Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Egg Cellently Cooked Eggs: The Process of Soft Boiling an Egg
Sometimes on a busy day, it's hard to get things done. The rush to get things done can start first thing in the morning, when you're so busy getting ready and gathering your homework, that you barely have time for breakfast. It takes...
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Science Buddies: Old Salty: Does Age Affect the Ability to Detect Salt?
Sauerkraut, pickled fish, pickled vegetables, kimchi, corned beef, processed cheeses, smoked lunch meats. Do you like these high-salt foods? What about your grandparents, do they? Do your grandparents seem to like most foods to be a bit...
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Science Buddies: Study Chirality With a Homemade Polarimeter
Some molecules can be either left- or right-"handed." The left- and right-handed molecules have the same number and type of atoms, and their chemical structures look identical, but they are actually mirror images of each other. Many...
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Science Buddies: Gel Well: Which Additives Make the Strongest Gelatin?
Gelatin. It's hard to think of another food that is used as frequently on the dinner table as off. You can find it in all sorts of sweet foods, from ice cream, yogurt, and gummy bears, to marshmallows and yellow colorings for sodas. Off...
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Science Buddies: How Tweet It Is: Bird Songs in Classical Music
Do you enjoy singing contests like American Idol? Well, male songbirds have their own version of a singing competition that has been going on for thousands of years, and classical musical composers have been taking notes. In this music...
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Science Buddies: Fast Food: Can Peppermint Improve Reaction Times?
Did you know that some teachers give their students a peppermint candy on state testing days? Is it to give the kids sweet-smelling breath? Or are the teachers hoping for something more on the important testing day? In this human biology...
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Science Buddies: Froggy Forecasting: How Frog Health Predicts Pond Health
Have you ever heard the expression "a canary in a coal mine"? In the 1900s and earlier, coal miners brought canaries with them into the mines to act as early warning signals. The canaries were very sensitive to low levels of dangerous...
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Science Buddies: Jack and Jill Went Up a Hill and Came Biking Down After
Are you a budding Lance Armstrong or Greg LeMond? Are you into cycling and speed? Then this is the science fair project for you. In this science fair project, you will determine the best gear ratio for your bike, to get the highest speed...
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Science Buddies: Swimming in Acid: Understanding Ocean Acidification
The oceans are a precious natural resource, part of Earth's carbon cycle. But what happens if the oceans absorb too much carbon dioxide? Many scientists are concerned that the increased absorption of carbon dioxide is causing them to...
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Science Buddies: Go, Gadget, Go! Building Robots With Lego Mindstorms
In the mid-20th century, people thought of robots as futuristic tools. But in the 21st century, robots are not a figment of our imaginations, but are a part of our reality. Robots even perform tasks that humans can't do. In this...
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Science Buddies: How Greasy Are Your Potato Chips?
One of America's favorite snacks is potato chips. Although potato chips are very tasty, some varieties are not very healthy for you. A typical 1-ounce (oz.) serving of a well-known national potato chip brand contains 150 calories, 90 of...
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Science Buddies: Foggy Forecasting: What Weather Factors Create Radiation Fog?
The poet Carl Sandburg wrote, "The fog comes on little cat feet". In this weather science fair project, you'll discover why this beautiful, quiet creeper appears on some days, and not on others. If you are fascinated by fog and weather...
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Science Buddies: Where, Oh Where, Do the Wild Wolves Wander?
If you were leaving home for a long walk, how far would you go? One mile, 5 miles, 10 miles? How about 550 miles?. That's a long way, but some wolves have been known to travel that far when they are leaving their packs in search of a...
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Science Buddies: The Height Limits and Linearity of Bouncy Balls
You might think that plants and animals have little in common with batteries, springs, or slingshots, but they actually do have something in common. Both living and non-living things store and transfer energy from one form to another. In...
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Science Buddies: How Sweet It Is! Measuring Glucose in Your Food
You know that sugar makes food sweet. But did you know that there are different kinds of sugar? Sucrose is the granulated sugar that you usually use for baking. Another kind of sugar, which is found in honey and in many fruits, is...
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Science Buddies: Abracadabra! Levitating With Eddy Currents!
Did you know that not all trains run on tracks? Some of the world's fastest trains are magnetic levitation trains (maglev). This means that the carriage of the train is suspended over the rails with no support, but only with magnetic...
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Science Buddies: Vines & Spines: Thigmotropism in Morning Glory Tendrils
We tend to think of plants as immobile, but the tendrils of a vine, such as the morning glory, actually move in response to touch. Tendrils wrap around structures, which give the plant something to grow on. In this science fair project,...
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Science Buddies: That's a Real Smile! .Or Is It?
If someone is smiling, it means they're happy, right? Well, not always. Sometimes people smile to be polite, or because they want to "appear" happy or friendly for social reasons. How easy is it to spot which smiles are genuine and which...
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Science Buddies: Science Fair Csi: Can You Predict the Spatter?
There is evidence to be gathered at every crime scene. The hard part is making sense of it all. That's where crime scene investigators and forensic scientists come in. In this science fair project, you will investigate blood spatter...
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Science Buddies: Drag Racing in the Water
It's fun to go swimming. To feel the power of your body as you launch yourself into the water. But did you know that swimming isn't just about skill and athleticism? The human body consists of skin, contours, and curves. How the water...
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Science Buddies: Find Center of Milky Way Galaxy Using Globular Star Clusters
The Milky Way is the edgewise view of our home galaxy, a disk made up of billions of stars. The Sun resides on one of the spiral arms of the disk, 30,000 light-years from the thick hub of the galaxy. The actual center, with a black hole...
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Science Buddies: Build a 'Breath Spray Bomb' to Study Small Explosion
Hold onto your hats. In this science fair project, you will make a device that sends a film canister across the room with a small chemical explosion. The energy for the explosion is derived from the combustion of ethanol. You will...
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Science Buddies: Pop Goes the Geyser!
Our home, Earth, is a living planet. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are proof that the geological forces that shaped our planet and created the land masses are ongoing. An amazing example of geologic activity that is less damaging is...
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Science Buddies: Rocky Secrets: Where Does Oil Hide?
You may have heard the expression, "You can't get blood from a stone." But what about oil? Can you get petroleum oil from a stone? In this geology science fair project, you'll find out what kinds of stones make the best storage rocks for...