Science research » Science Experiments

Easy and Simple Science Project

admin — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:56:24 +0000

Have you ever thought about a science project and immediately think of test tubes and a scientist with a long white lab coat, goofy glasses and a bed-head hairdo?

Most people do think of this when they think of science and when all of a sudden children are asked to do a science project you become immediately panic stricken.

Many scientists work outside with soil and water and do tests everyday using agriculture. As a matter of fact many people do science experiments daily without evening thinking about them. Have you ever put one plant at an East window and one at a North window to see which window is the best for growing your flowers? You just did a science project experiment. It was a simple project. How about planting some plants in a hanging basket and some in the ground to see how this plant thrives the best. Maybe you grow a garden and planted some seeds directly in the garden and started some inside. These are all ways people actually do science projects daily without even thinking about it. When we lose weight we are experimenting with carbs, fat grams, sugar and testing a theory on ourselves to see what combination makes excess weight come off.

Children are staying inside more and more and do not realize the importance of the agriculture around them. There are easy simple science projects that can be done with soil or plants or seeds.

Here is a simple project for children:

Get a package of seeds from a dollar store You need 4 pots or containers Soil or dirt Apple juice Milk Vinegar Water and dishwashing liquid Cheap inexpensive notebook from dollar store Marker to mark pots #1, #2, #3, #4Your question could be “Can plants grow with other liquids than water only?” Choose which one you think will work the best.

Place the soil/dirt in each of the 4 containers and plant the same number of seeds in each pot. Place the pots in the same location with the same light and temperature. Now water one pot with vinegar Water one pot with apple juice Water one pot with milk Water one pot with water mixed with 1 tbsp dishwashing soap

IT’S THAT EASY! Now get your notebook and label each page with a new day. Every day record what you see from each plant and list when you water the seeds and how much. You will want to give each pot the same amount of liquid as the others so use a measuring cup. When the seeds germinate record that.

After 2 to 3 weeks explain if seeds can grow in other liquids and which liquid worked the best.

More easy science experiments can be found at http://scienceprojects.fetching.us

By: Lesa Bolt

Fun Science Projects

admin — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:23:33 +0000

Hello, I have prepared a couple really fun science projects that any student can do at home with household items.

These Fun science projects should be done with adult supervision.

The first fun science project is called “The Balloon Inflater”

MATERIALS:

A carbonated soft drink in a bottle, a balloon, and a twist tie from a bread or a garbage bag.

WHAT TO DO: 1. Place the balloon over the mouth of the bottle and securing it to the bottle with the twist tie. 2. Have the adult hold the bottle and place their thumb over the mouth of the bottle covered by the balloon. 3. Now shake the bottle for five seconds and release your thumb. 4. The balloon fills with carbon dioxide that was dissolved in the soda pop. That’s why they are called carbonated drinks.

This is a great fun science project that can give you that A you want in science class! Here is another great science experiment that anyone can do .

THE BALLOON ROCKET

MATERIALS: A balloon

WHAT TO DO: Simply blow up the balloon. Then, holding it between you thumb and forefinger, let it go and watch it fly.

EXPLANATION: You already know that the air escaped from the opening in which you blew up the balloon. You also noticed that the balloon flew in the opposite direction – this is action and reaction. The first force, air escaping, is the action. The balloon moving in the opposite direction of the air is the reaction.

We use this principle everyday. We push down on a chair to get up. We push our feet to the back to walk forward. A basketball pushes down onto the floor just before it bounces. You can probably think of many other examples.

I hope you have enjoyed these fun science projects. Please remember that these science experiments should be done with adult supervision.

By: Tyler Horvath

Science Lessons for Grade 1 on the Five Senses

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 17:48:30 +0000

Many teachers agonize about planning science lessons for Grade 1. They think that the students are too young to take part in science experiments. This is because they associate science experiments with using chemicals and Bunsen Burners. At this grade level, there are many experiments you can do in class with the students that are perfectly safe and do not put the students in any danger.

For example, it is easy to plan a lesson related to using the five senses. A taste test, or an experiment where the children are blindfolded and have to identify certain foods by the way they taste, smell and feel, is perfectly acceptable. The only precaution you would have to take in this type of lesson is to make sure that none of the children have any allergies to the foods you plan to bring into the classroom.

To teach the concept of using the sense of hearing, it is quite easy to make a tape recording of certain noises and see whether the students can identify them. In order to evaluate the lesson to see whether or not the students have achieved the objective, you can have them draw a picture to tell what they learned, retell it to you or have them write a sentences in their journal or learning log.

If you wish you can also have the students create noises of their own using materials that you bring in, such as scraping a comb over glass or the sound of chalk on the chalkboard. Many of the activities that you use with science lesson plans dealing with sound will also achieve the objectives for your music curriculum as well, so you might want to work with the music teacher on this section.

