Life on Land, Ninth Grade Science Projects (Page 2)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever stopped to watch a trail of ants moving back and forth between a food source and their nest? Have you ever wondered how they establish their trail? You've probably read that ants use chemical signals to communicate with one another. This is a relatively simple experiment that you can do to determine whether ants use attractant signals (positive cues) or repellant signals (negative cues) or both. Read more

Use Machine Learning to Identify Lyme Disease-Transmitting Ticks

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Ticks are a growing public health concern in North America, as their populations and the diseases they carry, like Lyme disease, are on the rise. But how can we help people identify the ticks they encounter to reduce their risk of infection? With artificial intelligence! In this project, you will gather image data of three different tick species and use a convolutional neural network (CNN) to classify them. You will also apply image augmentation techniques to expand and enhance the dataset,… Read more

Maze-solving by an Amoeboid Organism

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can a simple organism that lives off of dead trees and that grows as a mass of protoplasm actually have intelligence? The goal of this science fair project is to test the ability of the slime mold Physarum polycephalum to solve the problem of finding the shortest path through a maze. Read more

Invasive Species

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Invasive species are organisms (either plant or animal) that have been introduced into a new, non-native area and spread rapidly in the new environment due to a lack of regulation by predators. Frequently, invasive species will out-compete native species for resources which can put native species at risk. This is an especially big problem for threatened habitat and endangered species, which are already at risk. Survey your area to document cases of invasive species invading a local… Read more

Chlorophyll Extraction

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Chlorophyll is a natural pigment found in green plants. It is the primary pigment that absorbs light energy from the sun for photosynthesis. This energy is then used by the plant to synthesize glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Chlorophyll in the leaves of plants can be extracted and separated using chromatography. A good source of chlorophyll for an extraction is a dark green leafy vegetable like spinach. Rub a fresh spinach leaf on the bottom of a strip of filter paper. You can get a… Read more

How Do Flowers Develop?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Flower development is an important part of plant growth. When a plant has reached maturity, it needs to develop flowers in order to reproduce. The male and female parts of the flower have specialized structures for reproduction that develop as the plant matures. How do flowers develop over time? Which structures develop first? You can answer these questions by dissecting the flowers of a gladiola. Gladiola flowers grow and develop along the stem, with the most mature flowers opening at the… Read more

Germination

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Germination is the process by which a seed emerges from the seed coat. Many different variables can effect the process of germination. Try to sprout seeds from different species of plant to see if different species vary in germination time. Are weeds faster germinators than vegetables? Try measuring seeds and then germinating them to see if big seeds sprout at a different rate than small seeds. Try sprouting seeds in different environments to test the effect of different environmental… Read more

Water Striders & Surface Tension

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Water striders (also called water bugs, pond skippers, etc.) are insects that can hop around on the surface of water (Figure 1). Unlike boats or other floating objects that are partially submerged and held up by the resulting buoyant force, water striders are held up by surface tension. Figure 1. Water striders (image credit Isaka Yoji). You can build your own water striders using thin wire (Figure 2 and summary video). Do some background research about… Read more

The Cannon Fungus: Grow a Fungus That Fires Objects at Light Sources!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Pilobolus fungus has an interesting way of making sure the next generation has a good start on life. At high speed, the fungus shoots a sac that contains spores toward a light source. Why toward a light source? Because that is where it is most likely to find an open area with grass. Once the spore is placed on grass, it is eaten by a cow or a horse, which is a critical step in its life cycle. The spore passes through the animal's digestive track and ends up in a pile of manure. For a fungal… Read more

Animal Magnetism: Do Large Mammals Align Themselves with Earth's Magnetic Field?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

We rely heavily on our senses to tell us about our environment. But in addition to the senses of touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight, some animals are able to sense Earth's magnetic field. Migratory turtles and birds use this sense to guide them on long journeys. Homing pigeons use it to find their way home. New research suggests that large mammals, such as cows and deer, may also have the ability to sense the direction of magnetic north. In this animal behavior science project, you will… Read more

Life on Land, Ninth Grade Science Projects (35 results)

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