On this page you'll find two science fair project ideas for younger students.
Science Fair Projects and Science Fair Topic Ideas
Following are two science fair project ideas and some great links to other sites that have literally thousands of other ideas.
Use the ideas below as examples of the kinds of experiments you can do, then select a topic that interests you for your science fair project. Parents and children - please exercise caution and ensure that all experiments are completed under adult supervision.
Did you know that this site sells hundreds of science kits?
How Does Salt Change the Properties of Water?
If you've ever cooked spaghetti or pasta, you've seen in the directions for preparing the pasta suggesting that you add salt to the water before adding the pasta. Why would they ask you do add salt? How does salt change water?
A question you could ask about how salt affects water might be, "How does the saltiness of water effect its boiling temperature?" A hypothesis for this question could be "The presence of salt in water increases the boiling temperature of water." Design an experiment along the following lines: try boiling 2 cups of water with a cooking thermometer in the water to see how hot it is when it boils. Then try boiling 2 cups of water again, except this time dissolve a measured amount of salt in the water before boiling and make note of the boiling temperature. Repeat the boiling experiment 4 more times, each time adding more salt to the water and recording the boiling temperature.
Summarize your results and compare them with your hypothesis - did adding salt to the water increase or decrease the boiling temperature? Write up your results and comparison of results with the hypothesis in a conclusion either supporting or disproving your hypothesis.
| More Science Fair Topic Ideas |
Which Metals Conduct Heat Most Efficiently?
Different kinds of metals have different physical properties. They are different colors, some are stronger than others, some conduct electricity better than others, they have different melting temperatures and they all conduct heat differently. You can test one of the previous properties in a simple experiment.
A question you could ask might be, "Which metal conducts heat most efficiently?" A hypothesis for this question could be "Of copper, stainless steel and aluminum wire, copper conducts heat the best."
Design an experiment along the following lines: go to the hardware store and buy as many different thickness' of copper, stainless steel and aluminum bare metal wire as you can find. Get a package of plain white candles, some matches and a watch with a second hand. Carefully melt some wax from a candle, rolling the warm wax into balls of the same size - about a quarter of an inch in diameter. You may have to increase the diameter of the wax balls, depending on thickness of the thickest wire you were able to find because in the next part of the experiment you're going to skewer the wax balls on the end of the wires. Carefully measure your different wires into lengths of the same size - 6 inches long would be good - and ask the adult helping you to cut them for you.
Next light a candle and, holding your wire with a wax ball on the end with some tongs, put the end of the wire opposite the wax ball into the candle flame, hold it there until the wax ball melts off the wire and time on the watch how long it takes for the wax ball to melt off. Carefully note on a data collection sheet,for each piece of wire: whether it was copper, aluminum or stainless steel, how thick it was, how long the piece was and how long it took for the wax to melt off it.
Summarize your results and compare them with your hypothesis - did the wax ball fall off the copper wire fastest? What effect did the differing thickness' of the wire have on the melting time? Write up your results and comparison of results with the hypothesis in a conclusion either supporting or disproving your hypothesis. | | Science Fair Project "How to"
1. Select a question to explore Choose a topic you're interested in learning more about then find an aspect of that topic that you can ask a question about so that you can test the answer to that question with an experiment. e.g., Does lemonade weigh more than milk? Use all kinds of resources to research the topic you chose.
2. Create a hypothesis To create a hypothesis, try to guess an answer to your question that you will either prove or disprove through your experiment. e.g., Lemonade weighs less than milk.
3. Create and experiment to test hypothesis Think up an experiment that you can do to test whether your hypothesis correct or not. Do the experiment a number of times and record your results and how you obtained them.
4. Compare your results with the hypothesis Write about whether your experiment results tend to support or disprove your hypothesis.
5. Create a conclusion Once you've compared your experiment results with your hypothesis, come to a conclusion and write about whether your hypothesis was supported by your experimental data, noting improvements you could make to your experimental method. Also think about what practical application your experiment might have outside the classroom in the everyday world.
6. Share and display your experiment Create some display materials for your science project: some background materials on the topic you selected, your question and hypothesis, illustrate your experimental method, display your results and your conclusion. You can use a whole variety of materials in your display including a folding, three-panel cardboard display background, construction paper for color, pictures, drawings and your experimental equipment so that your can show people how you did the experiment. |
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