Science Fair Project Ideas please?

Question

I need ideas for a science fair project for an 8th grader.........any help is appreciated~

Answer 1

One that was tedious and very time consuming that my son won 2nd place for his school science fair project was he built an AM radio from a kit (found at Science Supply stores online) and then chart channels he would receive and the clarity during different weather conditions.

The one that he did last year was much simpler and his teacher likes it so much that the showed it over and over on the school cable channel. He named it "Burnout". We bought 3 votive candles. One was a control, the other was frozen for 4 hours in the freezer and the other was put in the microwave for one minute. He had a friend video tape him explaining the project and giving his hypothesis, then he lit all three candles at the same time and recorded the progress of the burning every 10 minutes for about 10 seconds to show how the rate that the candles burned and held a ruler up to each one. This went on for about 4 hrs.

An alternate project that he had planned to do that we did not get started on time is to plant two bean seeds at the same time. The control would be watered with tap water and the experiment plant would only be watered with water that had been nuked in the microwave for five minutes then cooled to room temperature (about an hour) to see if using the microwave water made a difference. We read about this online and a person that did it said that the microwaved watered plant grew significantly slower than the tap water plant.

Answer 2

PHYSICS

1. Fire and Burning- what factors affect burning?

2. Fuels and their efficiency in producing energy.

3. Musical instruments- the scientific principles behind them

4. Music Versus Noise- difference

5. Pendulums- how can a period of a pendulum be increased?

6. Air Pressure (Code=IP050) - Water Pressure (Code=IP051)

7. How do you establish "elevation from sea level"?

8. Gears- compare efficiencies, effect of different lubricants

9. Solar Furnace

10. Lenses- effects of curvature, materials on light beams

11. Can eggs withstand a greater force from one direction than from others?

12. How strong are nylon fishing lines?

13. How strong are plastic wraps?

14. Which homemade airplane design flies best?

15. What factors affect the bounce of a dropped ball?

16. How do compression and tension make things strong?

17. How strong is a toothpick?

18. Which type of lawn sprinkler works best?

19. Which type\size of light bulb produces the most light?

20. How can the strength of light be measured?- the effect on degradable materials

21. Which materials can be charged with static electricity?

22. Which battery lasts the longest?- How can power be increased?

23. What affects light reflection?- refraction and diffraction of light?

24. Spectrum and color production- prisms

25. How is sound produced? What affects the pitch of sound?- What affects the volume of sound? - How would you measure the velocity of sound?

26. Electric Motors- principles and factors effecting their efficiency

27. Electric Circuits- factors affecting voltage, amperage, resistance

28. Magnets and electromagnets- What affects the strength of an electromagnet?

29. Buzzers and bells and alarms (electromagnets).

30. Magnet Levitation- Experiment gravity defying effects of magnetism and build a Magnetic Levitating Train

31. Radios

32. Internal Combustion engines

34. Insulation-best materials, thickness

35. How is paint affected by temperature changes?- Elasticity of rubber; effect of glue. (See projects 110, 111 and 112 in this list)

36. Use of solar energy- design and construct solar cookers, solar panels, etc.

37. Designing a strong bridge

38. Efficient use of renewable energy resources- E.G. Wood, Wind

39. Determine the accuracy of various thermometers

40. How much heat is required to raise the temperature of various substances by an equal amount?

41. Principle of energy conservation

42. Comparing active & passive solar energy systems in cost and efficiency.

43. Designing an energy efficient home

44. Can water be magnetized?

45. Make a Minute Timer

46. What is light?

XX. A Projector (Make a slide projector)

50. Air Pressure (Can air pressure be used to push, break or bend objects?)

51. Water Pressure (How does water pressure change at different depths?)

61. Does the weight of the firework determine how long the firework stays in the air?

100. Compare copper wires to optical fibers for communication

110. How is paint affected by temperature changes?

111. How does temperature affect the elasticity of rubber?

112. How does temperature affect the strength or adherence of glue?

Answer 3

I recently judged a Jr. High science fair. Some of the fair projects were really creative. "They color of cool"Can the color of shingles affect the temperature of a house? "Night Writers" - How does lack sleep affect your motor skills? They had people stay up all night giving them typing test at various points of the night and after things like drinking a cup of coffee. "The unpopables" - Which brand and/or flavor of popcorn has fewer un popped kernels ? There were so many that were great. but these are the ones that I remember as the best

Answer 4

one my daughter thought of but never did: does exposure to a strong magnetic field affect the growth of bean sprouts? You'd need a good, strong magnet (maybe an electromagnet), and habitat for growing several baskets of bean sprouts (look up how to grow them - an open basket is better than a glass jar). Have one as a control, and another that's constantly exposed to the magnet.

other than that, go here
http://school.discovery.com/

and click on science fair central. plenty of ideas there.

Answer 5

all kinds of ideas at the site below