talking with JSK.
I started the below project. I really need your guidance for successful completion of this project.
"CO2 and Global Warming": http://www.all-science-fair-projects.co ... 121_1.html

I already started the documentation and experiment. Can you please help me with below topics and check if I am right and suggest me if any changes.

Title:
Will an increased concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to the rise in Global Temperatures?
(The effect of different Carbon dioxide concentration levels on the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour)

Question:
When Carbon dioxide concentration levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, will the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour be slower for higher Carbon dioxide concentrations ( which will contribute to the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere and result in Global Warming)?

Hypothesis:
If Carbon dioxide concentration levels from different sources like Normal Air, Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust are compared for the temperature variation, then the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide concentration level) compared to that of the other two sources.
Variables:
Independent Variables: Carbon dioxide concentrations of different sources (Normal Air, Air from lungs, Car Exhaust)
Dependent Variables: Rate of Temperature variation (in degree Celsius) in 1 hour
Constants: Environmental location, Initial temperature of the air in the tank, Type of the soil, Amount of the soil at the base of the tank, Volume of the tank

Controlled Variables: Normal Air


Please let me know ASAP so i can start documenting. Thanks so much for all your help you have done so far.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi Lakshu,

My apologies, I was just notified of your replies to this thread! Yes, you have a good grasp on this project, and all of the topics you've listed (Title, Question, Hypothesis, and Variables) are correct. My only suggestion (and if you don't have any more time to spare on this project, please do not worry about this minor detail) would be to add some kind of rationale for your hypothesis. Why do you predict that the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for car exhaust?

Please do let me know if you have any other questions/concerns. I apologize again for responding so late!

Hope this helped,

JSK

Dear JSK,

Thanks for your reply. NP for your late response. But glad you are here to guide me. I don't get you how you meant to add Rationale to Hypothesis. I already mentioned, the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide concentration level). We have separate section for Rationale to mention why I want to do this project.
I added like below:
I wanted to do this project because Global Warming is a highly debated subject. During my research, I found that the rising average of annual temperatures have caused scientists to speculate on the possible causes and consequences. While many scientists analyzing historical trends believe Global Warming is a natural process (Earth undergoing cycles of rising temperatures and periods of cooling), some scientists have correlated rising Carbon dioxide levels to Global Warming. NASA scientists measure Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and monitor increases in Carbon dioxide levels. As the human population grows, the burning of Fossil fuels increases evolving Carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Rising Carbon dioxide levels is correlated with rising temperatures because Carbon dioxide is believed to trap natural heat caused by the surface warming of the Earth by the Sun. The natural heat usually escapes into space during night time. The Carbon dioxide is believed to blanket the atmosphere and trap the heat causing the Earth’s surface to become insulated and causing temperatures to rise. This project attempts to simulate the processes on Earth and collect data to lend support to see if increased levels of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to a rise in Global temperatures.


Please let me know how you want to make change in Hypothesis and if this Rationale makes sense.

Thanks,
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Dear JSK,

Thanks for your reply. NP for your late response. But glad you are here to guide me. I don't get you how you meant to add Rationale to Hypothesis. I already mentioned, the temperature of the air cools down in 1 hour will be slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide concentration level). We have separate section for Rationale to mention why I want to do this project.
I added like below:
I wanted to do this project because Global Warming is a highly debated subject. During my research, I found that the rising average of annual temperatures have caused scientists to speculate on the possible causes and consequences. While many scientists analyzing historical trends believe Global Warming is a natural process (Earth undergoing cycles of rising temperatures and periods of cooling), some scientists have correlated rising Carbon dioxide levels to Global Warming. NASA scientists measure Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and monitor increases in Carbon dioxide levels. As the human population grows, the burning of Fossil fuels increases evolving Carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Rising Carbon dioxide levels is (are) correlated with rising temperatures because Carbon dioxide is believed to trap natural heat caused by the surface warming of the Earth by the Sun. The natural heat usually escapes into space during night time. The Carbon dioxide is believed to blanket the atmosphere and trap the heat causing the Earth’s surface to become insulated and causing temperatures to rise. This project attempts to simulate the processes on Earth and collect data to lend support to see if increased levels of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contribute to a rise in Global temperatures.


Please let me know how you want to make change in Hypothesis and if this Rationale makes sense.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi Lakshu,

That rationale for why you want to do the project and your hypothesis make complete sense! There was one grammatical error that I bolded in your rationale, but other than that, excellent work!

Let me know if you need any additional help,

JSK

Hi JSK,

Thanks for all your help. I have been selected at school level to take to regionals on March 3rd. I have some clarification. there is one thing I realized I missed in conclusion:
I didn't take limitations of this project into account in my conclusion. Can you please help me to write the limitations.

