Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Ninth Grade Science Projects (Page 14)

Build a Reed Switch Motor

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Motors are used in many things you find around your house, like your refrigerator, coffee maker, and even a lawn mower. In this electronics science fair project, you will get to build a simple motor, using a kit, and then test how the number of batteries (amount of voltage) used to power the motor affects its performance. Read more

Build an Autonomous Arduino Robot with Bump Sensors

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Mechanical switches are common in many machines and robots. They can be used to detect when a button is pushed, when a door is open, or a low-speed collision when two objects bump into each other. Switches can act as "bump sensors" on a simple robot to help it detect when it hits an obstacle. The robot can use this information to navigate around obstacles and avoid getting stuck. Can you build and program a robot that can drive around your house while using bump sensors to avoid obstacles? Read more

HAMing It Up with the Astronauts

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wished you could talk to an astronaut on board the International Space Station? You're probably thinking "yeah, like NASA would ever let you do that!" Actually, they will! The International Space Station (ISS) is equipped with its own HAM radio station. The ISS HAM radio station allows astronauts, cosmonauts, and space mission specialists from different nations who are on board the space station to talk to people back home on Earth. Anyone with an amateur radio license is… Read more

Linear vs. Logarithmic Changes: What Works Best for Human Senses?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

If you want to get your friend's attention at a crowded sporting event with lots of people cheering, you need to shout. If you're trying to do the same thing in a quiet library, a whisper works. The detection limit for each of our senses depends on the amount of "background" stimulation that is already present. This project uses an LED control circuit to investigate detection of changes in light levels. Read more

Design Clothing with Built-In Sensors

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever worn a costume that lit up or played sound? Have you ever wished you had a suit of armor with built-in moving parts like a superhero? What if you could make your costume or suit react to your own movements or even other people who bump into you? The Science Buddies activity Weaving a Wearable Touch Sensor shows you how to make a capacitive sensor that responds to touch and can be woven directly into fabric (Figure 1). Can you design a piece of clothing that includes one… Read more

Colorizing Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has shown us some amazing images of space, like its first "deep field" image (Figure 1). The JWST sees the universe in the infrared part of the electromagnet spectrum, which is not visible to the human eye. How, then, does it produce color images like the one in Figure 1? Scientists must colorize the images, or apply "false color." They map different bands of the infrared spectrum to colors of visible light, resulting in an image humans can view. Luckily,… Read more

Game of Life

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Game of Life is the invention of the mathematician John Conway. It is a cellular automaton, consisting of a grid of squares that turn "on" or "off" depending on simple mathematical rules that involve neighboring squares. Depending on how the grid is first set up (i.e., the initial conditions), various interesting patterns appear. Can you write a Game of Life program in a programming language of your choice? If you are new to programming, check out these resources from the Raspberry Pi… Read more

Building a Model Hydraulic Knuckle Crane

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

A ship is a busy place. When out to sea, naval, research, and fishing vessels pull or push heavy loads, like research equipment and crab pots, into and out of the water. But equipment and pots can weigh hundreds of pounds. So how does a ship's crew lift loads efficiently and accurately? With a hydraulic knuckle crane, of course. But what is hydraulics and why does hydraulics make certain tasks easier? Hydraulics is the study of liquids and their mechanical properties: how they move, resist… Read more

Feeding Fido & Fluffy: Designing an Automatic Pet Feeder

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

An overnight trip to the beach or a quick two-day vacation can be lots of fun. What do you do to prepare? Pack your clothes, get sunscreen lotion, and borrow a book from the library. But wait! Who is going to feed your dog or cat? It would be irresponsible to let them go hungry. And you can't just leave food out, because it can get stale and start to grow bacteria, which can cause your pet to get sick. Also, it is not a good idea to leave bowls of food out because a pet might overeat, which is… Read more

Build an Arduino Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Science Buddies Bluebot Kit contains parts to build four different robots: A motion-activated robot that uses a passive infrared (PIR) sensor A light-tracking robot that uses photoresistors A line-following robot that uses infrared emitter-detectors An obstacle-avoiding robot that uses bump sensors However, in each project, the sensors are hard-wired to control the robot's motors. This allows the robot to steer left and right based on input from two sensors, but it does not allow the… Read more

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Ninth Grade Science Projects (167 results)

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