Middle School Science Projects (Page 95)

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

Skiing and Friction: How Does Ski Wax Affect the Sliding Friction of Skis?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You can model this with an ice cube sliding down a plank: how high do you need to lift the end of the plank before the ice cube starts to slide? Try this with one side plain wood and the flip side waxed wood (use paraffin wax, candle wax or ski wax). Make sure both sides are equally smooth to start with. Do at least three trials. More advanced: using what you know about the forces acting on the ice cube, derive equations to calculate the coefficient of friction for each case. Variation: chill… Read more

How Much Mass Is Needed to Make a Body Round?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Use your Internet sleuthing skills to learn about solar system objects. Create a table of measurements of moons and asteroids in order to determine if there is a size threshold for roundness. A good source of information would be an online guide such as The Nine Planets (Arnett, W.A., 2006). You'll find information about planetary satellites, including dimensions and accompanying pictures. From the pictures, classify the satellites and asteroids according to how round they are. Can you think of… Read more

Steamy Standing Time: How Food Size Impacts Carryover Cooking

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

"What? My food needs some standing time? How can food stand? I don't see any legs on those baked potatoes!" Whether you're using a traditional oven or a microwave, standing time is an important concept in cooking or baking. When you remove a food from an oven or a microwave, the food retains heat and continues to cook for several minutes after it has been removed from the heat source. This process of the food continuing to cook, using the retained heat in the food itself, is called carryover… Read more

How Does Your Eardrum Work?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Eardrums are membranes inside your ears that vibrate when sound waves hit them. These vibrations are converted into electrical signals and sent to your brain, which allows you to hear sound. The frequency response of your eardrum, or the range of frequencies that will cause it to vibrate, determines your hearing range. Typical human hearing ranges from about 20 Hz up to 20,000 Hz, although the ability to hear high frequencies typically degrades as you get older. Some other animals can… Read more

What is the Rate of Leaf Growth Along the Stem?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Leaves grow in a different pattern than stems and shoots. They do not elongate along one axis, but instead spread out over time. Do all regions of the leaf grow equally? You can use markings on different regions of a growing leaf to see if the whole surface grows, or if growth is focused in a particular region, like the veins or edges of the leaf. If you look along a leafy stem, you may notice that leaves at different positions along the stem are different sizes. You can do an experiment to… Read more

Polymer Permeability: Which Plastic Wrap Prevents Oxidation Best?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

There are currently two different kinds of polymers used for kitchen plastic wrap: low density polyethylene (LDPE) (e.g. Saran or Glad Wrap) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (e.g. Reynolds PVC Foodservice Wrap or Boardwalk PVC Food Wrap Film). Which of these materials is less permeable to oxygen? When you slice an apple, the surface of the slice turns brown as the apple is oxidized. Can plastic wrap seal out oxygen and prevent the apple from browning? Which plastic wrap works best? Do… Read more

Upstairs, Downstairs: Turning on a Light from Two Places

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Maybe somewhere in your home there's a long hallway or a stairway with a light that you can turn on from either end. It's a nice convenience, but did you ever wonder how it's wired up to work that way? The goal of this project is to build a similar circuit with switches, flashlight batteries and a flashlight bulb (obviously, household circuits are not safe to experiment with). You'll need to understand the difference between connections made in series and connections made in parallel in an… Read more

Background Bop: Do Different Businesses Play Different Tempos in Background Music?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Walk into a fitness club and what kind of music do you hear? Slow, sparkling, relaxing music? Or driving, "up-tempo" songs that are designed to encourage you to move? Fitness clubs and other businesses, like restaurants and grocery stores, use background music to set the mood and to determine how fast they want their customers to move. The tempo of the background music is a key component to the environment that businesses want to create. Tempo is an important number or word inscribed by a… Read more

Bat Detector: Listen to the Secret Sounds of Bats

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do you have bats in your neighborhood? Have you heard them "whoosh" by you, but not been able to see them? In this science fair project, you will be able to detect flying bats by listening in on the ultrasonic signals they produce to locate objects in their environment. The bat detector is a useful and fun tool for studying the biology of this nocturnal flying mammal. Read more

Middle School Science Projects (986 results)

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