Science Project Ideas
Every year in my physics class we have a culminating science project due at the end of the year. This project replaces the old final exam since the students are constantly being bombarded with other standardized tests like TAKS, STARR and EOC.
I wanted for my students, regardless of their education background or college goals, to at least get one last hurrah from science – I wanted them to go through the process of discovery using the scientific method – in any manner they choose, so long as it is a genuine scientific experiment. It can be related to anything as long as:
- the method to carry out the investigation is scientific
- they acquire non-biased data
- their project is repeatable by another person
- they come to a conclusion with a trend in their data, or a reasonable account of explanations why there was no trend (that happens too!)
- the outcome of the experiment is not overly predictable
The vast majority of academic level students that I have encountered over a span of 10 years in the classroom – even given an entire month to think about a project – still cannot think of a project. Students have been taking science for 12 years, but many students still aren’t clear on the goal of science.
Since this is the case, I made a criteria sheet for brainstorming an idea for a project. The sheet worked to some degree, but most of the time it was I who took their initial interest and developed an entire science experiment out of it. I wanted to share these ideas and as many details as I can about each one. Eventually I’d like to share the results as some of these are quite cool and quite unique.
Here are some of the documents I use:
Guide-to-a-getting-an-idea-for-your-project
Science project list:
| aerosol type vs. potato cannon power — |
| audio apps vs. true notes comparison — various apps claim to be used for tuning, but how accurate are they? Are the free ones better than the pricey ones? Apps are compared to various notes on a standard piano and then compared to an electric keyboard. |
| skin color heat absorption — an african american student of mine came up with this to prove / disprove the myth that darker skin tones absorb more heat than lighter skin tones, and by how much. |
| volleyball accuracy topspin vs. floater – a floor map will be made of accuracy and precision of various types of volleyball serves. The trend should yield a useful tool to volleyball coaches and players in training. |
| fabric heat insulation vs. doped fabric – a control group of similar color fabric tiles is testing for insulation. Identical fabric tiles are doped with various chemicals to test for improved insulation. |
| balance challenge – several tests of balance are designed and given to male / female, and varying age groups to test their balance. |
| wood vs plastic drumstick frequency – |
| true alto / soprano frequency test using freq app |
| softball pitches vs. height weight distance hit |
| wii physics |
| smokers vs. non smokers CO2 production |
| swimming speed vs. clothes % increase in speed |
| competitive behavior alone vs. in a team |
| mass spectrometer and caffeine |
| weed killers vs. organic methods |
| muscle group learns quickest in dance routine |
| pole vault factors max height |
| paper color vs. distraction |
| nerf bullet modification for distance improvement |
| music vs. study ability in men and women |
| protecting against oxidation |
| mouse trap car wheel geometry vs. speed |
| grass clipping accelerated / decelerated decomposition |
| trampolines |
| bacteria on various objects |
| helmet protection skateboarding |
| shooter game physics |
| electromag field on plant growth |
| how effective is cracking the window in the heat |
| wakeboarding |
| factors affecting bread expansion and length, the perfect footlong |
| soccer vision |
| meat decomposition |
| plant height vs. |
| swimming dives wave distance |
| household product flammability vs. surface |
| punching bag collisions |