Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My son is searching for a topic for a science report, He needs to do a written report, and do an experiment related to it. (e.g. his younger sis is doing a report on the sense of smell, and doing the "olfactory fatigue" experiment)

He likes the idea of the bridge testing or paintball ballistics. He enjoys rockets, explosions (e.g. rockets, exploding coke/mentos, etc) However, what kind of topic can he pick to write about related to one of these experiments? It cannot be too broad, nor too narrow. He is 14 and in the 8th grade. He needs to have his topic chosen by tomorrow morning. Any ideas?

Hello blessedeggplant,

A report could cover the background material related to an experiment. For example on bridge construction one could write about the various types of bridge--truss, suspension, arched, etc. The experiment could be a test of two different types of model bridge to see which one can hold the most weight.

In general, a report on background material and an experiment to test a specific idea from the report seems like a good match.

Good luck, WW

We apologize for not seeing your post sooner. This response may come to late, based on what you told us in your note, but perhaps this information can help in the future.

This Science Buddies web site has a great tool that you or your student can use to find a topic of interest. It's called the "Topic Selection Wizard", and can be found at this address: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... gister.php

Your student answers several questions regarding their interests, and Science Buddies shows a long list of science projects within the Science Buddies database that would be appropriate. There are numerous projects related to rockets and ballistics.

Good luck!