High School Science Projects (Page 59)

Coastal and Marine Geology

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You can study hazards that affect coastal areas. What geological forces cause a tsunami? A tsunami (Japanese for 'harbor wave') is a wave generated by an undersea earthquake, landslip, or volcanic eruption. You can demonstrate what causes a tsunami by simulating an undersea earthquake with a water table. How does the depth of water effect the height of the wave? Do different slopes of bottom change the speed of the wave? Visit the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program to find out about… Read more

Floods

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Floods can be very destructive, capable of leveling whole towns and decimating crops and fields. Typically in regions prone to flooding there are cycles of flooding that occur, usually in areas where a wet season comes after a period of drought. You can use precipitation data to test if incidents of flooding have been preceded by periods of drought. Look for long periods of dryness in the precipitation data to indicate a drought. You can also conduct an experiment on dry or moist soil to see… Read more

Landscapes and Water Usage

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Some plants use a lot of water, and some are very drought-tolerant. Drought-tolerant grasses are good for water conservation because they require less water to grow and stay green. How much less water do they need? Which types of grass are drought-tolerant? You can buy different types or brands of grass seed at your nursery that claim to be drought-tolerant. Grow them in a container and then starve for water after they are established. Which brands die out first? You can conduct a similar… Read more

A Prescription for Success: Drugs & Your Genetics

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever known someone who had a bad reaction to a prescription drug? Although pharmaceutical companies test new drugs on a large number of people to make sure the drug works the way it is supposed to, often a small percentage of people respond differently to the drug. A person's genetics plays a large role in determining his or her response to a given drug. Our genes are made up of hundreds to millions of nucleotides of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), the genetic code. If just a single… Read more

Slimey Likes It! Studying Chemotaxis in Physarum Polycephalum

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In this biology science fair project, you will observe how the Physarum polycephalum (P. polycephalum) organism responds to various amounts of glucose. P. polycephalum is easy to grow in a petri dish and responds in complex ways to its environment. Will it grow toward the chemical as it looks for a meal, or will it flee, trying to avoid further contact? Try this science fair project to learn more about chemotaxis in the fascinating Physarum polycephalum. Read more

Aerodynamics of Air Hockey

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you have an air hockey table, you know that the puck floats on a thin cushion of air when the table is turned on. With little friction, the puck can travel very fast. How much lift force is created by the air? Add small amounts of weight to the puck and see when it no longer floats to measure the lift force. How many air holes (on average) support the puck? How much force is generated by each air hole? Will a puck with a larger surface area, supported by more air holes (on average),… Read more

Aerodynamics and Ice Hockey

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Does the force of drag have an effect on the distance the puck will travel? Think of a way to launch the puck with a reproducible force, and examine the effect of launching the puck in different orientations on the distance it travels. For more information on the physics, see Haché, 2002. Read more

The Curdling Properties of Different Milks: How to Avoid Little Miss Muffet's Curds

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Has a milk-based soup, sauce, or gravy ever curdled on you (formed lumps) as you were preparing it? Curdling is the process of coagulation that occurs where the proteins in the milk clump together. Sometimes curdling is desirable—for example, if you want to make a delicious cheese or yogurt—but if you are trying to make a milk-based soup or gratin, or if you're adding milk to a hot drink, curdling is very unwanted because you lose the smooth, creamy texture. Nobody likes clumps and… Read more

Soft Robots with Built-In LEDs

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Check out the soft robotic gripper and artificial robotic skin projects. These projects show you how to use flexible silicone rubber to make robots or robotic parts. The second project shows you how to connect external LEDs using an Arduino. The LEDs light up when an embedded piece of conductive fabric stretches. What about embedding LEDs in the silicone rubber? You can do this by embedding the LEDs between layers of silicone (Figure 1). The trick is to solder flexible stranded wires to the… Read more

Catch the Wave!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

There is a lot of energy that can be harvested from moving water. Energy can be extracted from water rushing over a waterfall and from the regular patterns of the ocean's tides. The energy that propels waves forward in the oceans can also be extracted and used. But can wave energy power plants be built anywhere there is water? In this energy science fair project, you will use ocean buoy data and mathematics to determine which locations along the coasts of the United States can sustain a wave… Read more

High School Science Projects (693 results)

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