Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Which Animals Have Genome Projects?
All animals have a genome, but do they all have genome projects? Find out which animals are currently having their genomes sequenced and how much we know already by performing some simple bioinformatics data digging.
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Science Buddies: Drawing Circles Around Ants
Do ants sometimes ruin your picnic? There are some chemical ant repellents you can spray to keep them away, but who wants to spray poison all over their food? In this experiment you can investigate some less toxic solutions that may be...
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Science Buddies: The Bouba Kiki Effect
It may be possible for certain symbolic characteristics, like sharpness and roundedness, to cross language barriers. In this experiment you will investigate the Bouba-Kiki Effect to find out if abstract visual properties can be linked to...
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Science Buddies: Bubble Ology
Making your own bubble solution is fun, but sometimes the bubbles don't seem to work as well as the solutions you buy in the store. In this experiment you can test if adding corn syrup or glycerin to your bubble solution will make it...
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Science Buddies: Roller Coaster Marbles: How Much Height to Loop the Loop?
This is a really fun project even if you don't like going on roller coasters yourself. You'll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape, and see how much of an initial drop is required to get...
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Science Buddies: Dog Scents: The Super Nose of Man's Best Friend
Everyone thinks their dog's the best, but in the case of smelling ability, all dogs possess super powers. In fact, a dog's nose can be over a 1,000 times more sensitive than a human's. In this project, learn about smell from a dog's...
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Science Buddies: Converting Potential Energy to Kinetic Energy
If you'd like to investigate the physics of amusement park rides, then this project is for you. You'll build a roller coaster track for marbles using foam pipe insulation and masking tape, and see how much the marble's potential energy...
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Science Buddies: What Conflicting Mental Tasks Reveal About Thinking
Can you pat your head with one hand while you rub your stomach with the other? This experiment is kind of like that, but it can actually give you some insight into how your mind works. The task is to name colors. It sounds simple enough,...
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Science Buddies: Shaping Your Thoughts?
This is an experiment that explores certain aspects of how your brain pays attention. In this project, you'll have to recruit volunteers to take a simple test: naming a list of printed shapes. What makes the test tricky is that words...
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Science Buddies: Warped Words and the Stroop Effect
The Stroop effect describes an experiment about the time it takes to name the color of printed words. When you try to name the color in which color words are printed, it takes longer when the color word differs from the ink color than...
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Science Buddies: How Fast Does an Alka Seltzer Tablet Make Gas?
This is a straightforward, fun project to measure the rate of the chemical reaction that occurs when Alka-Seltzer tablets are plopped into water. You'll track the volume of carbon dioxide gas produced at regular intervals after the...
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Science Buddies: Locating an Earthquake Using a Global Seismic Network
When an earthquake happens, how are scientists able to determine the original location of the quake? In this project, you'll use archived data from a global network of seismometers to find out for yourself. You will make your own...
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Science Buddies: Can You Change the Rate of a Chemical Reaction?
The ingredients in Alka-Seltzer tablets undergo a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas as soon as the tablets hit water. Do you think you can cause the tablets to produce gas faster by breaking them into smaller pieces...
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Science Buddies: Measuring the Earth's Core With Seismic Waves
When an earthquake occurs, seismic shock waves travel out through the earth from the source of the event. The shock waves travel through the earth (body waves), or along the Earth's surface (surface waves), and can be recorded at remote...
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Science Buddies: Testing Ant Repellents
Has your house ever suffered an ant invasion? This project is an interesting way to investigate what substances are effective as ant repellents. The goal is to find substances that keep ants away, yet are safe for humans and the...
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Science Buddies: Do Milkweed Bugs Show a Color Preference for Egg Laying Sites?
Milkweed bugs, as their name suggests, have a close relationship with the milkweed plant. The plant produces a milky sap, and toxic compounds, but somehow the milkweed bug is unaffected by them. Instead, it concentrates chemicals from...
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Science Buddies: What Seeds Do Birds Prefer to Eat?
In this project you'll build a bird feeding platform with four separate feeding areas. You'll be able to observe birds at close range, find out what birds inhabit your area, and learn about their seed-eating preferences. So get out your...
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Science Buddies: Applying Hooke's Law: Make Your Own Spring Scale
Hooke's law says that the opposing force of a spring is directly proportional to the amount by which the spring is stretched. How accurately Hooke's law describe the behavior of real springs? Can springs be used to make accurate scales...
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Science Buddies: Rubber Band Elasticity and Temperature
Many materials expand when heated and contract when cooled. What do you think will happen to the elasticity (stretchiness) of a rubber band when it is heated or cooled to various temperatures?
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Science Buddies: Beach Bum Science: Compression of Wet Sand
Did you ever notice the cool patterns around your footprints when you take a walk in the wet sand at the beach? The pressure of your feet has effects far outside your footprints. Here's a project that uses a simple experimental apparatus...
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Science Buddies: Under Pressure: Sand Under Lateral Compression
Here's a project that involves a different kind of sandbox than the ones you usually think of. This one has a moving wall inside, acting like a piston, to compress the sand. You can make layers using two different colors of sand, and...
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Science Buddies: Catching Stardust
How do astronomers collect stardust? They design and build satellites that are launched into space to collect particles on specially designed panels. Satellites can be sent to orbit around an object of interest: a planet, moon, or comet....
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Science Buddies: How Much Do Different Pet Species Eat?
How much food do you think your pet eats compared to other kinds of pets? In this experiment you will compare the food intake of your family pets to find out which pet eats more for its body weight.
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Science Buddies: The Brains Behind 'Where's Waldo?'
What makes you notice someone in a crowd? Why do some things stand out, while others melt into the background? In this experiment you can investigate the psychology of how things get noticed, by studying how our brains perform a visual...