Science research » Science Fair Ideas

Science Fair Project Ideas – Quick and Easy Project #1 – Parachutes – Part 1

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:26:58 +0000

It can be tough coming up with science fair project ideas on your own. Sometimes we need a little help. Here is a science project that might work for you.

For this project you will need to know a little bit about skydivers. A skydiver is a person who jumps from an airplane while it is flying. The airplane must be flying a certain number of feet off the ground or altitude for the skydiver to be able to jump and land safely with a parachute.

The skydiver jumps from the airplane and will free-fall for a little bit before pulling the rip cord to open the parachute. The parachute will then slow down the skydiver’s fall so he or she will land safely on the ground. If the skydiver falls too fast, his landing wouldn’t be nearly as gentle and the skydiver would probably get hurt. Remember, as science fair ideas go, this is a topic and experiment overview.

How does the parachute work?

When the skydiver jumps from the airplane, the force of gravity it pulling him or her to the ground at a very high speed, the parachute is able to slow the skydiver’s fall because of air resistance or drag. Air gets underneath the parachute and pushes it back up. This creates a force, which is opposite of the force of gravity, which is pulling the skydiver down.

While the skydiver falls slowly, these two forces of pushing air up and gravity pulling him down are close to being equal or in balance. The air resistance force is just a little less than the gravity force and because of this the skydiver floats down to the ground.

So ask yourself this question, is the size of the parachute important? Could it be smaller or larger and still work the same way? What does the diameter of the parachute have to do with the size of the parachute?

Research Topics

If science fair project ideas like this one appeals to you, I may know a little about the words you will be using a lot of if you do this project, but you will still want to research them. You will need to know more in order to do the project well. Here is a list of the subjects you will want to do some research on, so that you will have a better understanding of what they are and what they mean.

Parachute Air resistance Drag Load Gravity Surface area

Questions

All experiments and science fair projects have a question to answer. The answer to the question is the reason we do experiments. We want to know the answer. Here are some questions you might have with this project.

How does a parachute work? Does the size of the parachute make it work better? Will the parachute work, if it were larger or smaller? Will increasing the diameter of the parachute make it bigger?

Materials and Equipment

This is a list of some of the items you will need to complete your project.

Heavy weight garbage bags Metric ruler Scissors Washers Twist ties Light weight string Stopwatch

This article on science fair project ideas using parachutes is continued in “Science fair project ideas – Quick and easy project #1 – Parachutes – Part 2″.

By: Aurora L.

Science Fair Ideas on Popcorn Projects

admin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:30:43 +0000

Popcorn is one many peoples favorite snacks. Bringing it into the science fair is a great idea for a project. You can show off some ingenuity and bribe the judges with delicious treats! There are nearly an infinite number of experiments with popcorn. A few of them are listed below.

Please Remember popcorn is just heated corn. Handle with care right after cooking

Almost all popcorn experiments give us one of two things; a better taste, or more popcorn. Taste can be a matter of preference. Here are two experiments that get us more popcorn, faster.

1) Which Brand leaves the fewest unpopped kernels. Choose 3 different brands of popcorn. Count out 3 groups of 100 kernels for each brand, a total of 900 kernels. Pop them in batches of 100. Count how many kernels are left by each brand. Repeat this 3 times for each brand. Create a chart showing your results. You could also do a break down on the cost per popped kernel. Did the most expensive brand produce the most popcorn? 2) Which brand of popcorn pops the fastest No one wants to wait for their popcorn. Win the judges over by letting them know which brands of popcorn will get to them the fastest. Choose 3 different brands of popcorn. Count out 3 groups of 100 kernels for each brand, a total of 900 kernels. Pop them in batches of 100, timing them. (The popping will go on for a while once the cooking process is done. Determine a time frame between pops that qualifies as “done”)

Now you know which brand pops up the fastest. Consider looking at what other variables affect the time. What happens if you freeze the kernels? How about if you refrigerate them? Does your elevation play a role.

By: David Evarts

Science Projects For Science Fairs – Projects That Win

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:36:44 +0000

So it’s that time of the year again? Time to wow the judges with your impressive science skills? If you want some science fair ideas, you’ve definitely come to the right place. So get ready, because I’m about to give you the free resources to a winning project!

What makes good science projects?

