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Middle School, Use Solar Energy Science Projects (9 results)

Use solar energy as you create your own robot, make your own oven, make freshwater from saltwater, or collect and heat water. Or analyze how existing solar cells or panels work.

A Cool Way to Make Electricity: Solar Cell Power Output vs. Temperature
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Solar cells provide a clean way of making electricity directly from sunlight. In this project you will build a simple circuit and experimental setup to investigate whether the power output of a solar cell changes with ambient temperature. Read more
Cold Room? Heat It Up with A Homemade Solar Air Heater
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
What do humans need to survive? We need food, water, and warm shelter. We all need a warm place to live, particularly when it's chilly outside. How do many of us warm our houses or apartments? We depend on fossil fuels to supply gas and electricity to our heaters. But burning fossil fuels to create energy is harmful to the environment. What if there was a way to warm our homes without burning fossil fuels and it was free? In this science fair project, you will build a solar air heater and see… Read more
Free Power from the Sun!
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Do you like getting something for nothing? Everybody likes getting things for free. How about getting energy and power for free? The Sun sends us free energy every second and all we have to do is collect it. Taking advantage of free energy can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which are harmful to our environment. In this science fair project, you will work with a solar panel, which is a collector of free energy, and investigate how varying the angle of the solar panel, and thus the amount… Read more
How Does Solar Cell Output Vary with Incident Light Intensity?
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Solar cells are an alternative method for generating electricity directly from sunlight. With this project, you can get down to the atomic level and learn about the world of solid-state electronics as you investigate how solar cells work. Your experiment will measure the effect of changing light intensity on power output from the solar cell. A possible variation would be to investigate the effect of changing the color of the light. Read more
Now You're Cooking! Building a Simple Solar Oven
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Here is a project that uses direct solar power, gathering the sun's rays for heating/sterilizing water or cooking. It is a low-cost technology that seems to have everything going for it. Does it work? Can you find ways to improve it? Find out with this project. Read more
Solar Speedway
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Solar power is hot these days. Gleaming, black solar panels soak up rays on more and more rooftops of homes and businesses providing a clean, alternative source of heat and electricity. You might guess that different times of the day yield different levels of solar power. But just how much does the sun's position in the sky affect the power that solar cells and panels can generate? That's the question this project is all about. Read more
Solar-powered Chemistry: Study Chemical Reaction Rates in Ultraviolet Beads
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Most of the ultraviolet (UV) light produced by the Sun is blocked by the atmosphere, but some UV light does still reach Earth. It can be detected using electronic devices, but can also be detected with something called UV beads. UV beads contain a pigment that changes color when they are exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. In this chemistry science fair project, you will use UV beads to study how temperature affects the rate at which they lose their color. Read more
Solar-Powered Water Desalination
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
How can seawater from the oceans be turned into fresh water that is suitable for people to drink? Through a process called solar desalination! In this science project, you will make a solar desalination apparatus using readily available materials, and a power source that is free. How much water can the device produce, and is it still salty at all? What factors affect how effectively saltwater is turned into fresh water? Read more
The Speed of Light: Explore Solar Energy with a Supercapacitor Car Motor!
Science Fair Project Idea
Scientific Method
Solar cells are devices that can be used as a source of power when there is light shining on them, but they stop producing energy when they are not in the light. One way to store the solar energy for later use is to use a solar cell to charge something called a capacitor. The capacitor stores the energy as an electric field, which can be tapped into at any time, in or out of light. In this electronics science project, you will use parts of a solar car to experiment with the energy storage… Read more
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