Some of the outcomes that you need to address in Science lessons for Grade 1 are:

1. Students will be able to identify the five senses

2. Students will be able to demonstrate ways that materials can be used to alter their smell and taste

3. Students will demonstrate ways we can use materials to make different sounds

4. Students will describe ways in which materials can be changed to alter their appearance and texture

5. Students will demonstrate how each of the senses helps us to recognize, describe and safely use a variety of materials.

You can teach all of these objectives using fun activities to keep the students interested. You have to think of the age of the students and realize that these activities are very simple, yet relevant to students in Grade 1.

What kind of activity could I use to teach Objective 3 – Students will describe ways in which materials can be changed to alter their appearance and texture? You have to keep in mind that you don’t have to get the students to do all the experiments. You can do some with them watching and then ask them questions about what happened. For this objective, you can take a piece of paper towel. Pass it around to all the students so that they know what it looks and feels like. Soak it in water and then show the result. Students can immediately see how the appearance and the texture of the material have changed.

When you are teaching Science lessons in Grade 1, you should always look for appropriate children’s literature so that you start the lesson off with a story to peak their interest.

“How Paper is Made” by Arthur Lockwood is a good book to use for this lesson because it describes the changes in the appearance of a tree from the time it is cut down until it is made into paper.

By: Frances Stanford

Chemistry Science Fair Projects You Can Use

admin — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:22:16 +0000

Chemistry science fair projects have changed over the years; they’ve gotten a lot glitzier and much more technically involved. While this is has made it somewhat easier for parents, the modern trend in science fair projects tends to be to buy a science fair kit off the internet rather than make things yourself. We’re going to cover old school style chemistry science fair projects that will set you apart.

First, there’s something to be said for the “do it yourself” method of doing science fair projects. A lot of really good scientific learning can be done with this, and the hands-on experience is excellent for associating science with the real world, particularly with chemistry.

Some good hands-on chemistry science experiments:

Salinity and Freezing temperatures

Take a liter of water, carefully measure it out into ten glasses of 100 cc each, and add salt to each of the four glasses. Put no salt in the first glass, 10 grabs (about half a teaspoon) into second, and keep adding half a teaspoon to each subsequent glass, until the last glass has 4.5 teaspoons. Stir carefully, until the salt all dissolves.

Now, adjust your family’s freezer so that it’s at exactly 0 C (this will take some time to do!) and put all 10 glasses in the freezer. Wait for about an hour, and write down which glass has frozen. Now, adjust the temperature of the freezer down by 1 degree C, and observe in half an hour. Have any of the previously unfrozen glasses frozen?

Keep repeating, dropping the temperature each time until you get to –15 C; is there a correlation between the amount of salt in the water and the temperature?

What does this imply about oceans and how they freeze in the Arctic?

If you take some of the ice out of the frozen glasses, is it salty, or fresh? Why?

Take careful notes of your observations and work out a theory for your chemistry science fair project.

This chemistry science fair project will teach you how to do proper methodologies for recording science experiments, and for tracking your data.

It should also give some non-linear results – the amount of salt dissolved in the water won’t linearly change the amount of temperature needed to freeze the water, because the solution gets saturated.

Building a graph, and explaining your results is another valuable skill you’ll learn from this.

By: Charlie Johnson

Free Science Experiments Made Simple and Fun

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:21:43 +0000

There are countless numbers of free science experiments out there. Just think about the materials you have around your house. There is no need to go out and buy a bunch of pricey items to create a great science experiment. You can do many experiments with water or food with items you already have in your home, such as finding out what the effect of salt is on the boiling temperature of water. For this experiment all you need is a pot, water, salt, measuring spoon and thermometer. Boil some water, test the temperature, and then add one tablespoon of salt to the boiling water, stir, and test the temperature again. You can add a few more tablespoons (one at time) and test the temperature of the boiling water after each additional scoop of salt. Be sure to record your finding so you can compare afterwards.

Or, if you want to do free science projects with food you could test and see which place is best to store fruit in order to keep it freshest the longest. For this all you need to do is get a few pieces of fruit and place them in various places throughout the room; maybe one in the fridge, one on your dining room table and one in a pantry. Then, wait and see which piece of fruit goes bad first and record your results. It doesn’t take much to think of a free science experiment that you can conduct in your own home, or outdoors where you could experiment with bugs and plants.

By: Dee Schrock

5th Grade Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

admin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:26:51 +0000

5th grade science fair projects are a little bit more involved than the previous grades. At this age students are expected to come up with their own topic, perform the majority of the experiment on their own and be able to write a small report on it with minimal adult assistance. This isn’t too difficult because fifth graders are full of questions about the world, so they shouldn’t have any trouble coming up with a topic and conducting a little experiment to find out the answer.

Though if a student is looking for some ideas, there is one great 5th grade science fair project where one will create a fire proof balloon. To test this, the student will need adult supervision. The adult will assist the 5th grader to blow up the balloon, tie it shut, and place it over a match. The balloon will pop as you bring it close to the flame. The student will then take the second balloon and put ¼ cup of water into balloon, blow it up and tie it closed. When placed over a lit match, the student will find that the balloon will not pop, even if it touches the flame, though it may get a black patch on it from soot.

