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High school science fair projects

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Here are some great high school science fair projects:

• Homemade barometer

The air pressure around us affects the weather. You might notice how the weatherman (or woman) mentions various pressure systems all the time such as low pressure systems, high pressure systems, etc. The weather person will explain how they will affect the weather the following day. In this particular one of our ideas for high school science fair projects, we will create a barometer—which lets you gauge the pressure of the air.

• You will need:
  A measuring cup
  Water and dye
  A soda bottle
  A marker

• First, Fill the measuring cup with water and add some colored dye.

• Then flip the empty soda bottle upside down into the measuring cup.

• You must use a bottle that is just the right size for this high school science fair project. It should fit snugly in the measuring cup so that the mouth of the bottle does not touch the bottom of the cup.

• Next, be sure the level of water extends into the neck of the soda bottle.

• Mark a line on the cup indicating the water level in the soda bottle.

• Look at the soda bottle again in a few days.

The amount of air in the soda bottle is fixed. That cannot change because the amount of water that is in the bottle acts as a plug. So you can consider the amount of air trapped in the bottle as an indicator of what the air pressure was on the day you plugged the bottle in the measuring cup. The pressure on the surface of the water will all depend on the current air pressure. In this high school science fair project the students will see that when the air pressure increases—which happens often in drier weather—the pressure on the surface of the water is greater and the water is forced up into the bottle, which changes the water level. If you see the water level drop, look for your umbrella because that is a good indication that it is going to rain!

Test your barometer using a control setup of the experiment, (i.e. somewhere indoors where the atmosphere is usually the same), set one up outside, and set one up in an unusual place where the air may be more stuffy. See what happens and if there is any difference in your homemade barometer results!

Here is another one of our great high school science fair projects:

• How to Clean up After an Oil Spill:

This high school science fair project is an experiment designed to find out what works best to clean up after an oil spill.

• You will need:
  Yellow vegetable oil
  A tablespoon
  A Clear plastic or glass bowl
  Water
  A spoon
  Fishnet, cheesecloth, or gauze
  Cotton balls
  Polypropylene cloth—(Polypropylene is the common name of a synthetic cloth material often used for cold weather clothing like gloves and sock liners. It can be purchased at most sporting goods stores.)

What to do:

1) Fill the bowl approximately half full with water.
2) Add a few tablespoons of oil until you can see the contrast between the water and oil.
3) Try a few items, and find out which item you think will remove the most oil and leave the most water. Try to remove the oil with each of the items, the spoon, the fishnet, cheesecloth or gauze, the cotton balls, or the Polypropylene cloth.

What you need to find out from this high school science fair project:
1) Which items work best to collect the oil?
2) Can you think of other ways to collect and dispose of the oil without causing further harm to the environment?

Facts:

• Polypropylene and oil are both made of carbon and hydrogen; therefore, they are attracted to each other.

• Oil and water are made of different elements. They are not attracted to each other.

• An oil and water solution is an example of an "immiscible solution." They will never mix and will always separate into layers.

• Polypropylene is used to collect oil spilled on water, which is a major ecological and environmental problem worldwide.

• Polypropylene floats on water and absorbs the oil so that the spill is removed.

For this high school science fair project, do some research on the environment and how it is affected when oil spills. Try to find some pictures of the harm oil can do to animals etc. for your science fair display.

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