th 75 Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair Junior Division Student Project Abstracts March 28, 2014 Notes to Judges Students prepare Abstracts limited to 100 words that include the following: Purpose of the experiment Procedures used Data Conclusions Possible research applications Minimal reference to previous work For continuation projects, the abstract should focus on work done since the last PRSEF Should not include: a) acknowledgments, or b) work or procedures done by the mentor Many students continue their research after the Abstract is submitted, and therefore the Abstract may not fully represent the Project. Abstracts are available to the Judges prior to the Science Fair as an aid in prescreening the Projects. Judging is to be based on the actual Project as presented by the student. Project Numbers are assigned as XYYABC J-Junior Division (6th grade) Category Name PS - Physical Science LS - Life Science CS - Consumer Science ABC: Project number 1xx or 2xx - Individual student projects 3xx - Team projects (2 or 3 students) X: YY: PRSEF Student Abstracts Page ii TABLE OF CONTENTS JUNIOR – PHYSICAL SCIENCE (JPS) – 6TH GRADE 1 JUNIOR – LIFE SCIENCE (JLS) – 6TH GRADE 10 JUNIOR – CONSUMER SCIENCE (JCS) – 6TH GRADE 17 PRSEF Student Abstracts Page iii th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6th Grade JPS100: What Type of Trash Makes the Most Biogas Fossil fuels are becoming a rare resource because they are nonrenewable. My experiment provides us with an alternative way to produce gas. I wanted to find out which type of organic material produces the most biogas. To do that, I pureed apples, blueberries, onions, and lettuce, put them in bottles filled to the top with water, and sealed the top with a balloon. Then, every day for a week, I measured the circumference of the balloon. After the one week, the apples ended up producing the most biogas, rejecting my hypothesis that the blueberries would produce the most biogas. JPS101: Got Gas? What type of waste produces the most biogas? I hypothesized that bananas and manure would produce more biogas than vegetables and manure, and manure alone. I put portioned amounts of manure in one bottle, manure and bananas in another bottle, and manure and vegetable peels in the last bottle. Distilled water was also put into each bottle. I placed a balloon on the top of the bottles and let each bottle sit for a twelve day period. After the twelve days, I measured he circumference of each balloon. I concluded that manure and bananas did not produce more fuel than manure alone and manure and vegetable peels. Manure alone produced the most biogas at the end of my trials. JPS102: Voltage Power The purpose of my experiment was to test the amount of power that I could harness from a potato, sweet potato, and lemon. The control variable for my experiment was the wiring that was used to light a light bulb and buzzer. The independent variable was the type of produce that I used to obtain my dependent variable which was the amount of voltage harnessed to light a bulb or sound a buzzer. JPS103: Kind O' Boat Which material would be best for making cruise ships? I will be putting salt water into 5 small bowls and inserting 1 of several different materials into each bowl. The materials will be wood, steel, copper, iron, and aluminum. My hypothesis and expected outcome is that steel will decay the least, and wood the most. I think that because steel has the greatest density and the wood the least. I think the decay will look like the material being slowly eaten away by acid. To determine the amount of decay, I will weigh each material. JPS104: Precision and Poetry: A New Piano The purpose of this project was to augment the expressive palette of the piano through improvements to the action (the system which translates force from the keys to the strings). The challenge was to innovate upon such a finely attuned and effective mechanism. The initial designs were created in an attempt to simplify this mechanism. Ultimately, an advantageous innovation, here named the Mobile Fulcrum Hammer Mechanism, became the working point for more than twenty proceeding designs. Further work will be done with this innovation, which could expand dynamic range, as well as on associated mechanisms used to alter the sound. JPS105: Does the Concentration of Salt Effect Voltage in a Saltwater Battery? The purpose of this experiment was to see if the amount of voltage changes if you change the concentration of salt in a saltwater battery. I made a saltwater battery. I used different concentrations of salt and measured voltage and current. The concentration of salt did not affect the voltage. The concentration of salt did affect the current. As the concentration of salt increased, electrical current also increased. JPS106: Pop Rocks and Liquids 1. What did I learn? I learned that Pop Rocks and different liquids can be dangerous to a stomach. 2. Was my hypothesis support or denied? My hypothesis was correct the balloon reacted like a stomach. 