The reason why the balloon will not pop is because the flame heats the liquid behind the rubber, rather than the rubber itself. The student can do another project involving heat and rubber by gathering a few rubber bands and examining the rubber as it relates to heat, a form of energy. All they will need for this experiment is their forehead and some rubber bands. They are simply testing to see if the rubber bands get warmer or cooler when stretched. You can judge this by holding the rubber band to your head while stretching it.

By: Dee Schrock

Biology Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:13:20 +0000

Biology science fair projects are focused on the study of all living things and the relationships between them. Biology refers to any living thing; plants or animals and how they live, how they grow, how they interact with one another and their environment and so on.

Biology can be broken down into three separate categories; botany, which is the study of plants, zoology, the study of animals, and microbiology, which is the study of microorganisms. To do a successful biology science project, you should choose the category that interests you the most. If you like animals, you might choose a project on finding out how fire flies glow and what they can teach us about life. If you enjoy plants you might choose a project that focuses on plants, such as finding out if seeds can germinate without soil. If microorganisms interest you, you might choose a project like researching to find out if yeast is a living organism.

Whichever biology science projects you choose to do your science fair project on, you should make sure you are capable of explaining your entire project. The judges want to know that you are knowledgeable about the subject you have chosen. You will also want to make your presentation pleasing to the eye, so be sure it’s very organized and tidy. There are many different topics to choose from when it comes to biology, so you should have no problem finding one that interests you and will capture the attention of you audience and the judges. Good luck!

By: Dee Schrock

Simple Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

admin — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:08:56 +0000

Simple science fair projects are great if you have a limited amount of time to complete them, or if you just want to do a quick project for fun. Science fair projects don’t have to be long, involved and complex to be good. Simple science fair projects do great in science fairs as long as you can show that you learned something from the project, and are able to present it in an eye catching way and explain your project to the judges.

One example of simple science fair projects is to see what sort of effect music will have on the growth of plants. All you need for this project is three plants of the same variety, preferably as similar in shape and size as you can get, and 2 CD players, a rock and roll CD, and a classical CD. Place one plant in a room with the rock and roll music playing, another plant in a room with the classical music playing, and the third in a quiet room. Water them daily and record how each plant is doing after one and two weeks.

Another simple project to try might be to see if plants grow towards light. To do this, you need two plants and two boxes that the plants will fit in. Cut a hole in the top of one box and place the plant inside, and cut a hole in the side of the other box and place the second plant inside. Water them daily and check after a week or so to see if each of them is growing towards the hole in the box or not.

By: Dee Schrock

Good Science Fair Projects For Winning Science Experiments

admin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:13:31 +0000

Good science fair projects are all around us. Anything can be turned into a science fair project. Any question you have ever asked about anything can be turned into a science project. No science fair project is “bad” unless you haven’t put the effort into it. As long as you pick a topic that interest you, use the scientific method to come up with your answer, make a hypothesis, present your project in a nice organized fashion, and completely understand your project and are able to explain it to the judges, you will have a good science fair project.

If you are having trouble getting started, just think of a topic that interests you. Do you like animals? Do you like looking at the stars and wonder what the universe has in store? Do you like studying plants? Does machinery interest you? Or maybe you would like to do an experiment on something that’s in the media these days, such as global warming or the economy? The possibilities are endless. Would you like to find out how a specific animal behaves in the wild as opposed to the way it behaves in captivity?

Would you like to find out about ways you and your family can help out the Earth, such as through recycling, composting or being aware of the affects of pollution? Or maybe you would like to conduct a simple experiment such as finding out what type of treat your cat or dogs prefers. Whatever you choose, as long as you put the effort into it, it will be a great project.

By: Dee Schrock

Easy Science Fair Project Ideas For Winning Science Experiments

admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:02:19 +0000

If you are looking for an easy science fair project you really don’t have to look far. There are ideas all around us. Pick any topic that interests you and you can come up with a science fair project for it. Remember, your project doesn’t have to be complex to be good. You can pick an easy science fair project and as long as you understand the project, are able to explain it and present it nicely, you will get great marks. You may even get marks better than some of your peers who choose to do complicated projects that they don’t fully understand.

Easy science fair ideas are testing people’s sense of smell. This can be accomplished by gathering a few different scents and asking some volunteers if they can identify them. Another easy project would be to see if the surface on which a snail is travelling affects the speed that it moves, you could investigate whether cockroaches have a sense of direction, or if ants prefer plain water, sugar water or salt water.

You could also test and see if plants will grow towards light, or if they can grow without sunlight at all. If that doesn’t interest you, you could try making your own tornado. This is a surprisingly easy experiment; all you need is water, a jar, some dish detergent and food coloring. Mix the water, a teaspoon of dish detergent and some food coloring into a jar, shake it up for 20 seconds and then give it a spin. You will then have an instant tornado! There are endless possibilities so let your mind go wild and you are sure to come up with a great winning project!

By: Dee Schrock