Middle School Science Projects (Page 19)

Divide and Conquer: Proving Pick's Theorem for Lattice Polygons

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you like to play Tetris, then you might like this project. You will learn something interesting about the mathematics of complex shapes as you try to prove Pick's Theorem. The strange shape below is an example of a lattice polygon, which is a polygon whose vertices lie on points in the plane that have integer coordinates. As you can see, it is a complex shape, but there is an easy way to calculate its area, by simply counting lattice points! If you count the number of lattice points on… 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

How Fast Does an Alka-Seltzer® Tablet Make Gas?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This is a straightforward, fun project to measure the rate of the chemical reaction that occurs when Alka-Seltzer® tablets are plopped into water. You will track the volume of carbon dioxide gas produced at regular intervals after the reaction begins. How does changing the temperature of the water affect the production of gas? Read more

The Power of Suggestion

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can an authority figure make someone question their own memory? How reliable is eyewitness information? This project looks into these questions. You'll need a poster-sized image that includes many faces, and a volunteers to act as "eyewitnesses." The volunteers are tested individually. The instructions are that they have one minute to examine the poster, and then a fixed amount of time (e.g., 5 minutes) to write down brief, accurate descriptions of all the faces they can remember. They'll… Read more

Is It Ripe Yet? Build a Circuit to Detect Ripe Produce

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When you go to the supermarket, how do you pick out ripe fruits and vegetables? You might look at their size or color, or feel them for firmness. That might be easy to do when you pick out a half dozen apples, but imagine if you had to examine thousands of apples growing in a field, or strawberries coming down a conveyor belt getting ready for packaging. Suddenly, it is a lot harder to do yourself! What if a machine could pick and sort the produce for you? In this project, you will address part… Read more

From Contaminated to Clean: How Filtering Can Clean Water

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Living in the industrialized world, like the United States, we are fortunate because we don't have to worry about the quality of our drinking water. Your community has the means to clean and provide water to you. But in many parts of the world, people don't have this luxury. Whether it is due to war or poverty, the lack of clean water leads to many health and social problems. In this environmental engineering science project, you will learn about different methods to filter out impurities in… Read more

Smart Watering: Adjusting Your Sprinklers for Optimal Soil Moisture

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that you can use more water on your lawn and garden in the summer than you use for all other purposes all year long? If you have an automated sprinkler system for your lawn and/or garden, this project could save money on your family's monthly water bill. You'll also be helping to conserve a precious natural resource: clean water. Read more

Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions— What Affects Their Rates?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Enzymes speed up chemical reactions by factors of at least a million. Now that's acceleration! This project investigates how temperature affects how fast these enzymatic reactions occur. Read more

Build a Light-Tracking Bristlebot

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Sometimes engineers get ideas to build robots from animals in nature. There are robot dogs, robot snakes, robot birds, robot cheetahs, and even tiny robotic insects! In this science project, you will build a robot insect of your own. The robot will automatically drive toward a light source, mimicking a behavior called phototaxis, seen in some insects. You will build your own robot and then make adjustments so it can reliably drive toward a light. Read more

The Science Behind Tsunamis: Study the Effect of Water Depth on Wave Velocity

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A tsunami is a series of waves made in a body of water, like the ocean, that can cause serious destruction when they hit the coastline. In deep water, a wave can be just a few feet high and travel very fast. As it nears the coastline, and moves into shallower water, tsunamis usually slow down, but the wave height can grow to 100 feet! In this ocean science project, you will model a tsunami and investigate how wave velocity (speed) depends on water depth. Does it match the mathematical equation… Read more

Middle School Science Projects (986 results)

Explore Our Science Videos