Project Ideas

A. Good Web site http://www.educationplanet.com/

B. Ideas from American Chemical Society booklet

1. Which peanut butter is the stickiest?
2. Are guppies attracted to mirrors?
3. Which animals in a zoo are kept in families?
4. Does changing the contents of a fish tank change the fish’s swimming pattern?
5. Does the size or breed of a dog affect its heart rate?
6. What container will keep a drink cold for the longest period of time?
7. Which kind of adhesive bandage stays on the longest?
8. What kind of tennis ball bounces higher and longer than others?
9. Which dishwashing liquid is the best degreaser?
10. Does double-bagging make paper or plastic bags twice as strong?
11. What materials are best for soundproofing?
12. Which colors absorb the sun’s heat the most? the least?
13. Which kinds of fabrics are best for keeping you warm?
14. Which kinds of cereal get soggy the fastest and stay crunchy the longest?
15. Which kind of vinegar makes the best reaction (loudest, longest, most bubbly) with baking soda?
16. Are there different living things in different soils?
17. Are temperature and barometric pressure good predictors of rainfall?
18. Is there a relationship between the size of a tree and the size of its leaves?
19. What is the relationship between the length of a plucked rubber band and the sound it produces?
20. Does the amount of food given to a gerbil affect how long it sleeps?
21. Do different-colored hard candies dissolve at the same rate?
22. Which kind of sponge is better, natural or synthetic?
23. What combination of water, liquid soap and sugar make the best bubble-blowing liquid?
24. Design a soup bowl and spoon that allow you to finish the last bit of soup without tipping the bowl.
25. How will changing the type of food in a bird feeder affect the types of birds that feed?
26. Do babies prefer certain colors or shapes of blocks?
27. Which colors can be seen from the greatest distance?
28. Do members of the same family tend to have the same favorite color?
29. Is there a relationship between the length of people’s hands and the length of their feet?
30. Can you train an earthworm to do something?
31. Which brand of cotton balls is the best (number per price, or rate of absorption, or total absorption, or strength)?
32. Do larger batteries (D and C cells) last longer that smaller ones with the same voltage (AA and AAA)?
33. Can male grasshoppers jump farther than female grasshoppers?
34. Which dishwashing liquid produces the most suds?
35. What’s the smallest portion of a potato needed to start the growth of another potato?
36. Which paper plates will hold more weight without buckling?
37. How long can people hold their breath? What characteristics might affect it?
38. Where do seeds sprout best?
39. Will a seed grow if part of it has been removed?
40. What kinds of plants will and will not grow from cuttings?
41. How does too much of a good thing (water, fertilizer, light) affect plants?
42. Does fertilizer affect the amount of algae growth in water?
43. Do taller people have bigger feet?
44. Do solutions of different kinds of salt and sugar produce different crystals when they evaporate?
45. Does a light object really fall at the same rate as a heavy object? (What really affects the rate of fall in air?)
46. Can you make a painting using only pigments from the plants, soils, and minerals in your neighborhood?
47. Is the hatching time of brine shrimp affected by the amount of salt in the brine solution?
48. Are snails attracted or repelled by light?
49. Which kind of soil will hold more water?
50. Design a vehicle which can travel 10 feet by itself powered only by rubber bands or balloons?
51. Are paper grocery bags stronger than plastic grocery bags?
52. Design a feeding dish or mechanism which will prevent a large dog from stealing food from a little dog.

C. Good stuff from Vernier Technology

Thanksgiving experiments

D. Chemistry Project Ideas

R2 presentation at 2003 MTSEF Training Event

E. With thanks to Teri Summers at Rossview Middle School