3. How does it benefit society? It proved that when you eat Pop Rock and drink certain liquids it can be dangerous to some people. 4. If I did this project again, what could I do to improve it? I could run more tests, maybe there would be more information on my subject by then. JPS107: Shocking Differences The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the visual differences between the two types of electricity that are used on a daily basis: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). The procedure to build the AC/DC demonstrator required 2 bulafire bulbs, (12) 9 volt batteries, 16 alligator clamps 1 DC gang box, and 1 AC gang box with a dimmer. The result was a visual demonstration showing the variation of direction and difference in stability between AC and DC electricity. In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between AC and DC, but both are useful in the world today. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 1 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS108: It's About to POP The purpose of my project is to determine which sodas contain the lowest pH levels. My hypothesis is sodas like Pepsi and Coca-Cola have the lowest pH levels because they do not taste fruity. Materials included five different sodas, cups and pH strips. I poured equal amounts of the soda into cups and dipped pH strips into them. I used the pH scale to measure pH levels for each one. I concluded that Root Beer had the highest pH followed by Mountain Dew and Fanta Orange. The lowest was Coca-Cola, proving my hypothesis to be correct. JPS109: Extracting DNA from Vegetables The question I tried to answer in my experiment is which vegetable contains the most DNA. My hypothesis was that if I extracted the DNA from several vegetables, corn would extract the most DNA. The independent variable of my experiment was the type of vegetable that was used - corn, carrots, and peas. The dependent variable was the amount of DNA that was extracted from each JPS110: Who's There? My experiment was about what the mechanics of a bell are. I put an electromagnet in the model to make the metal bar hit the gong and make it ring several times in a second. This is why they call it an interrupter bell. I wanted to see why the bell makes a noise inside my house every time somebody approaches it. I concluded that the bell did ring when somebody clicked the bell. JPS111: Needle Crystals Hypothesis: Experiment tested if needle crystals would grow larger in solutions with higher concentrates of Epsom salt. Materials: Three plastic cups, Epsom salt, water, and food coloring. Procedure: Add various amounts of Epsom salts in the cups with equal water to produce 3 different solutions; add food coloring; place the cups in the refrigerator for twenty four hours then measure growth. Results: ¼ cup Epsom salt grew crystals zero inches tall; ½ cup Epsom salt grew crystals four inches tall; and ¾ cup Epsom salt grew six inches. Conclusion: Hypothesis proven correct; more salt produced more crystals. JPS112: The Magnus Force I studied the Magnus Force. My hypothesis was that if a round ball had tape stuck to one side, it would curve more dramatically toward that side. I tested a tennis ball, baseball, and a plastic ball. I tested by throwing each ball with spin using a curve ball grip. I threw each ball with and without tape. The baseball's seams enabled it to curve the most without tape. Each ball curved more with tape than it did without. In effect, my hypothesis was right that if tape on the side of a ball it would curve more dramatically. JPS114: Fizzle Up Your Baking Powder The purpose is to test the freshness of baking powder before adding or substituting the baking ingredients. Double acting baking powder contains calcium acid phosphate, which releases a small amount of carbon dioxide when mixed with water and heated. The first occurs immediately when you mix it with water. The sodium bicarbonate and cream of tartar dissolve and react producing the first batch of bubbles. The second phase of the double acting occur only at higher temperatures when a second acid (typically sodium aluminum sulfate) reacts with the remaining sodium bicarbonate, producing another round of bubbles JPS115: Black and White The purpose of this experiment was to see if a black crayon would melt faster than a white crayon when exposed to radiant heat. This experiment was based on the fact that black absorbs more light than white. I placed three black crayons into a glass beaker and put it in an oven, heated to 300 degrees and then repeated this with white crayons. I timed how fast the crayons melted. I found that the black crayons melted faster than the white. The results proved my hypothesis was correct, the black crayon absorbed heat faster. JPS116: Shake, Rattle, Fall I was trying to find out that if a tower is taller will it sway more and I hypothesized that the taller the tower the more it will sway. First in my project I had to build the table. Then I had to build the towers with Lego's. After I finished building I tested the towers on my shake table. When I tested them I learned that if the tower is taller, it will sway more and will lose more Lego's. Then I recorded my data. I concluded that if the tower is taller it will lose more Lego's than a small tower would. