Fourth Grade, Physics Science Projects (18 results)

Do you think you could build a car powered by nothing but air? A balloon-powered car is pushed forward by air escaping from a balloon, and it is fun and easy to build with materials you already have around your house. Can you imagine how you would want your own balloon-powered car to look? Can you design a car that will travel as far as possible? You can even measure your car's speed using your smartphone and a special sensor app. Get ready to grab some simple supplies to bring your idea to… Read more

Try your hand at this engineering challenge. Can you build a "launcher" device to launch a ball as far as possible and a "receiver" to catch it? Building a receiver provides an extra twist to a traditional catapult project. Add to the challenge by using a limited set of materials to build your machine and calculate a score based on your throw distance and materials used. Read more

In this engineering challenge, you will use limited materials to build a paper tower as tall as possible, but there's a twist! Your tower must also support a heavy weight at the top without collapsing. Follow the contest rules to try it out and enter the 2021 Fluor Engineering Challenge! Teachers, lesson plan versions of this challenge are also available. Read more

Physicists sometimes study matter under extreme conditions. For example, think of the emptiness of interstellar space vs. the unimaginable crush of pressure at the center of a neutron star, or an object dipped in liquid nitrogen vs. the tiles on the space shuttle during re-entry. Here's an experiment on permanent magnets in "extreme kitchen" conditions that you can try at home. Read more

3... 2... 1... 0— blastoff! In this science project, you will use a bottle rocket launcher to launch your own bottle rocket. You will load it with water and pressurized air, make several launches, and find out what makes your rocket soar the highest. Read more

Can you build a volleyball machine? It will need one part to launch a ping pong ball over a net and another to return the ball. How many back-and-forth volleys can you get before the ball touches the ground? While the 2019 Fluor Engineering Challenge is over, you can still try this fun project out yourself. Follow the rules and compare your score to top scores from around the world! Looking for this year's challenge? Check out our main Fluor Engineering Challenge page for all the latest… Read more

Did you know that you can lift an object that's heavier than you are? Just use a lever! In this science project you'll build a tabletop lever and measure how much effort it takes to lift an object using it. Read more

Standing on a balcony near the top of the Tower of Pisa in Italy, a young scientist dropped two balls into the crowd below. The scientist, young Galileo, was not trying to knock his fellow professors on the head, but was trying to prove his theory that all objects fall to earth at the same rate, regardless of their mass. Was Galileo's theory correct? In this science project, you will get to test it out for yourself! Look out below! Read more

Have you ever wondered what sounds you can hear in space? The answer is simple: none! In outer space there is utter silence. There are no sounds of traffic jams or thunderstorms or crashing waves. No buzzing bees or babies crying. Just silence. In this experiment, you will discover why empty space is void of sound and prove it with the help of the microphone in your phone and a sensor app. Read more

Did you know that you can use magnets to build a train that floats above its tracks? In this project, you will also use magnets to make the train stop, preventing it from crashing into the end of the track. Will adding more magnets help the train stop sooner? Read more