Please answer!!!! Does anyone have a good science fair idea?

Question

I am in eighth grade.

Answer 1

Sure. Here you go.

Go to the dollar store and get some regular clocks (the kind with hands not digital) that take a single AA battery. Also get the same number of cheap flashlights. Go to Radio Shack and get some wire with alligator clips on each end and some battery holders of different sizes: AAA, AA, C, and D.

Now go get an assortment of different types and brands of AAA, AA, C, and D batteries. Be sure to get some that are "heavy duty" and some that are "Alkaline" and any other kind you can find (there are lots of different kinds like Lithium, for example).

Now hook up the battery holders to a bulb from the flashlight and one of the clocks so that the + side of the battery goes to one side of the light and one side of the clock (match the original battery holder). Then the - side goes to the other side of the light and the other side of the clock. The light should light (maybe weakly) and the clock should run. Set the clock to 12:00 and leave it while you set up the others.

Now check them every 24 hours or less. When the battery dies you'll see what time it died and you can figure out how many hours and minutes the battery lasted (if it weren't for the light bulb this would take a long time).

If you want to be a good scientist you'll repeat a bunch of times and average the answers.


Now you can answer lots of interesting questions:
1) Which type of battery lasts longest?
2) What brand lasts longest?
3) What is the cost per minute of each battery? Is it actually cheaper or more expensive to buy more expensive batteries? For example, if a carbon battery costs $1 and lasts 3 hours, and a lithum battery lasts 6 hours but costs $5, you were probably better off buying 2 carbon batteries and saving the extra money!

Use a spreadsheet program like Excel, Open Office, or online at zoho.com or thinkfree.com to make nice graphs of all this to put on your project board.

If you know some one with a volt ohm meter (get one cheap at WalMart in the auto or electrical department), you can do interesting measurements like how much current the whole thing draws, how much voltage a fresh and empty battery has in it, etc. But you don't have to do that to make a good science project.

Answer 2

Maybe something green, eco-friendly
search term: eighth grade science project

Answer 3

You've got to include what grade level you are. Trust me.

Edit:
Get 18 apples and line them up in a circle. Put a penny in one side of each and some rolled up aluminum foil in the other side of each one. Connect all of them but have one opening where you have a penny and aluminum. Use those as a positive and negative of a 9 volt apple battery.

http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd78/floodtl/?action=view¤t=AppleBattery.jpg

Light a lightbulb or something with it.

Also, research a guy named Voltaire and his work with batteries.

Answer 4

I know someone who did a project on wheather a dog's mouth is really cleaner than a human's. I did one on what learning method most people use. Research that, then come up with questions for people to answer and then go from there.

Answer 5

A Death Ray would get everyones attention?

Answer 6

I did hydroponics when I was a kid- that was a lot of fun.