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 2 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS117: Carbonation Decom-pop-osition My project is to determine what different pops decompose chicken bones the most in a little amount of time. I put chicken bones in sealed water bottles containing Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Mtn. Dew, and Diet Coke. I am noticing a slight change in the bones after a few weeks of them sitting in the pop. I am leaving the pop alone and not touching it so it doesn`t have a chance of messing with the experiment. I am taking measurements every other day to record the changes in the bones. I am excited to find what bone decomposes first. JPS118: Fizzy Fun! The purpose of my experiment was to create pressurized carbon dioxide gas. I decided to use three different flavors of pop, pop rocks candies and balloons to conduct my experiment. I poured pop rocks into the balloon and then placed it onto the pop three separate times. After the pop rocks entered the pop, I watched to see if the balloon expanded and measured and recorded the sizes of each balloon at 30 seconds and at 1:25 seconds. I have concluded the pop and the pop rocks will form pressurized carbon dioxide gas as shown by the expanding balloon. JPS119: The Best Way to Suspend a Triangle The purpose of my experiment is to determine the best way to suspend a triangle. By “best” I mean the loudest sound and longest duration. I considered five different common materials for suspending a triangle. I used a sound meter to measure the loudness of the triangle when struck and I measured the duration of the sound using a stopwatch. My results are that fishing line is the best way to suspend a triangle followed by a rubber band, a ziptie, gardening wire and a shoelace. In the future, I wish to use my findings to construct better triangle holders. JPS120: Beat that Sound The discipline of material science provides alternatives to materials that are in short supply, expensive or unsafe. This project evaluates whether the traditional horsehair in a violin bow can be replaced with fiberglass without sacrificing durability or sound quality JPS121: Saltwater's effect on a battery This experiment was to determine if saltwater had an effect on a 9V battery. I tested the effect by making a conductor to send ions and electrolytes to the battery. I decided to that because I wanted to see if it would decrease the voltage in a battery. My results were that it decreased the battery's voltage. I was right. So in conclusion, I discovered the effect of saltwater on a batteries voltage. In the future, I will come up with more questions based on the experiment. JPS122: Resource Conservation at Home The global supply of clean, fresh water is dwindling. This study evaluates how much water can be saved by recirculation of hot water in the home and if it is cost effective to do so. Several measurements were taken from a shower and sink faucet to determine how much water is expelled before it becomes warm to the touch under two conditions - recirculation pump on and off. The difference between the two measurements represents the amount saved. Hot water recirculation saves significant amounts of fresh water on a yearly basis and is cost effective when used over many years. JPS123: The Effect of Temperature on Reaction Time The purpose of my experiment was to test the effect that different temperatures would have on the reaction time necessary to dissolve antacid tablets. My hypothesis was that warmer temperatures would have a quicker reaction. The independent variable of my experiment was the temperature of the water and the dependent variable was the amount of time the reaction took. JPS124: Disinfecting Dangerous Drinking Water Investigation into the sterilization of water and testing which method is most effective. Final results will be at Science Fair. JPS125: Probability The purpose of my project was to find how probable it is that you will reach into a jar and pull out an orange M&M. My project focused on probability and outcomes. I learned there can be lots of different outcomes and that many events cannot be predicted with certainty. Probability is the branch of mathematics dealing with the possible outcomes of given events together with the outcomes’ relative likelihoods and distributions. The analysis of events governed by probability is called statistics. Statistical trials can help people figure out the probability of a particular outcome. