Eighth Grade, Human Biology & Health Science Projects (33 results)

People often call cardiovascular disease a "silent killer." This disease sneaks up and causes damage, but patients don't realize it—until serious symptoms start. That is why physicians recommend keeping your cardiovascular system healthy. A healthy cardiovascular system gives us the energy and the stamina to do all of the things that we want to accomplish, such as do our best in school and perform well in sports. But what makes a cardiovascular system unhealthy, and what are the… Read more

Over an average lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times, supplying blood to the entire body. When a person exercises, the heart has to work harder than usual. Have you ever wondered how quickly your heart beats when you exercise, or how long it takes to recover back to its normal rate after you are done exercising? Is the heart rate recovery time faster for people who get regular exercise compared to people who do not? Try out this science project to find out! Read more

Our metabolism changes as we get older, a sad fact of life that we cannot change. Old age affects our bodies in many ways. Changes in musculature, bone strength, energy, diet and breathing are some of the many ways we change as we age. You might notice that people often get out of breath when they are older and doing a physical activity. Why do some people feel out of breath, while others do not? Does this change correlate with age? Could this reflect a difference in lung capacity between… Read more

If you're like most people, you like listening to music. Have you ever wondered how your ears and your brain turn the sound waves out there in the world into the experience of music in your head? If you're interested in doing a project about how we hear, this is a good one for you. With this project, you'll do background research and make measurements to understand how the sensitivity of your own hearing varies with the pitch of the sound. Read more

Are you interested in things like prosthetic limbs and artificial joints that can help people with disease or injury to lead a normal life? Or maybe you're interested in sports medicine or physical therapy? Either way, this project could be a good match for you. Find out how the tension on the knee joint changes as a function of angle by building a simple mechanical model. Read more

The benefits of Western medicine have evolved tremendously, with a wealth of tests and medications to treat many conditions. But remembering to take medication or perform a test regularly, consistently, and at specific times can be difficult for elderly people with short-term memory loss, or teenagers absorbed in activities. With mobile devices becoming our constant companions, could a smartphone or tablet offer a solution? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has created a simple… Read more

Tilt-A-Whirls, Merry-Go-Rounds, Spinning Tea Cups...does just the thought of them make you dizzy? Why should something so fun make our heads spin so long even after the ride has stopped? Learn about spins, turns, and the mixed signals that fire in our brains when the sensation of dizziness takes over. Weak stomachs, beware. This project has tests that will make your head spin! Read more

Every time you go to the doctor's office, the nurse measures your blood pressure. But why does he or she do this? What does your blood pressure tell your doctor about your health? And what exactly is blood pressure? In this life science project, you will learn about blood pressure and what causes it. You will even learn how to take blood pressure readings. Once you learn this skill, you will test a population of children and determine if blood pressure depends upon a child's age. Read more

Have you ever noticed how the moon appears bigger at the horizon, just as it is rising over the treetops, than it does later in the evening when it is overhead? Of course, the size of the moon does not change, but our perception of its size changes based on where it is in the sky. In this human biology science fair project, you will investigate Emmert's law, which explains the full moon illusion. You will estimate the size of the perceived increase in the size of the moon at the horizon. Read more

What would you do if you saw one of your friends lying on the floor, not breathing, possibly having a heart attack? Call 911? Start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)? Those would both be important things to do! But do you know CPR? Do your friends and family know CPR? Chances are, most of them don't. Even if they do know CPR, they might be hesitant to use their mouths to perform it. You can change that though. In this science project, you'll create a simple, interactive game that can teach… Read more