Project Guides (Page 10)

Introduction to Servo Motors

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What is a servo motor? Servo motors (or servos) are self-contained electric devices (see Figure 1 below) that rotate or push parts of a machine with great precision. Servos are found in many places: from toys to home electronics to cars and airplanes. If you have a radio-controlled model car, airplane, or helicopter, you are using at least a few servos. In a model car or aircraft, servos move levers back and forth to control steering or adjust wing surfaces. By rotating a shaft connected to… Read more

Laser Safety Guide

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Laser pointers have the potential to permanently damage your eyesight if misused! Read and follow these safety precautions when using laser pointers! Before turning on the laser pointer, always be sure that it is pointed away from yourself and others. Never look directly into a laser pointer. Never direct a laser pointer at another person. Follow the same rules for direct reflections of laser light from reflective surfaces. A laser is a light source that can be dangerous to people… Read more

NCBI Gene & SNP Tutorial

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The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) (Gene database) is an online resource to learn about gene sequences, gene alleles and mutations, genomes, and much more. It was created for the scientific community, but with a little effort and this guide, anyone with a basic understanding of genetics can learn to use it (see Table 3 for a list of resources to brush up on genetics). Following are instructions, tips, and advice on how to get started using this resource.… Read more

Paper Chromatography Resources

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Paper chromatography is an inexpensive method for analyzing some types of chemical mixtures. A Candy Chromatography Science Kit is available to do several simple and fun paper chromatography experiments. You can learn more about paper chromatography in the video below. The video gives an overview of what paper chromatography is, shows how it is done, explains the separation processes involved, and also provides tips and tricks for troubleshooting your experiment. If you would like to… Read more

Projects Involving Human Subjects

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To ensure the safety of students and other people they may be working with, many fairs require pre-approval of projects involving the interviewing, surveying, or physical testing of other people. The following summary is intended as a guide to help you determine whether your intended project involving human subjects would be subject to such pre-approval when participating in a fair that follows the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) rules. Often school science fairs… Read more

Reaction Time

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You can easily measure your reaction time with a ruler and a helper. Hold out your thumb and forefinger and have your helper hold the ruler just barely above them. Your helper then says "go" and lets the ruler drop straight down. You grab it as quickly as you can with your thumb and forefinger. Look where you caught the ruler (that is, measure how far the ruler dropped between when your friend said "go" and you caught it) You can convert this distance to reaction time with the following… Read more

Resistor Color Codes

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Resistors are small electronic parts that resist the flow of electrical current. Resistors have many uses, and you can find them in many Science Buddies electronics projects. A resistor's amount of opposition to the flow of current is called its resistance. Resistance is measured in ohms, abbreviated Ω (the capital Greek letter Omega). Resistance may have a metric prefix, for example kilo-ohms (kΩ). One kilo-ohm is equal to 1,000 ohms. The resistance value is… Read more

Sample Abstract

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Advertisers are always touting more powerful and longer lasting batteries, but which batteries really do last longer, and is battery life impacted by the speed of the current drain? This project looks at which AA battery maintains its voltage for the longest period of time in low, medium, and high current drain devices. The batteries were tested in a CD player (low drain device), a flashlight (medium drain device), and a camera flash (high drain device) by measuring the battery voltage… Read more

Scratch User Guide: Help, I'm Stuck! Troubleshooting a Program in Scratch

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Part of learning Scratch is figuring out how to make scripts (sets of instruction blocks snapped together) that make the sprites do what you want them to do. In the beginning, this might take some trial and error. It is completely normal for a program to not run perfectly the first time! Keep trying and experimenting—you might be surprised at how skilled you become at working out solutions. Below are some tips for how to get your Scratch program working the way you want. Remember, be… Read more

Scratch User Guide: Installing & Getting Started with Scratch

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Overview Scratch is a free, easy-to-use programming language from MIT that you can use to make all sorts of animated stories, art, music, and even interactive games. The modern version of Scratch runs directly in a web browser, so you do not need to download or install anything to use it. You can access it at Scratch. If you want to use Scratch without an internet connection, you can download the offline editor. Older versions of Scratch are still available for download. The instructions below… Read more

Project Guides (151 results)

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