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 3 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS126: The Egg Project Freshness is important for an egg to keep the yolk strong and to keep the membrane healthy. Freshness includes constant temperature, humidity level, and the time it was laid from the hen. The sell by date helps us to track the freshness. My experiment is testing if an egg is rotten or fresh by dropping the eggs into three different solutions. If the egg floats, then the egg is most likely rotten. If the egg sinks, then the egg is still edible. A rotten egg floats because it lost its nutrients while air took its place inside the eggshell. It becomes less dense and thus will float. Rotten eggs should not be eaten because they have Hydrogen Sulfide. It is toxic gas to humans, flammable, and smells terrible. My hypothesis was simple, If I drop a rotten egg into a solution, then it will float. My data chart shows that none of my eggs floated. Though my experiment lasted 12 days, it did not exceed the sell by date for the eggs. If I extend the experiment beyond the date, then I have a better chance of getting an egg to float because the longer the egg is from the day it was laid, the more rotten the egg is becoming. JPS127: Estimation of Acceleration Due to Gravity on Earth Using an apparatus consisting of an inclined plane and a golf ball, this project will approximate acceleration due to gravity on earth. A continuing process improvement in experimental procedures reduced variability in the value of acceleration. JPS128: Cleaning Oil Spills with Nanotechnology Is there an easier way to cleanup oil spills? Well, maybe nanotechnology can. Oil spill cleanup takes a long time, a lot of resources, and a lot of money. This project's purpose is to find an easier way to clean oil from the ocean. Using nanotechnology and magnetism, I am testing to see if it works. How much Ferrofluid, nanotechnology, do you put in oil to take it out with a neodymium magnet? JPS129: The Statistics of Home field advantage The purpose of this project is to determine if the home team has a advantage. I will be tracking the scores of NFL, College, and WPIAL AAAA football games. The NFL and college scores will be tracked for 1-14 weeks and WPIAL AAAA games will be tracked from 1-10 weeks. The following information will be tracked for all games. Which teams are playing; the ending score of each game; the winner of each game; the wining point margin and whether the home team or visiting team won. JPS130: Bubblerama For this year’s science fair, my project was called Bubblerama. To perform this experiment, I developed a question. My question was, “Does the temperature of an environment effect the time it takes for bubbles to pop?” To test this, I followed a very specific procedure. First I would fill a wet drinking glass with ½ tsp. of bubble solution, and use a drinking straw to blow bubbles until the glass was filled with bubbles. Then I would cover the glass with plastic wrap to prevent the bubbles from spilling. Lastly, I tested the time it took for all of the bubbles to pop in a certain environment. After testing this procedure in 9 other environments, I analyzed my data and made a conclusion. This experiment showed me that bubbles last longer in colder environments. My data showed that as the environment was colder, the time lasted longer. My outcome revealed this (temperatures in Celsius); -3 Deg. lasted 3 m 17 s, 2 Deg. lasted 2 m 47 s, 15 Deg. lasted 1 m 12 s, 21 Deg. lasted 1 m 9 s, 77 Deg. lasted 1 m 6 s, 93 Deg. lasted 56 s, 110 Deg. lasted 52 s, 132 Deg. lasted 41 s, 148 Deg. lasted 39 s, and finally 177 Deg. lasted 35 s. As you can see, the data showed a definite decrease in time, and successfully revealed the answer to my question. JPS131: How does solar cell output vary with incident light intensity? The purpose of this experiment is to observe how the solar cell output varies with incident light intensity. To conduct this experiment I will read the mA (mili-Amps) from three different watt lights and ambient room light. The experimental results were measured by reading a multi-meter (mm). The results of the experiment confirmed that my hypothesis was correct in saying that as the lumens increased the output current of the solar cell increased. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted because as the lumens increase on the solar cell the more amperage or output current was collected. JPS132: Rocks Away My question is would the shape of the rock affect how far it will go. The rocks that I chose for my project are coal, slate and marble. My hypothesis was that the coal would go farther than slate and marble because coal is cubed shaped and slate and marble are flat. My first step was that I gathered all my materials. My second step was to select one rock and my sling shot. My third step was to shoot the rock out of the sling shot, and pull back the sling shot the same distance every time. My fourth step was to measure how far the rock went. My fifth step was to record the data and repeat steps 2-5 with each rock three times using angles of 20, 30, 40 degrees for each trial. In conclusion, I was proven correct. The coal did go farther than slate and marble because of its shape. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 4 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS133: Prints The purpose of the experiment is to see if fingerprint patterns are inherited. To conduct this experiment I will take my subjects fingerprints and analyze the patterns. The experimental results were measured by how many similarities were in each print. The results of the experiment showed that there were some similarities, but each print had a defining difference. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted, because it clearly states, if taking fingerprints from family members to show similarities then their will be some similarities and some differences in the patterns. JPS134: Can Solids Flow Like Liquids? Do you think liquids are the only substances that can flow through a funnel? Well, if you thought yes, you are wrong. Objects such as rice, chocolate chips, and peanuts are all granular materials. This means they are made up of solid particles. In this experiment you will find how the size and shape of certain granular materials affect how they flow through a funnel. JPS135: Paint It Black The purpose of my experiment is to test the durability of spray paint. Many companies declare that their spray paint is the best and yet the consumer does not know the difference in quality. I have many factors requiring detailed analysis to determine the most durable spray paint. During the experiment, I will be testing several name brand spray paints by using different criteria such as heat resistance, chip resistance, water resistance, and adhesion. The spray paint will be applied to plastic, wood, and metal. Then these samples will be put in the oven, placed in water, and chipped with stones. I'm very excited to start exploring this interesting topic and the results of my study will be displayed with my final project. JPS136: Erosion of Chalk The purpose of my experiment was to test the affect of the color of chalk on the amount that would erode. My hypothesis was that soaking the vinegar in acid would make the colored chalk erode quicker. The control variable of the experiment was the type of avid and the amount of time that the chalk was soaked. The independent variable was the color of chalk used and the dependent variable was the measure of the chalk after being soaked. JPS137: Lifting a Load Water is an important part of life, but have you ever thought of using water to create energy? This project shows that water can create energy to lift a small weight. It was done by using a stopwatch and observing how long it took for the weight to wind up. The purpose for this project is Earth’s problem is pollution and causes global warming, fossil fuels cause global warming. Water is a clean source of energy to replace fossil fuels. JPS138: A Bridge to Span the Miles How does an engineer know how far a bridge can span before it collapses? What type of bridge is best? Based on the design, how many towers are needed for support? Using wooden craft sticks, yarn, 100 pennies, paper clips, glue and modeling clay I attempted to build a suspension bridge with only one tower. I wanted to see how far the span could be before it collapses, and what design changes would make it stronger. My results will be available the day of the Science Fair. JPS139: The Evaporation Proclamation The purpose of this experiment is to see if orange juice, apple juice, and cranberry juice have different evaporation speeds. To conduct this experiment, I will test three liquids to test their evaporation speeds. The experimental results were measured by the liquid left in the cup. The results of the experiment shows that the cranberry juice evaporated the slowest and the apple juice evaporated the fastest. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted and rejected because the apple juice evaporated the fasted, but the orange juice did not have the slowest evaporation rate. JPS140: Battle of the Bands The purpose of this project is to determine the relationship between potential and kinetic energy by experimenting the stretch of a rubber band and measuring how far it will travel. Using a metric ruler as a launch tool, I stretched the rubber band increasing the stretch lengths after 3 attempts of each variable and then measured the distance it traveled. The further I stretch the rubber band, the further the rubber band traveled. Thus proving my hypothesis correct. The more potential energy is stored, the more kinetic energy is released. JPS141: Take Me Out to the Ball Game For my project "Take ME Out to the Ball Game", my question is: Which ball will go the farthest when thrown? I hypothesized the baseball would go the farthest. For my project, I got 6 balls. I cut open 1 of each kind, and used the rest for my trials. I threw each ball 3 times. Then measured how far the balls went after each throw. Finally, I collected my data. After doing my project, I learned that my hypothesis was wrong, because the softball actually went the farthest. This project was very fun and simple to do. