Middle School Science Projects (Page 90)

Eco-Friendly Squishy Robots

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

In our introductory VoxCAD project, you were challenged to use the VoxCAD software to design the fastest possible robot using different materials. However, we did not ask you to think about one big thing — efficiency. It is great to design a robot that is very fast, but what if it also consumes a lot of energy? Engineers must consider this when designing robots in the real world — robots that use more energy to move will drain their batteries faster, which can be a problem. This is… Read more

Sound Localization

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How accurately can people identify the location of a sound source when blindfolded? Imagine the hemisphere of space that extends above your shoulders at arm's length. Divide that hemisphere up into regular sectors and test the ability of blindfolded test subjects to point to a remembered sound source. For example, you could use the beep from a timer held at each test location, and then have the test subject point to where they think the timer was located. Record the magnitude and direction of… Read more

Talk About a Bad Hair Day!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that you can make a simple hygrometer (a device for measuring the relative humidity of the air) with hair? Search online for instructions to build one. Does the type of hair used in the hygrometer affect the accuracy of the results? Do some types of hair respond faster than others? Do some types of hair give a larger (or smaller) response? You could get hair samples from classmates, or a local beauty shop. Use hair samples of equal length to construct each hygrometer. To force… Read more

Football: Punting

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

When the punter is trying to hit the "coffin corner" (within the opposing team's 10-yard line), out of bounds, what is the best angle to kick the ball for correct distance and maximum "hang time?" (For more information on the physics involved, see: Gay, 2004, Chapters 4 and 5.) Read more

Counting Sunspots on an Image of the Sun

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Make a pinhole projector (see Measuring the Diameter of the Sun and the Moon). Use the pinhole to project an image of the Sun onto a wall or a piece of paper. Do you notice any dark spots on the projected image? Trace the projected image and count the dark spots. Use your pinhole projector to make images of the Sun at the same time of day for several consecutive days. How does the pattern of spots change? Can you use your data to figure out how fast the Sun rotates? Sunspot activity rises… Read more

Are Soil Microorganisms Important for Plant Health?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Soil may look like a bunch of dirt, but good quality soil is actually a complex mixture of dirt, nutrients, microorganisms, insects and worms. What type of benefit do these microorganisms offer a growing plant? You can test this by baking soil in the oven to sterilize and kill the microorganisms. Do plants grown in sterile soil do better than plants in unsterilized soil? What about adding worms to one plant, but not to the other. Will the plant with worms grow better? Some insects are bad… Read more

Flight Simulators: From Flaps to Flying

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Did you know that commercial airline pilots use high-tech flight simulators to learn how to fly big jumbo jets? Before they ever step behind the controls of a real jet they've already logged thousands of virtual air miles. It might not qualify you to fly a real jumbo jet, but you, too, can learn the logistics of aviation by experimenting with the types of flight simulators sold at computer game retailers. Use a flight simulator to investigate the relationship between flap settings and the stall… Read more

Under Pressure: Does a Child's Blood Pressure Depend on His or Her Age?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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

What's the Fastest Way to Sort a List?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Imagine that you have a list of names of all the people in your class. Someone asks you to put them in alphabetical order. How would you go about doing it? Would you first go through the entire list and look for all the "A" names? Then go through it again and look for all the "B" names, and so on? Do you think going through the list over and over again for each letter would be inefficient? What if you had hundreds, thousands, or even millions of names? How would you ever alphabetize them… Read more

Encryption

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Want to send coded messages to your friends? Can you write a simple letter-substitution encryption program in Python or JavaScript? How easy is it to break the simple code? Can you write a second program that "cracks" the letter-substitution code? Investigate other encryption schemes. What types of encryption are least vulnerable to attack? Read more

Middle School Science Projects (984 results)

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