Currently my conclusion looks like:

The purpose of the hypothesis was to check “If Carbon dioxide concentration levels from different sources ( Normal Air (natural surrounding air), Air from lungs, and Car Exhaust) are compared for the temperature variation, then the rate at which the temperature of the air cools down in one hour will be slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide concentration level) compared to that of the other two sources.”
After the completion of the experiment, it was found that the hypothesis was correct due to the following observation:
The data table shows that the average temperature of the fish tank with Normal air (the lowest Carbon dioxide concentration of about 0.04%) was 24.9°C at one hour. The average temperature of the fish tank with the Air from lungs (Carbon dioxide concentration of about 4%) was 27.8°C at one hour. The average temperature of the fish tank with the Car Exhaust air (the highest Carbon dioxide concentration of about 12%) was 30.1°C at one hour. Hence it can be concluded that the rate at which the temperature of the air cooled down in one hour was the slowest for Car Exhaust (which has the highest Carbon dioxide level) compared to that of the other two sources. Based on the data, it could also be concluded that the rate at which the temperature of the air cooled down in one hour was the quickest for Normal air(which has the lowest Carbon dioxide level) compared to the other two sources.

This experiment simulates the process on the Earth for Global Warming. It was demonstrated that the heat released by the black soil in the fish tank was captured by the Carbon dioxide molecules. Since the tank with Car Exhaust air had the highest Carbon dioxide concentration, the rate at which the temperature of the air cooled down in the tank was the slowest which resulted in the average increase in the tank’s temperature.

Please write to me asap so I can modify my log book and project board.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi JSK,

Can you please reply to my previous clarification ASAP. This is urgent since I have to complete in a week my log book.

Thanks,
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Hi JSK,

Can you please reply to my previous clarification ASAP. This is urgent since I have to complete in a week my log book.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Hi Lakshu,

I am extremely sorry for the delay! Congratulations on making it to Regionals!!
Your conclusion, disregarding the absence of limitations, looks great. When addressing limitations, always take into account the extent in which the procedures can be applied and how accurate they are, and the materials used and how they limit the degree of accuracy of the data produced from the experiment. You should also keep in mind how reproducible/precise your procedures are.

For your limitations, if you haven't already (again, apologies for such a late response), consider writing on the limitations on utilizing a fish tank as the device in which CO2 levels were measured in, the car exhaust piping, etc. (There are always uncontrollable variables relating to the materials used (ex. can't control the level of car exhaust emitted)). Again, these are some examples related to <i> materials </i> only, but the procedures & their limitations on reproducibility + accuracy should also be noted.

Hope this helped,

JSK

Thanks so much JSK. I will make some tweeks to my conclusion. This helps. Regionals is this saturday. Thankfully this conclusion is pending in my logbook and board

Thanks,
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Thanks so much JSK. I will make some tweeks to my conclusion. This helps. Regionals is this saturday. Thankfully this conclusion is pending in my logbook and board

Thanks,
Lakshu

Wishing you the best of luck at Regionals then!!

-JSK

Dear JSK,

Thanks for all your help. I modified conclusion as you advised. Want to share this good news with you. I got first place in Regional and also got first place award in American Chemical Society for grades 5-8. Nominated for Broadcom and got 1 year membership for science center.

I will get your guidance when I select my next year project.

Thanks again.
Lakshu

lakshu_s wrote:Dear JSK,

Thanks for all your help. I modified conclusion as you advised. Want to share this good news with you. I got first place in Regional and also got first place award in American Chemical Society for grades 5-8. Nominated for Broadcom and got 1 year membership for science center.

I will get your guidance when I select my next year project.

Thanks again.
Lakshu

Hey Lakshu,

That's incredible! And of course, SciBuddies and I are always here to help! Congratulations!

Best,

JSK

Thanks so much JSK. I have start writing for Broadcom. Deadline is June. I will let you know once I select my next project.

Thanks again.
Lakshu

Lakshu - Congratulations on your success at the regional science fair and on your Broadcom MASTERS nomination! That is wonderful! I am sending you a message (via email) to follow up with you.

Amy
Science Buddies

Thanks Amy for all your support.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Dear JSK,

This year I already planned for a science project and I wanted to explore if the concentration of outdoor ozone would decrease as you moved further away from a highway? I am testing, "If I place an ozone strip far away from the highway then the concentration of ozone on that strip will be less than a strip placed close to the highway".

I need your guidance please as always.

For this experiment I wanted Eco badge test cards and Colormetric chart. Please let me know where I would get these both. I saw in Amazon some products. But can you suggest please.

Correct me if I am wrong. We place the test cards in one location for 1 hour, and then compare the change of color in ozone strip vs colormetric chart and record the amount of ozone in parts per billion right? sorry i am new to Eco badge test cards. So not sure how to measure ozone amount. Can you tell me how to measure please.

Also I am planning to select two highways in my location. We are in St.louis. So selecting I170 and I64. I am planning to place 2 cards in 2 different locations close to highway and another 2 cards far from highways (probably near residential area) and check on the amount of ozone. Similarly, I am planning to repeat for another highway too. Does this seem correct to you? Any further thoughts on enhancing this experiment for getting better results.

Looking forward for your support.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Dear JSK,

Can you please look into my email and reply me ASAP as i have to complete this project before SUMMER.

Thanks,
Lakshu

Lakshu - I know that you have another thread started now on your new project. I am putting the link to that thread here so that JK can see it and knows that you are receiving input:

viewtopic.php?t=19181

I am excited to see you are already hard at work on your new project.

Amy
Science Buddies

Thanks Amy for all your support. Yes I am getting answers from Leungwilley. He is really very helpful.

Thanks,
Lakshu

SOOOOO incredibly sorry! but if you search up IMPORTANT! in the forums search bar would you please consider answering my questions? This forum seemed to interest me and I thought you guys would know a little bit.


Thank you!!

---Elliet