Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Calculating the Circumference of the Earth

For Students 9th - 10th
In this project, you will estimate the circumference of the earth, using a method developed about 2,200 years ago, by Eratosthenes, a Greek mathematician and the librarian of the great library at Alexandria, in Egypt.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Effect of Friction on Objects in Motion

For Students 6th - 8th
The funny thing about friction is that you couldn't get anywhere without it, yet it still acts to slow you down as you're getting there. Here is an easy project to measure the effects of friction.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Fractography: The Way Things Break

For Students 6th - 8th
When something goes wrong, do you like to try to figure out why? Engineers do this all the time. They even have a fancy name for it: failure analysis. Understanding how different materials break is an important part of failure analysis....
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Does Ratio of Sand to Cement Affect Strength of Concrete?

For Students 6th - 8th
Concrete is one of those things that most of us don't think about much, yet we use it every day. We walk on concrete sidewalks, drive on concrete roads, and live and work in buildings with foundations made of concrete. It is a durable...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Underground Water Flow and Darcy's Law

For Students 9th - 10th
This project shows you how to build a simple model system to simulate underground water flow. Underground water flow is important for understanding replenishment of underground aquifers, migration of underground contaminant plumes, and...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Similar Triangles: Using Parallax to Measure Distance

For Students 9th - 10th
Want to stretch your imagination? One good way is to try to imagine how far it is to a distant star. How much farther away is it than the moon is from the earth? In this project, you'll learn one way of measuring the distance without...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Vibrational Frequency With Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Strike a key on the piano, and you hear the string vibrating. Just about any object vibrates when it's knocked, but how much and how fast? This project helps you find out. You'll build a simple light-sensing circuit for measuring the...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Fast Do Seismic Waves Travel?

For Students 6th - 8th
Here's a geology project that uses historical seismograph data that you can collect from the comfort of your own computer. You'll use a web interface to a network of seismometers run by the Northern California Earthquake Data Center, at...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Making Patterns With Rubik's Cube

For Students 9th - 10th
This project challenges you to figure out how to make geometric patterns with Rubik's Cube. Leaving your cube in one of these positions makes it much more tempting to pick it up and 'fix' it. See if you can determine how different...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Devising an Algorithm for Solving Rubik's Cube

For Students 9th - 10th
If you're the kind of person who has taken apart your Rubik's cube in order to grease the inside parts so it will move more smoothly, this could be a great project for you. This will show you three sets of move sequences that accomplish...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Observatory Satellite Measures Motion of Coronal Mass Ejection

For Students 9th - 10th
The sun sometimes releases huge bursts of electrified gases into space. These bursts are called coronal mass ejections (or CMEs). When CMEs are directed towards Earth they can generate auroras, the spectacular atmospheric displays also...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Correlation of Coronal Mass Ejections With Solar Sunspot Cycle

For Students 9th - 10th
Scientists have known for hundreds of years that sunspot activity waxes and wanes over a cycle that lasts approximately 11 years. In the 1970's, scientists discovered that the sun periodically blasts electrified gases into space, in huge...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Buoyancy of Floating Cylinders

For Students 6th - 8th
This project presents an interesting puzzle. A disk of wood will float face-up, that is, with its circular cross-section parallel to the surface of the water. A long log of wood, however, floats with the circular cross-section...
Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Locating the Epicenter of an Earthquake

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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 network of seismometers to find out for yourself. You'll create your own seismograms...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Make a Hygrometer With Strands of Hair

For Students 6th - 8th
Does your hair go crazy when the weather turns damp? Did you know that strands of hair can relax and lengthen when the humidity increases and then contract again when the humidity decreases? In fact, hair strands can be used as the basis...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Spending Habits: Tightwads vs. Spendthrifts

For Students 9th - 10th
Do you have a hard time hanging on to your money or do you have a harder time letting it go? This project shows you how to conduct a simple survey to measure how people manage their money. Find out what percentage of your classmates are...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Surface Tension of Water With a Penny

For Students 6th - 8th
Have you ever wondered what makes water 'bead' up on a freshly waxed car? In this project you'll investigate the chemistry of surface tension by measuring how many drops of water a penny can hold.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Does Color Affect Heating by Absorption of Light?

For Students 9th - 10th
Light is an example of an electromagnetic wave. Electromagnetic waves can travel through the vacuum of interstellar space. They do not depend on an external medium-unlike a mechanical wave such as a sound wave which must travel through...
Lesson Plan
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Gigantic Triangles: Measuring Altitude (Inclinometer)

For Teachers 6th - 8th
If you've ever wondered how tall that bridge is, or how high your kite was, then this could be a good project for you. You'll learn how you can use the mathematics of right triangles to measure the height of an object with two...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Light Intensity Using the Inverse Square Law

For Students 9th - 10th
You've probably heard that compact fluorescent light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. More of the electricity they use goes into producing light, and less into producing heat than with incandescent bulbs. How much more...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: How Atmospheric Temperature Affects the Water Content of Snow?

For Students 9th - 10th
If you're lucky enough to live in a place that gets snow in winter, you know that the feel of the snow can vary a lot. Sometimes it can be light and fluffy, and other times heavy and wet. This project shows you how to use data from daily...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Investigate Mpemba Effect Can Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Cold

For Students 9th - 10th
This physics project seems like it should have an easy answer. Instead, it turns out to be a great illustration of why it is important to base scientific conclusions on the outcome of controlled experiments. Things don't always turn out...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Supercooling Water and Snap Freezing

For Students 6th - 8th
Can water remain liquid below its normal freezing point? If it does, that water is supercool(-ed). This project shows you a method for supercooling water. You can test water from different sources to see whether or not it can be...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Using Weather Balloon Data to Map Atmospheric Temperature

For Students 9th - 10th
Snow-capped mountains make a picturesque scene, especially in summertime when the peaks are in such contrast to the warmth below. This project shows you a way to see how temperature changes with altitude using data collected twice daily...

Other popular searches