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Five Ideas for an Earth Science Project

ScienceMom — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:54:10 +0000

Earth science projects are an amazing way for kids to become interested in science as well as the earth around them. “Earth sciences” covers a lot of territory – no pun intended – which gives kids a lot of choices for experimenting. Here are five great ideas for an earth science project:

1. Find out if salt affects the boiling point of water. Using distilled water, measure the temperature at which water boils with different amounts of salt added. This easy experiment can be done fast – in under an hour! Got more info here: “Does Salt Affect the Boiling Point of Water?

2. Test types of insulation to see which works best. Freeze bottles of water, insulate them with various building materials, and see which one stays frozen the longest. This is science project is great for students concerned about our environment. Instructions can be found at 24 Hour Science Projects.

3. Make a tornado. Simply half fill a clear 2 liter soda bottle with water, and swirl it until it makes a tornado. This is an easy elementary demonstration, that probably won’t win the science fair, but will fascinate younger students while allowing them to observe swirling currents. (We bet you’ll get a kick out of it, too!)

4. Measure the amount of oxygen that is in air. Put duct tape on a hand warmer, activate it, and quickly tape it to the bottom of a tall jar. Invert the jar and put the mouth into a pan of water. As the hand warmer heats up, it will use up the oxygen in the glass, causing the water level to rise. If you’re traveling to and from the mountains and compare the amounts of oxygen, this is a great experiment. Otherwise, it’s a cool demonstration.

5. Compare brands of toilet tissue to see which is most biodegradable. Collect samples of different brands of tissue, weigh them, soak them in water so they break down. After 24 hours, rinse the samples through a funnel, then weigh the rest. Get the instructions for this earth science project called “A Straight Flush“.

Get information on how to find detailed instructions for earth science projects when you get your free parent’s guide to science projects – are at http://www.24hourscienceprojects.com.

Fourth Grade Science Projects – Getting Started

ScienceMom — Wed, 27 May 2009 00:20:33 +0000

Fourth Grade Science Project Due? Your child may have very specific ideas about what he or she would like to submit to the science fair. Before you let excitement rule, however, you need to keep a few things in mind.

Once you find out what kind of science project your fourth grader needs, it’s time to find out what project he or she wants to do. As you search, keep the following questions in mind:

1. Can I find the materials needed for the science experiment? Once my son needed powdered laundry starch for a project. Since nobody irons much anymore, it’s not easy to find!

2. Are the supplies expensive? One science project we considered called for SIX reusable hand warmers. They are almost $6 each, plus shipping. We found something else to do.

3. Can the science project supplies be located in time? If you have to order something, will it arrive in time for you to do the project thoroughly?

4. Is this project within my child’s ability level? Is it safe? Science projects are for your CHILD to do – with your assistance. Not the other way around.

5. Will this project really work? My mom tried for years to make a battery out of a lemon, and never succeeded.

A 4th grade science project is a huge undertaking. Take it from us – we have four sons, each of whom was required to enter the science fair in fourth grade. We’ve had failures and successes, tears and smiles. And always, after the 4th grade project, we had the 5th grade project right around the corner!

Now, get a free guide to fourth grade science projects – including how to find experiments with step by step instructions – at http://www.24hourscienceprojects.com. Easy and fast, they’ll help you submit an outstanding – and maybe winning – fourth grade science project.

Experiment with Vitamin C

ScienceMom — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:45:34 +0000

When you mix ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and iodine, something cool happens: the solution turns blue for a second or two, then returns to the color of the juice. If you keep adding the iodine, the mixture will turn a very inky dark blue color. Why is this? Here’s a kid friendly explanation.

Iodine and vitamin C like each other, and when they are put in the same container, they will combine. When you are adding the iodine to the juice and the starch mixture, as long as there is still vitamin C that has not been combined with the iodine, the color will stay the color of the juice, but after you reach the equivalence point- when you have added as much iodine as there is vitamin C – then the iodine starts combining with the cornstarch. When iodine combines with cornstarch it turns blue.

