Science Buddies
Science Buddies: How Does Soil Affect the P H of Water?
Did you know that soils can be alkaline, neutral, or acidic? Most plants grow best in soil near neutral pH, but some plants prefer slightly acidic and others slightly alkaline soil. What is the pH of the soil in your garden? What happens...
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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: Harmful Algal Blooms in the Chesapeake Bay
Harmful algal blooms occur when algae, which form the base of the ocean food web, grow in massive numbers and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. In this project you will learn how to...
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Science Buddies: Lowering the Freezing Point of Water
When it comes to making ice cream, in order to make the mixture cold enough to freeze, you surround the container with ice and rock salt. This experiment helps you learn how the addition of salt (or other substances) affects the freezing...
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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: How Much Weight Can Your Boat Float?
Have you ever wondered how a ship made of steel can float? In this project you'll investigate how much weight boat hulls of various shapes and sizes can support without sinking.
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Science Buddies: Suck It Up: Capillary Action of Water in Plants
We know that plants, and even bouquets of cut flowers need water to survive, but we often do not think about how water moves within a plant. In this science project, you will use colored water and carnations to discover how water travels...
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Science Buddies: How Does a Chick Breathe Inside Its Shell?
Whether a chick can breathe inside its shell is an interesting question. Every animal needs oxygen to survive, so the chick must get air somehow. Try this science project to discover if the pores in a chicken egg shell allow water to...
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Science Buddies: Learn How to Disinfect Contaminated Water
Clean water is not a given everywhere in the world. In this science fair project, students will investigate whether sunlight could be used to disinfect contaminated water. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently...
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Science Buddies: Solar Powered Water Desalination
Here is a cool project about making fresh water from salt water using solar power, also known as water desalination. The apparatus is made from readily available materials, and the power source is free. As an inventive thinker, you will...
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Science Buddies: What's the Point of Boiling?
You know that water can exist in three separate phases: solid (ice), liquid (water), and vapor (steam). To change from one phase to another, you simply add (or remove) heat. When water boils, what happens to molecules (for example sugar...
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Science Buddies: Are You Gellin'?
Chances are, you have several materials around your house made of gelatinized materials. Gels are used in all kinds of products and materials: pudding, diapers, insoles, packaging, ice cream, toothpaste, and much more. In this project,...
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Science Buddies: What a Drag!
What makes some objects more streamlined than others? Find out which ordinary objects around your house are made to move smoothly through the water in this easy experiment. Which objects will produce the most drag when pulled through the...
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Science Buddies: Got Iron? Measure the Concentration of Iron in Water
Iron is an important mineral essential for good health. Iron deficiency can be a problem. In this science fair project, use a simple iron test kit to measure the concentration of iron in water. This experiement is explained clearly and...
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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: Timing the Tides
Have you ever been to a tide pool during low tide? Some intertidal animals in the low tide zone are left in a tiny pool of water when the tides go out. Other intertidal animals that live in high tide zones may be left to dry out during...
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Science Buddies: Buoyancy of Floating Cylinders
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...
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Science Buddies: How Atmospheric Temperature Affects the Water Content of Snow?
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...
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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: 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: Caffeine and Heart Rate: A Pharmacological Study Using Daphnia
In this project, water fleas (Daphnia magna), a semi-transparent freshwater crustacean, are used to study the effects of caffeine on heart rate. You do not have to learn how to take a crustacean's pulse though, because you can actually...
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Science Buddies: When Science Is Sweet: Growing Rock Candy Crystals
Though rock candy seems to be a simple enough treat, it is also pretty interesting to make. Crystallized sugar that can be grown from a sugar-water solution is just how rock candy is made. In this experiment, you will learn to make your...
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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: What Are You Blubbering About?
Baby Beluga may swim in the deep blue sea, but the song doesn't mention how cold it is out there. Find out in this short project how a bit of blubber can be a useful adaptation when the water is ice cold.