The most important thing to keep in mind is to pick a topic you are interested in . This project should be fun, and you should learn a lot from doing it. Also, make sure that you can do a test to explore your idea. Reports and observations are fun, but not for a science fair experiment. For example, if you wanted to know whether frozen or liquid water is heavier and why, you would need to construct an experiment to learn this information. Make sure you can do it almost all by yourself. After all, you are the one learning and entering the contest, not mom and dad. It is very important that your project is not harmful to yourself or others. Keep it safe and fun! Be sure it answers your questions but also helps you to create more. Why stop after just one experiment?

Choose your project Because this is your project, make sure you pick something interesting. Also, make sure it’s creative. There’s nothing worse than picking one of the same science projects as everyone else. Need a little help thinking of something? Here are a few ideas…

Look around you . What is interesting or confusing? What catches your eye? Using your experiences is always a good idea. If you’ve always wondered about how or why something works, now is a great time to check it out. Use the library . With so many exciting books focused on science, the library is bound to give you a great idea when it comes time to do your science fair project. Look through titles, use the computers, or give the magazines a look. Watching TV and commercials can always give you an idea or two. Question something you see. Are two shampoos really that different? Look at a newspaper . Current and local events are a great thing to research.

Of course, you can always come up with you own idea as well. Be creative, and have fun! Do your project. This is the best part! You finally get to test your ideas and observations. Here are some suggestions that will make sure that you have an awesome project…

Make sure to gather enough information and research. Since you are interested in your project, this probably shouldn’t be a problem. Taking notes is a great idea. Highlighting magazines or articles always works. Be sure to use the scientific method . Real scientists use the scientific method in their science projects, and you should too. Remember, the scientific method has 6 steps Ask a question. Do background research. Create a hypothesis. Do an experiment that tests the hypothesis. Analyze data. Present your results for others to see

Present your science project

You finally get to show off what you’ve been working so hard for! Get excited and be confident when answering judge’s questions. Here are some ideas for ways to present your findings:

Charts :- pie charts, graphs, bar graphs, histograms! These are all great ways to display what you discovered. Display:- these are great because you can include pictures, charts, write-ups, or whatever else you want! Make sure it is neat though and not a messy display. Make sure you include your research and scientific method. Short Report:- this gives you the chance to summarize what you discovered in your experiment

By: Aurora Lipper

High School Science Fair Ideas

admin — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:04:19 +0000

Presenting the best high school science fair idea will always be a challenge to the school children as well their educators or mentors. The reason being such a scientific endeavor is a source of enlightenment and entertainment for the public, who visit the high school science fairs and witness one as a strong motivational tool to other enthusiastic children.

The high school science fair infuses the spirit of scientific inquiry into the students, who present the idea and initiate it into the art of pedagogy, as they explain the working of their models to the visitors. There are many institutions that offer great awards for the best presented high school science fair idea. Occasionally, the winners of the science fair are offered a scholarship from college, and this honor certainly increases the likelihood that one will be accepted at the college of their choice.

Furthermore, the best presented high school science fair idea will also receive immense publicity. The best presented high school science fair idea also boasts about the facilities and infrastructure that the institution has to the visiting public.

People, who browse through the best high school science fair ideas, appreciate the wonderful capabilities of the child, presenting it.

A successful and meaningful high school science fair idea is the one that highlights at least one of the pressing national and global problems along with the proposal of possible solutions to it. This will be achieved if the idea could be a presentation of any of the following, though not limited to these:

Idea of presenting models of blood circulation and blood supply through the heart muscle
A model demonstrating how the coronary arteries harden and how important it is to modify the lifestyle to avoid dreadful heart conditions

HIV has been rampantly spreading and if an idea is conceived with a 3-D model of HIV, and of the various ways, it is transmitted from patients to healthy persons including fetuses, it would be useful. Moreover, the action of virus on the T lymphocytes and the opportunistic infections that HIV predisposes to along with a chart showing the safe sex practices to prevent AIDS can also be supportive to the project.

Ideas incorporating models displaying the mechanisms that underlie the natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tsunami, etc., the guidelines to predict and forecast them, along with the flowchart of steps to be taken when disasters really strike can also be attractive as well as address some issues.

High school science fair ideas incorporating the working models of ozone depletion, temperature inversion, smog development, and formation of greenhouse gases and acid rain, tests for detecting common pollutants in water, air and soil will be apt for the current scenario. An idea of measurement kits for determining the decibel levels of noise on a busy street, an idea of model of a rain water purification plant and idea of recycling non-degradable materials can always be creative and informative.

The high school science fair idea, best conceived and presented generally, leaves behind happy memories in the students, who had participated in it, along with the visitors.

By: Jordan Matthews

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