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 5 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS142: Kinetic Energy and Performance of .22 Caliber Ammunition Student will conduct a comparative analysis of five brands of .22 caliber ammunition. Five bullets of five different bullet types will be discharged at 50 yds, and 100 yds at a gelatin block. Muzzle velocity will be measured and final penetration will be measured. The hypothesis is that greater kinetic energy will result in greater penetration. JPS143: Fire Away The question of my project is "At what angle does the puff ball have more distance?" The hypothesis of my project is "I hypothesize that the 180 degree angle will shoot the farthest." My procedure is, first I got my materials to make the catapult. Then I made the catapult. Last I tested it. I concluded that my hypothesis was correct because the 180 degree angle shot the puff ball the farthest. JPS144: Battery Capacities My science project is all about batteries. I will be testing the differences between different brands, sizes, shapes, and types of batteries to determine the variations in their performance. I have performed research on batteries and have developed a hypothesis based on this research. To test my hypothesis, I will construct a simple circuit that is compatible with many different types of batteries and drain each battery while taking voltage measurements. After testing all of the batteries, I will compare the results to see which types and brands performed the best and the worst. JPS145: Look Down Below This experiment was to determine if smaller parachutes would land faster than bigger parachutes. I am determining that the smaller parachute would land faster than my bigger parachute. How I flew my parachutes were by standing on a porch and flew each parachute 7 feet high. I chose parachutes as my experiment because I wanted to see if smaller parachutes would land faster than bigger parachutes, and how sky divers should use bigger parachutes instead of smaller parachutes. The results were that my smaller parachutes landed faster and I the smaller parachute landed faster because of the cardboard on the tissue box. JPS146: Shooting from a Catapult My experiment was about shooting from a catapult at different angles. I did this experiment because I was interested about objects in flight. First, I set up my materials and shot a marble 10 times at different angles. Then, I fired 4 different materials and recorded results. Finally, I weighed and tested 6 different sized play-doh balls, to see if weight affected distance. At the end of the experiments, I concluded the angle of 180 degrees shot the farthest and the braindrop was the best material. Although the play-doh had results, it was too inconsistent to make a conclusion. JPS148: Eating Anvils The purpose of this experiment is to investigate if the supplemental iron per serving in breakfast cereal agrees with the Nutrition Facts label. To conduct this experiment, I will test three cereals that have different Percent Daily Values of iron per serving; Cap’n Crunch (25%), Special K (50%), and Total (100%). The results of this experiment were that the amount of iron extracted from Cap’n Crunch was about half the amount extracted from Special K, and the amount of iron extracted from Special K was about half the amount extracted from Total. This is consistent with the Percent Daily Values of each cereal. This agrees with my hypothesis that the most iron would be extracted from the cereal with the highest Percent Daily Value of iron listed in the Nutrition Facts. JPS149: Whatever Holds Your Boat The purpose of my science fair project is to figure how many pennies a barge/canoe/speedboat can hold. These boats were constructed out of tin foil. Then I set them afloat. I slowly and evenly loaded them up with pennies. I recorded the amount each boat held before it sank. The barge held the most pennies. Its shape allows it to be loaded more evenly. I also discovered that all boats sank when their density was close to the density of water JPS150: Fizz-Nation The purpose of my project was to see if different temperature water makes Alka-Seltzer dissolve faster or slower. First I filled a glass cup with 250ml of either hot tap water, cold tap water, or ice water. One at a time I dropped an Alka-Seltzer into a cup filled with one of the three types of water. I stirred the water gently to keep it moving. After the tablets dissolved I recorded the time it took to dissolve. I concluded that hot tap water dissolved the Alka-Seltzer fastest JPS151: DNA: Citrus Extraction The purpose of this experiment is to observe the similarities of orange, lemon, and lime DNA. To conduct this experiment, I will extract DNA from my chosen fruits and observe the DNA under a microscope. The experimental results will be measured by the amount of similarities and differences between the orange, lemon, and lime samples. The results of this experiment show that there were not many similarities between the DNA samples. These results indicate that the hypothesis should be rejected because there were almost no similarities between the samples. Therefore, I accept a new hypothesis that the orange, lemon, and lime DNA will be different, and reject my old hypothesis that the samples would be similar. