Physics Science Projects (Page 8)

Explore Satellites with Powerful Simulation Software

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The first man-made satellite, the Sputnik 1, was launched in 1957. As of late 2020, more than 2,600 man-made satellites orbit Earth, with a little over 70% of them in low Earth orbit. If you would like to delve into how satellites and their sensors are configured, or into how their orbits are planned—and do not shy away from a little programming—this project is for you! With the help of FreeFlyer®—powerful software that allows you to simulate satellite orbit and… Read more

High-Speed Magnets: Exploring Faraday's Law and Lenz's Law

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Safety Notes about Neodymium Magnets: Neodymium magnets are very strong. Adult supervision is recommended when using them. Be careful not to drop the magnets, and do not let them slam together or fall. They may pinch your fingers, crack, or shatter. Keep magnets away from small children, pets, credit cards, and pacemakers. In the Science Buddies project Human-Powered Energy, you can learn about the basics of magnetic induction, or how moving magnets can be used to generate an… Read more

Particles in the Mist: See Radioactive Particles Decay with Your Own Cloud Chamber!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Are you fascinated by radioactivity and the emission of particles caused by the disintegration of an atom? This science project enables you to observe safely a spectacular display of radioactive decay. Following the instructions in the Procedure, you will be able to isolate a safe radioactive source and build a cloud chamber to watch the radioactive decay. Then you will use your cloud chamber to discover if a plastic lid can shield you from this type of radioactive decay particles. Read more

Making A Candy Waterfall: Can Solids Flow Like Liquids?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What do sand, Skittles, and cereal have in common? They are all granular materials, which means they are made up of solid particles, but they can actually flow like liquid! Imagine pouring the sand out of a bucket or pouring the cereal out of a box— a lot like pouring water, right? In this physics science project, you will investigate how the size of granular materials affect how they flow. Read more

The Buoyancy of Balloons

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Balloons are a festive addition to many celebrations. You've probably noticed, though, that over a short period of time, helium-filled latex balloons start to lose their buoyancy. So when you're planning your next party, how soon can you buy the balloons in advance before they start deflating? In this science fair project, you will use a simple scale to measure the lift supplied by a set of balloons, and determine the rate of lift decay. Read more

Centripetal Force

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

What keeps you in your seat of a giant loop-de-loop roller coaster? Surprisingly, it is not the seatbelt but the seat! It works because of something called centripetal force and it does much more than make a great roller coaster. It keeps a satellite in orbit and you in your bicycle seat during a turn. How does it work? 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

Use a Catapult to Storm Castle Walls

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You may have seen movies or read books where armies in medieval times catapulted large rocks or other objects at castles (or each other!). These armies used different types of catapults to accomplish different goals — for example, launching things over or into castle walls to knock them down. In this experiment, you will use a ping-pong ball catapult to lay siege to a "castle" and find the right settings to hit your targets. Read more

Distance and Speed of Rolling Objects Measured from Video Recordings

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This project is an experiment in classical physics. You'll be following in Galileo's footsteps, and investigating Newton's laws of motion, but you'll be taking advantage of modern video recording technology to make your measurements. Sure, it's been done before, but if you do it yourself, you can get a firm understanding of these important concepts. Read more

Distance and Constant Acceleration

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever dropped something and wondered how fast it was moving while falling? If it was something fragile, like a cell phone, you might not have been thinking about this at the time — you may have been too busy trying to grab the phone! But you probably wanted to find out just how hard it hit the ground afterwards. We know that gravity forces an object to fall, but how does this affect how quickly something falls and how hard it hits the ground? For example, did the phone move faster… Read more

Physics Science Projects (100 results)

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