Help, DS need a good idea for Earth Science fair project.

[paddock36]

Quote:
Thanks for adding the link. My son is going to take a few different project ideas with him to school on Wednesday. This one does seem interesting. I just don't know if she would consider it animal related. Anything is worth a try.

 

[paddock36]

We were ooriginally going to make a tornado chamber. It looked really cool. My DS said the teacher told him that's not earch science and there has to be a measurement.

 

[Cpprpnny19]

You could do an "Erosion board". Get a piece of plywood and
slightly angle it so that water will flow "downhill". (would simulate a mountain,
cliff, or those Cal houses on stilts that get caught in mudslides

)
On the board nail thin strips of wood to make chutes.
Put various types of "layers of earth" on it, one type per chute.
Sand, rocks, shale, clay, limestone, etc.
Pour 1 cup of water at a time down chute and note effects.

Independent variable is the diff types of earth material. Dependent variable is the water.

Questions:
Which material erodes the fastest?
Which material erodes the slowest?
What is the effect of the water on each material?

And so on..........

BTW-Love the acid rain idea with the eggs!


Lynne

 

[Chinchilla2]

Quote:
Yeah, according to my kiddo, while it is an earth science, unless you can make that tornado chamber tear up something to measure the "wind" strength, it makes a pretty toy and not much else. At least with the egg trick you have a method of measure. Not sure but he made a comment about how the weight of the vinegar will change a bit when it eats the egg shell, giving you a way of measuring where the calcium went.

Since a lot of schools won't let you bring something like that up to show, you could take pictures every hour or so as a visual aid. Light brown eggs or speckled eggs are good since the bubbles are easier to see on the brown and the heavier speckles protect the shell a bit like dirt deposits or moss would on a limestone deposit. It looks really cool when those are the only areas left of the shell.

 

[paddock36]

Quote:
I like this idea. I think we are now leaning toward an Erosion project and this sounds neat ( I love the egg idea too but don't know if his teacher will let him use eggs) Just have to figure out the correct question to go with it. I feel like I'm repeating the 6th grade all over again.

 

[paddock36]

Thank you to everyone who suggested an idea for my son. You folks are the greatest.

 

[sheaviance1]

I have one too, if you are still looking for something.

The problem is an oil spill in the ocean....fill some jars with salt water. You are trying to remove the oil, but not the water, while using an environmentally friendly product. Try hay, pine shavings, shredded newspaper, etc. Measure the liquid in the jar before and after the experiment is performed, record the results of which substance removed the most liquid. Did it remove oil, water, both?

 

[mom'sfolly]

If you want some websites for help, google science fair projects.

Zoom has some cool science experiments and so does Steve Spangler, and I'm sure TLC and some other places do too.

Here's a cool one that can be used to demonstrate ocean or air currents...

You need two clear containers, one small enough to fit in the other. The small container needs a small mouth. You fill the larger container with cold or cool water and you fill the smaller container with hot water and a couple of drops of food coloring. You then submerge the small bottle in larger container. The wamer water will form a colored geyser through the cooler water. The measurable variables are the temperature of both tanks of water. So you do the experiment keeping one vessel at the same temperature and vary the temperature of the other. This can be used to demonstrate several earth science concepts (all sort of related). This is how ocean currents and air currents work. Different temperatures of water or air cause currents or even weather.

There are lots of Newton's Law experiments, which are all earth science.

Good luck.

 

[paddock36]

Thanks again everyone for all your help and suggestions. My DS submitted the Erosion project to his teacher and she accepted it and said it was good

. I'm so relieved.

 

[Cpprpnny19]

<patting self on back>

lynne