Twelfth Grade, Chemistry Science Projects (14 results)

You may have seen police investigators on TV spraying a crime scene with a liquid that glows blue if there is any blood present. Luminol is the chemical which causes the glowing. In this chemistry science fair project, you will investigate what factors make this interesting molecule "light up." Read more

Do you read the list of ingredients in foods and drinks before you buy them at the grocery store? If you do, you may have noticed that many of the items, especially colored drinks, contain dyes with names such as FD&C Blue 1, Red 40, or Yellow 5. But how much dye is needed to create all these colors? In this chemistry science project, you will build a simple spectrophotometer that is able to measure the concentration of colored chemicals in solutions. You will test your device by measuring… Read more

Have you ever wondered how your clothes get their color? Dyeing textiles is a very complicated process and involves a lot of chemistry. Not only are the properties of the dye and fabric important, but the dyeing conditions also have to be exactly right to get optimal color adsorption. Curious about how it works? In this science project, you will color wool with Kool-Aid® and explore the chemistry of dyeing. Read more

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

Objects that glow in the dark hold a special place in the imagination of both children and adults. The lights go out at night, but these odd things refuse to disappear. Where does the light come from? Do they work in any climate? In this science fair project, you will make a very simple electronic device to measure the light given off by luminescent materials. The device will be used to study how temperature affects luminescence. Read more

Have you ever seen a chemical reaction that makes a solution change color? Probably. But what about a solution that changes color and then changes back, not only once, but many times? Sounds pretty exotic! Whereas most chemical reactions only move in one direction from reactants (starting chemicals) to products, in these rare oscillating reactions, the reaction products appear and disappear for a number of cycles. Because the products are colored, the solution appears alternately blue, then… Read more

You have probably heard the saying that "water and electricity don't mix." Well, in this chemistry science fair project you will mix them, to create two solutions, one basic and one acidic. The apparatus is very simple, but the chemistry is complex and offers many avenues for exploration. Read more

This is a modern version of a classic experiment by Robert Boyle on the compressibility of gases. Boyle discovered the relationship between pressure and volume of gases that now bears his name. This project shows you a simple method for re-creating this famous experiment. Read more

We encounter an amazing array of colors every day, from the greens of plants and the many colors of their flowers, to the pinkish blue of a sunset, to the artificial coloring in beverages. How do we perceive all of these colors? When light hits an object, some of that light is absorbed by the object, and the light that is not absorbed is what we see. In this science project, you will build a simple spectrophotometer from a cell phone and use it to investigate how visible light is absorbed by… Read more

Did you know that mixtures can be unmixed? Chromatography is an analytical technique in chemistry to separate mixtures and identify each of its individual compounds. In this project, you will separate ink dyes found in different markers using a strip of paper, chalk and different liquids. By comparing different chromatography substrates and solvents, you will learn how different attractive forces between substances can affect the separation of a mixture into its individual components. Read more