High School Science Projects (Page 42)

Simple Circuit Logic with Switches: An Electric Puzzle

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here's a puzzle you may have heard before which you can build as a simple electric circuit. First, the puzzle: a farmer is traveling to market with his cat, a chicken and some corn. He has to cross a river, and the only way to cross is in a small boat which can hold the farmer and just one of the three items he has with him. The problem is, he has to be very careful about what he chooses to leave behind at any time. If the cat and chicken are left alone, the cat will eat the chicken. If… Read more

Playing the Angles: The Physics of Balls Bouncing Off of Surfaces

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Think of hitting a baseball, heading a soccer ball into the net, or hitting a tennis ball with a racquet. Where the ball goes depends on...what? You can set up a simple model to start your investigation. You'll need a marble, a flat piece of wood, a flat piece of cardboard, a pencil, a ruler, a protractor, and a level surface. Lay down the cardboard down on a level surface and set up the flat piece of wood at one edge. The wood will act like a wall, and you're going to roll the marble at… Read more

The Case of Mistaken Identity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Mysteries and detective stories have been popular since the time of Sherlock Holmes. The solutions to these fictional cases often involve untangling seemingly contradictory evidence from eyewitnesses. This project studies one procedure used in the real-world process of eyewitness identification of criminal suspects: the lineup. How accurate are eyewitness identifications using various lineup methods? Read more

Tiny Titans: Can Silver Nanoparticles Neutralize E. coli Bacteria?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever heard that nanoparticles can kill bacteria? You may have even seen some consumer products advertise that they contain antibacterial nanoparticles. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter long. Nanoparticles are usually just a few nanometers in diameter — really, really tiny! So how can something that small kill bacteria which are approximately 700 - 1400 nanometers across? Are they really effective? In this science project you will grow some E. coli bacteria and… Read more

Human Perception of the Anomalous Mirror Symmetry Illusion

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Science Buddies project Design Your Own 3D Printed Optical Illusion shows you how to make your own 3D printed "anomalous mirror symmetry" illusions (Figure 1). The illusions are based on the work of Dr. Kokichi Sugihara. You can read his original paper about the illusions in the Bibliography. Figure 1. Two versions of the "impossible arrow" shape that appears to point to the right while its reflection in the mirror appears to point to the left. Which version of… Read more

Chain Reaction: Inversion and the Pappus Chain Theorem

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Here is a challenging problem for anyone with an interest in geometry. This project requires background research to solve it, but it is an excellent illustration of visual thinking in mathematics. Figure 1 below shows a series of circles (iC₁, iC₂, iC₃, ..., iC₃₀), inscribed inside an arbelos. What is an arbelos? The arbelos is the white region in the figure, bounded by three semicircles. The diameters of the three semicircles are all on the same line segment, AC,… Read more

Study Chirality with a Homemade Polarimeter

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Some molecules can be either left- or right-"handed." The left- and right-handed molecules have the same number and type of atoms, and their chemical structures look identical, but they are actually mirror images of each other. Many naturally occurring molecules have this property, called chirality. Chiral molecules can interact with polarized light in an interesting way—they rotate the plane of polarization. This chemistry science fair project describes how to make a homemade polarimeter… Read more

Computational Exploration of Protein Function

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The DNA in our cells contains our "blueprints," but it's the proteins in our cells that do most of the work. The Human Genome Project has allowed us to start reading the blueprints, but we still don't understand what most of the proteins do. This is a fairly advanced project that explores ways of identifying the function of unknown proteins. Read more

The Effects of Card Counting on a Simple Card Game

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you like to play cards? Here's a project that will get you thinking about strategy in card games and help you become a better card player. Read more

Solid Ground? Measuring Soil Bearing Capacity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Foundations for many types of structures rest on soil. This project shows how you can investigate the bearing capacity of different types of soil. Read more

High School Science Projects (693 results)

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