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 6 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS152: Holding Heat The experiment that was done was to find out what type of insulation holds in heat the best. The hypothesis thought that out of the six insulations, fiberglass would perform the best. Six boxes were placed on a table with a mason jar in the middle filled with insulation. The data was taken after two hours. It was concluded that fiberglass did indeed hold in heat the best. The hypothesis was correct. JPS153: Potato Power The purpose of this experiment is to investigate if different types of potatoes create different voltages and are able or unable to light a 1.2 volt light. To conduct this experiment, I tested different types of potatoes for their voltages and observed their ability or inability to light a 1.2 volt light. The results revealed that my hypothesis of the Russet potatoes creating the most voltage was correct. The Russet potatoes did create the most voltage. The Yukon Gold potatoes followed the Russet in voltage, generating the second most voltage. The White potatoes had the smallest voltage amount. JPS154: Have you ever heard of hard or soft water? This experiment was to determine if well water would be harder than tap water. The water hardness was determined for nine different types of water ranging from well water, creek water, and tap water. The water was tested using a Hach Water hardness testing kit. The samples were measured using an indicator powder and an EDTA solution. The color changes would indicate how much calcium and magnesium was in the water. The drops of EDTA were then multiplied by 20 to determine the water hardness. It was found that the well water was not as hard as the tap waters. JPS155: Where's the Beef Which type of beverage makes meat dissolve most; Pepsi, pineapple juice, lemon juice or milk? I predict that the Pepsi will have the greatest effect on the meat. To do my project, I placed four pieces of meat in Pepsi, pineapple juice, lemon juice, and milk. I measured to see in which of the beverages the meat weighed the least after twentyfour hours. The meat in the Pepsi had the greatest change. It weighed an average of 5.6 grams less. Pepsi tested at 4.5 pH level and therefore, the acid eroded the meat. JPS156: The Action of Traction Which surface dose the all-terrain vehicle go fastest on; concrete, gravel, carpet, or hardwood floor? I hypothesized that the car will go fastest on the hardwood floor because it will have the least amount of friction. I tested the vehicle on four different surfaces for a total distance of 182.88 centimeters, and timed the speed of the vehicle on each surface. The experiment showed that the vehicle went the fastest on hardwood floor, which had the least amount of friction, and the car traveled the slowest on carpet because it had the most friction. JPS157: The Human Generator My project is about how I made a Human Generator by turning the palindromic motion into a circular motion. First I tried to make a Human Generator by using the Yoke Choke Mechanism. I tried it and it failed, but my father and I came up with a new mechanism using the legs to create power using object in the basement like plywood, aluminum, gears, etc.. This design that my father and I came up with has not been found to our knowledge. I have tested the voltage that the human generator created and it was consistently creating 3 through 11 Volts. In my project I have successfully created a Human Generator. JPS158: Do Flame Retardents Work? This experiment tested four different flame retardants on cotton fabric, one of which was homemade. I predict that when flame retardents are used, the cotton strips I am testing on will not burn. I collected data on how long it took each test strip of cotton to ignite and how many inches of the stripe burned. JPS159: Fruit Battery Power My purpose is to figure out which fruit (lemon, kiwi, grapefruit, lime, pineapple) produces the most battery power. I think the lemon will produce the most battery power. 1. Roll the fruit between your palm and the kitchen counter-top until you feel it soften to release the juice inside the peel. 2. Push the nails halfway into it, about 2 inches apart without nails touching and don't push them in so they cut the skin on the opposite side. 3. Strip 1 inch of insulation off wire. 4. Wrap one end of the bare wire lead around each nail. Results will be included in project. