Eighth Grade, Physics Science Projects (51 results)

Physics is the study of matter — what is it made of? How does it behave? What laws or equations describe it? From subatomic particles, to the Big Bang, modern physicists study matter at a tremendous range of scales. There's a whole lot of interesting physics at the human scale, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGfeP0MkmU

A Simulator for Suborbital Spacecraft

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wished you could fly to space? Space flight is getting more accessible thanks to reusable rockets that make getting to space much cheaper. Civilian astronauts can even buy tickets for a few minutes in space! But exactly how high is "space"? How do engineers predict how high a rocket will go and figure out how to make it land safely? Find out in this project as you explore the physics of suborbital space flight. Read more

Supercooling Water and Snap Freezing

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Can water remain liquid below its normal freezing point? If it does, that water is supercool(-ed). This project shows you a method for supercooling water. You can test water from different sources to see whether or not it can be supercooled. Read more

Marble Roller Coaster: How Much Height to Loop the Loop?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This is a really fun project even if you don't like going on roller coasters yourself. You'll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape, and see how much of an initial drop is required to get the marble to "loop the loop." It's a great way to learn about how stored energy (potential energy) is converted into the energy of motion (kinetic energy). Read more

Build a Gauss Rifle!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What can you do with magnets and ball bearings that makes a lot of noise? Why, build a magnetic linear accelerator, called a Gauss rifle, of course! Now, this magnetic accelerator is not a weapon, but a way for you to learn a lot more about physics concepts, like momentum. In this physics science project, you will investigate how far a ball bearing launched by a Gauss rifle will fly, depending on how many magnetic acceleration stages are in the setup and the ball bearing's initial velocity.… Read more

Investigate the 'Death' of an Orange: How is Rate of Heat Loss Based on the Surrounding Temperature?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Imagine that you are a detective investigating a murder. You have a body that was found in a swimming pool, and someone reported hearing an argument near the pool at 10:00 PM the night before. Your first question might be "Was this person killed around 10:00 PM last night, or at some other time?" One way to answer this question is to measure the internal temperature of the body. The longer ago the killing occurred, the colder the body. But can you assign a specific time of death to a specific… Read more

Rainbow Fire Science Project

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Astronomers can figure out what distant stars are made of (in other words, their atomic composition) by measuring what type of light is emitted by the star. In this science project, you can do something similar by observing the color of flames when various chemicals are burned. Read more

Is your Physics Textbook Lying? Linear & Nonlinear Springs

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Spoiler alert: Your physics textbook might contain an inaccurate equation. Are you shocked? Let us explain — many questions in your physics textbooks are simplifications of how things behave in the real world. For example, in physics textbooks, springs are usually modeled with the equation Force = stiffness x displacement: Equation 1: [Please enable JavaScript to view equation] … Read more

Build a Raft Powered by Surface Tension

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever wondered why a water strider can walk on water? Or how detergent can clean your dishes? If you observe carefully, you can find dozens of similarly interesting phenomena that are all linked to the surface tension of water. In this science project, you will investigate the properties of water surface tension. Read more

Stealthy Shapes: How to Make an Aircraft Invisible to Radar

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever dreamed about becoming invisible? Or about making something else invisible, like the mess all over your room? Invisibility may sound like the stuff of science fiction (remember Star Trek's "Cloaking Device"?), but in reality, military vehicles, like planes and ships, can be made less observable, or even invisible, to different detection methods—like radar, sonar, or infrared sensors—by using stealth technology. In this engineering science fair project, you'll find out… Read more

How Long Will My Sleepy Yo-yo Sleep?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Sometimes, simple toys can be quite complicated. Take the yo-yo. It's a fun toy and there is nothing simpler than a string wrapped between two connected disks. But there's a lot of physics that makes a yo-yo work. In this science fair project, learn more about how and why a yo-yo works. You will investigate the effect of string length on the yo-yo's "sleep" trick time. If people ask why you've got a yo-yo with you all the time, tell them that while it looks like you're just having fun, you're… Read more

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