Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Soil Color and Moisture
When you step in mud it can be very messy. How can you tell if soil is wet or dry before you step in it? In this experiment, you can see if color can help you figure it out.
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Science Buddies: Porosity and Particle Size
Often, when we think of something that is solid we think about rocks. But in reality, rocks have tiny holes of air inside them. This is called porosity. In this experiment you can find out what it means to be "solid as a rock."
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Science Buddies: Sorting Out Sedimentation
Sedimentary rock forms in layers that are deposited one after the other over long periods of time. Oftentimes, sedimentary rock contains fossils and other debris that are deposited within the layers. Use this experiment to investigate...
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Science Buddies: Color Profiles
Did you know that the same digital photo you see on a computer monitor may not look as good in print? When it comes to color profiles, there are a lot of options: RGB, CMYK, grayscale and indexed color are just a few. Learn how to choose...
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Science Buddies: Bit Depth, Colors and Digital Photos
How many bits of information are in a digital photo? It depends on how many possible colors there are. Learn how to choose the right number of colors and bits to post your photo on the web or send it to your best friend.
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Science Buddies: Pinholes, Light and Aperture Size
Pinhole cameras are not a thing of the past. Even compared to all of the latest technology, a pinhole camera still gets beautiful results. Find out how this very simple aperture design works to control the way light enters the lens of...
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Science Buddies: Macro for Micro?
If the prefix "macro" means large and "micro" means small, then why will the macro setting of a digital camera help take a better picture of a small object? Do this experiment and get the big picture.
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Science Buddies: I'm Trying to Breathe Here! Dissolved Oxygen vs. Temperature
To survive, we need oxygen in the air we breathe. Oxygen is also essential for most aquatic organisms, but there is much less oxygen available in water than in air. Learn how to measure dissolved oxygen and then see how oxygen...
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Science Buddies: It's Raining, It's Pouring: Chemical Analysis of Rainwater
Here is an interesting project that could be approached from several different scientific angles: Environmental Science, Weather & Atmosphere, Chemistry, or Plant Biology. You can probably think of your own variations to emphasize...
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Science Buddies: Give Yourself a Lift: Lightening the Load With Pulleys
Before the Industrial Age, people relied on muscle power for moving and lifting heavy objects. Here's a project that shows you how you can use your head to make heavy lifting easier on your muscles - and your back.
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Science Buddies: Go and Stop? Ant Traffic Signals
Have you ever stopped to watch a trail of ants moving back and forth between a food source and their nest? Have you ever wondered how they establish their trail? You've probably read that ants use chemical signals to communicate with one...
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Science Buddies: How Far Can Sparks Jump?
Piezoelectric barbecue fire starters work by creating a spark that ignites the volatile lighter fluid, which then starts the charcoal burning. They are low current, high voltage devices. This project shows you a way to find out by with...
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Science Buddies: Can Water Float on Water?
Of course it can, you say: ice is water and ice floats. And you're right. But we're talking about water in the liquid phase Can liquid water float on water? The goal of this project is to investigate what happens to layers of water with...
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Science Buddies: Harbor Porpoise Movement
In this project you can use archived satellite tracking data to learn about activity patterns of harbor porpoises. How far do they travel? Can you find patterns in the routes individual animals take? Can you correlate their route with...
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Science Buddies: Do Warmer Seas Make Stronger Hurricanes?
We've all heard that hurricanes draw their immense power from warm ocean waters. Of course, many factors contribute to the formation and growth of a hurricane, but can we expect to find that the warmer the water, the stronger the...
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Science Buddies: Do Hurricanes Cool the Ocean?
If you've ever so much as watched a news clip about a hurricane, you probably know that hurricanes draw their power from warm ocean waters. If that is true, does it mean that hurricanes actually cool the ocean down when they pass...
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Science Buddies: Winglets in Wind Tunnels
Have you noticed the little wing projections on the wings of jets? This Science Buddies project helps you understand whether these fins help stabilize airplanes. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an...
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Science Buddies: Why Winglets?
Make a paper airplane and experiment with adding winglets to it to test its performance. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a section on terms,...
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Science Buddies: Keeping You in Suspens(ion)
Find out the different strengths of two types of bridges, beam and suspension, by building your own. This Science Buddies science project gives you the means to find out. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently...
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Science Buddies: Dome Sweet Dome
Geodesic domes are made of interconnected triangles that approximate the shape of a sphere. This project shows you how to build a geodesic dome using rolled-up newspapers and tape and then test how much weight your dome can support.
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Science Buddies: Mixing Light to Make Colors
You know how to make new colors by mixing paint or crayons. For example, you get green by mixing yellow and blue, or orange by mixing red and yellow. With paint, blue, yellow, and red are primary colors, which you can use to make other...
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Science Buddies: Solid Ground? Measuring Soil Bearing Capacity
Foundations for many types of structures rest on soil. This project shows how you can investigate the bearing capacity of different types of soil.
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Science Buddies: Heart Health: How Does Heart Rate Change With Exercise?
Your heart starts beating before you are born and keeps right on going through your whole life. Over an average lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times. Keeping your heart healthy means eating right, not smoking, and...
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Science Buddies: Smart Watering: Adjusting Your Sprinklers for Optimal Soil
Use this science fair project to learn how to test your soil to see if it is getting the right amount of water from the sprinklers. Project is set up beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a section on...