Fifth Grade, Mechanical Engineering Science Projects (Page 2)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When something goes wrong, do you like to try to figure out why? Engineers do this all the time. They even have a fancy name for it: failure analysis. Understanding how different materials break is an important part of failure analysis. Here's a project with one approach to studying the way things break. Read more

Gears-Go-Round!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Music boxes, bicycles, and clocks all have one thing in common: GEARS! You might say that gears make the world turn, since they are in so many mechanical instruments. How do they work and how do you know which gears to use? Find out in this simple experiment. Read more

How Do Under-Inflated Tires Affect the Difficulty of Riding a Bike?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you ride a bike, you probably know that you have to occasionally pump up the tires to keep them fully inflated. Over a long period of time, the tires slowly leak air, so their pressure will decrease. Have you ever noticed that it is actually harder to ride a bike when the tire pressure is too low? This is because the tires are a big factor in the rolling resistance of the bike. In this sports science project, you will measure how tire pressure affects the force required to move a bike. How… Read more

How Protective is Your Helmet?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Every time you hop on your bike or gear up for football or baseball practice, your helmet is your first line of defense. Whether you’re coasting downhill or tackling on the gridiron, impacts happen — and they can cause more than just bumps and bruises. Scientists tell us that forceful hits to the head can lead to concussions or even more serious brain injury over time. Correct helmet design, proper fit, and good cushioning all help reduce those risks. For example, bicycling is one… Read more

How Shoe Tread Affects Traction

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever noticed that some shoes grip the ground better than others? The pattern and design of a shoe’s tread can affect how slippery it is on different surfaces. You can test shoes with different tread patterns—like flat, ridged, or patterned—to see which design provides the best grip. By dragging a shoe along a surface with a spring scale at a constant velocity, you can measure how much force is needed for each shoe to slide on various surfaces. With this knowledge, you… Read more

Knock Your Blocks Off: The Mechanics of Carnival Games

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

"Hey kids, step right up! Toss this ball and win a prize!" shouts the carny barker. Sounds easy enough—until you try it. Why are those "simple" games at the fairs, carnivals, and boardwalks so hard? Is it really lack of skill or coordination or do those concessionaires use some basic laws of science to help them set up the games in their favor? This science fair project can help you find out for yourself. Read more

Lift a Load Using Hydraulics

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can you lift a car? No? You say you are not strong enough? True, our bodies are not built to lift heavy loads like cars. Fortunately, our brains are smart enough to harness the power of fluids, like water and oil, to create hydraulic lifts. By pushing a button on a hydraulic lift, a mechanic can easily raise a car with one finger. Lifts can also be used to raise lots of other heavy loads - even such massive things as steel girders to construct a skyscraper! In this mechanical engineering… Read more

Make a Spacecraft Motion Simulator!

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do you practice landing a spacecraft on another planet or docking it with a space station? With a spacecraft motion simulator here on Earth! In this engineering project, you will design and build your own cable-driven spacecraft motion simulator that lets you move a model spacecraft around in three-dimensional space. Read more

Marble Machine

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Put your engineering skills to the test to see if you can build a machine—powered by nothing but gravity—that will automatically sort out two different sizes of plastic spheres. That might seem like a strange task, but have you ever used a coin sorter to separate pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters? How about using a sifter in the kitchen to separate fine grains of flour or sugar from bigger lumps? Machines that can automatically sort objects or particles of different sizes are… Read more

Moving Water with the Archimedes Screw Pump

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Amaze your friends and family by moving water with just a few turns of your wrist! Nope, it's not a magic trick. It's simply an Archimedes screw. In this science project, you will build a very simple pump, called an Archimedes screw, to transfer water from a low-lying location to a higher location. Read more

Fifth Grade, Mechanical Engineering Science Projects (32 results)

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