Janice VanCleave's Great Science Project Ideas from Real Kids

Janice VanCleave is a former science teacher who now spends her time writing and giving science workshops. She is the author of over forty-five children's science books with sales totaling over two million copies.

• Acknowledgments. Introduction.Part I: SCIENCE PROJECTS STEP-BY-STEP.Chapter 1: Keep a Log Book.Chapter 2: Select a Category.Chapter 3: Do Topic Research.Chapter 4: Do Project Research.Chapter 5: Find a Project Problem.Chapter 6: Come Up with a Project Hypothesis.Chapter 7: Design a Project Experiment.Chapter 8: Collect Raw Data.Chapter 9: Create Your Project Summaries.Chapter 10: Design Your Project Display.Chapter 11: Prepare an Oral Presentation and Plan for Your Evaluation.Part II: 40 SAMPLE PROJECTS.Project 1: What Effect Does the Physical Form of a Fertilizer Have on Plant Growth?Project 2: What Effect Does Talcum Powder Have as an Insecticide?Project 3: How Effective Are Sun Shadows for Telling Time?Project 4: How Does Earth’s Rotation Affect the Position of the “Man in the Moon”?Project 5: What Effect Does a Glucose Solution Have on the Longevity of Cut Flowers?Project 6: What Effect Does the Color of Light Have on Phototropism?Project 7: What Effect Does the Position of Artificial Light Have on Plant Growth?Project 8: How Does Exposure Time to Microwaves Affect Seed Germination?Project 9: What Effect Does the Size of a Plant’s Leaves Have on the Plant’s Transpiration Rate?Project 10: How Do Seasonal Color Changes in the Environment Affect Camouflage in Animals?Project 11: How Does the Amount of Water in a Gel Affect Its Flexibility?Project 12: What Effect Does the Type of Flour Have on the Ability of Calcium Propionate to Inhibit Bread Mold?Project 13: What Effect Does Light Have on the Rate of Planaria Regeneration?Project 14: What Effect Does Regular Physical Exercise Have on the Lungs’ Vital Capacity?Project 15: What Effect Does Gender Have on the Stroop Test Color Recognition Response Time?Project 16: How Does the Volume of Background Music Affect Short-Term Memory?Project 17: How Does Color Intensity Affect the Perceived Sweetness of Food?Project 18: What Effect Does the Type of Video Game Have on Blood Pressure?Project 19: What Effect Does Surface Area Have on the Evaporation Rate of Water?Project 20: What Effect Does Temperature Have on the Amount of Solute Needed to Prepare a Saturated Solution?Project 21: What Effect Does Surface Texture Have on Growing Crystals?Project 22: What Effect Does Temperature Have on the Thickness of Ketchup?Project 23: What Effect Does the pH of Food Have on Preventing Tarnish on Copper Pots?Project 24: What Effect Does the Concentration of a Mordant Have on the Colorfastness of a Natural Dye?Project 25: How Effective Are Homemade Barometers in Predicting Weather?Project 26: What Effect Does Humidity Have on Condensation Rate?Project 27: How Does Evaporation Affect the Salinity of Ocean Water?Project 28: What Effect Does the Type of Ground Cover Have on the Rate of Soil Erosion?Project 29: How Does the Texture of Paper Affect Its Printing Quality?Project 30: What Type of Container Increases the Shelf Life of Bread?Project 31: How Does the Degree of Stretching Affect the Ability of Plastic Food Wraps to Keep Foods Fresh?Project 32: What Effect Does Triangle Size Have on the Strength of a Truss Bridge?Project 33: How Steady Is the Moon’s Angular Speed from One Day to the Next?Project 34: How Does the Ratio of Two Dyes in a Mixture Affect Its Color?Project 35: How Does a Refrigerant’s Surface Area Affect How Well It Cools?Project 36: What Effect Does Salt Concentration Have on the Specific Heat of an Aqueous Salt Solution?Project 37: What Effect Does the Time of Day Have on Passive Solar Heating?Project 38: How Does the Size of a Vibrating Surface Affect the Pitch of Its Sound?Project 39: How Does Density Affect the Buoyancy of Objects?Project 40: How Does Mass Affect the Period of a Pendulum?Appendix A: 100 Project Ideas.Appendix B: Science Project and Reference Books.Glossary.Index.