And if you’re doing our award winning experiment Vitamin “C”itrus, here’s a hint: the more iodine it takes, the more vitamin C there is.

Chemistry Science Projects

ScienceMom — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:45:22 +0000

Chemistry Science Projects. As students head out of elementary to middle and high school, they are expected to do more advanced science projects – like an experiment involving chemical change. We have a couple of chemical change science projects that our boys have done. These are slightly more advanced, yet still have easy to find supplies and are relatively easy to do.

Our most popular project involving chemicals is Vitamin “C”itrus. This experiment determines which fruit has the most vitamin C. A simple indicator is made, and students (and parents) enjoy watching the chemical reaction that occurs along with titration, which is a fancy way of saying “putting in drops”. This project can be modified in several different ways, allowing your student’s creativity to shine. We get letters from many students telling us that Vitamin “C”itrus was submitted to the fair, and was winning science project.

Another great science project involving a chemical change is our project The Yeast Beast. This project is so much fun to watch that our kids did it over and over until we ran out of yeast. Students watch what happens when yeast ‘eats’ sugar. This project is marketed as a demonstration project, but we also offer instructions to do it as an experiment.

Of course, for more great ideas, head to 24 Hour Science Projects. We have all sorts of ideas for your scientist, starting at the most elementary, and working up to the more advanced chemical change science projects.

My Grade Science Project

ScienceMom — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:24:42 +0000

“My granddaughter has a Science Fair coming up soon and we need help. She is in the 2nd grade. My question is are the 24 Hour Projects 2nd grade level? If not, do you offer any at that level? Thanks.”

We often get this question about our projects. The answer is almost always, “Yes, you can use our project guides for your child’s grade.” With few exceptions, our guides can be adapted for use for any grade in elementary through middle school. The references we provide are on several levels – from very elementary to more complicated. The science experiments themselves are all really easy to do. All you’ll have to modify are the explanations that go on your display board. Just make sure they are appropriate for your child’s grade.

When a Science Project Proposal is Rejected

ScienceMom — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 22:29:32 +0000

Recently, a student contacted me about a science project he was doing. The question (from one of our projects) was, “Does Covering the Mouth with Hands Prevent the Spread of Germs?”

This project was designed for elementary school students, and the teacher wasn’t pleased with its simplicity. Her main objection was that the experiment question shouldn’t be answerable with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

The clever seventh grade scientist had an easy solution. He reworded his question, “How does covering the mouth prevent the spread of germs?” He did lots of research, conducted the experiment we provided, and was able to turn in a great project.

Sometimes you come up with a great science project topic, but the teacher rejects your idea. If you can ask the teacher for a specific reason for the rejection, you may find that a simple rewording of the question may re-qualify your idea!

The project mentioned above is called “Undercover Sneeze”. It can be found, along with many more projects, at http://www.onlinescienceprojects.com.

Science Project – Coming up with an Hypothesis

ScienceMom — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:09:16 +0000

Our science project guides give you detailed, step by step instructions for doing your project, starting with the hypothesis and ending with the conclusion. We can’t, however, give you what the hypothesis should be. Sometimes customers ask us why.

The reason is simple – the hypothesis is an educated guess – YOUR educated guess, and not ours. You must take what you already know about the subject, and predict what the outcome of your experiment will be. The good news is that since the hypothesis is a guess, it is always ‘right’ – because you’re just guessing.

Suppose three children are doing a science project to discover which type of water makes plants grow taller – mineral water, water with sugar, or plain distilled water. The first child’s hypothesis is that mineral water will make the plant grow taller. His grandmother owns a nutritional supplement store, and all his life he’s been taught that minerals are good for you. The second child predicts that sugar water will make the tallest plant. He bases this on his understanding that sugar makes you gain weight. And the third child, a purist at heart, figures that the distilled water will produce the most growth.

All of these hypotheses are correct, but only one will be proven true.

When you have a project to do, you can do research or use the knowledge you already have to form your hypothesis. With our project guides, we give you lots of research material to help you come up with your hypothesis for your science project.