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 7 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS160: Fluid Dynamics After noticing tea gathering in the middle of a stirred teacup, I wondered what determined the radius of the pile. My variables were stirring rates and the tea types. I programmed a Mindstorm robot I built to stir at various rates. I measured the radius of the pile for each tea type. Results showed that the tea that was the least dense, spread the most. The stirring rate was irrelevant. I concluded that the less dense tea is more easily moved leading to a larger piles. I later found out that Einstein explained this tea gathering effect in 1926 JPS161: The Balance Challenge The purpose of my science fair project was to test what gender is better at balance. My hypothesis for the project was “If I test who will balance better between boys and girls, I think girls will balance better.” The results of my project were that girls balanced better. If I were to do my project again I would test if doing different hand motions affected your balance. The results of my experiment showed that my hypothesis was correct but not by as much as I thought. The way I measured my dependent variable was I made them balance twice to see if their balance increased the second time. The independent variable of my experiment is the changing between boys and girls/ left and right feet. JPS162: Air Foiled! Which angle of attack will generate the most lift on an airfoil? I hypothesize that the 50 degree angle of attack will generate the most lift. In this experiment, I tested four airfoils of different angles, in a rectangular wind tunnel 40 cm away from the fan. The variable was the difference in the angles. The most lift was generated at the 15 degree angle. My hypothesis was not supported. If I were to do this experiment again, I would build a circular wind tunnel instead of a rectangular wind tunnel to see if it changes the amount of lift on the airfoil. JPS164: Mommy, My Tummy Hurts! The purpose of this experiment was to find out which Lactaid supplement would dissolve the fastest in stomach acid. To conduct this experiment, I tested three Lactaid supplements for their dissolving rate in a replica of stomach acid. The experimental results were measured by the dissolving rate. The results of the experiment showed that the Lactaid Original dissolved the fastest. The results indicated that the hypothesis should be rejected. The Lactaid Fast Act did not dissolve fully in the replica of stomach acid, as compared to the Lactaid Original. JPS165: SOARIN'! The project I have decided to proceed with is to find out if the shape of a mylar balloon affects how fast it rises. The shapes I used were a circular balloon, star balloon, heart balloon, and a football shaped balloon. I let them rise in a room that was fifteen feet and six inches. My hypothesis was that the football shaped balloon would rise the quickest because it looked like the smallest, therefore the molecules would be more compact. I was wrong, because the heart shaped balloon rose the fastest. JPS166: The Stirling Engine My project is on the Stirling Engine. I built the stirling engine to find out if a soy candle or a wax candle will make the wheel go faster. My hypothesis was that the soy candle will go faster because it is natural so it will burn out faster. My engine was made up of some things around the house and a quick trip to the hardware store. Neither of the candles worked. JPS167: Tuning Glasses Sound can be a difficult thing to understand because of all the possible variables to determine the identification of the sound (pitch). This project was designed to try to find an equation that would predetermine the pitch of a container of liquid when it is struck that would take these variables into account. JPS168: How the Balloon Gets Big! This experiment was to determine if adding more vinegar to a constant amount of baking soda would make a bigger reaction. I tested vinegar amounts of ¼ cup, ½ cup, ¾ cup, 1 cup, and 1 ¼ cup. I put baking soda in a balloon and put vinegar in a bottle and stretched the balloon over the bottle and tilted it upward. Then I measured the width of the balloon. The more vinegar I added, the bigger the balloon got each time. JPS169: Tower Power My science fair project is about how in major cities like San Francisco lay under a fault line and you cannot move a huge city over you would have to make them earthquake proof. So in my design there is a series of Sheets that have plastic balls in side of them there are about 3-5 sheets of this the first one would have about 4-5 and the second one would have about 5-10 and the third one would have about 10-20 and it all goes up from there. In addition with those plastic balls there would also be toothpicks to also make it more stable. I would like to have two towers 3-5 stories each so I could compare the one with no support in addition I would also like to have my previous model to show mad compare them all, but that did not work however my newer design now has cylinders that go side to side and front to back for more room in stead of the plastic balls. As you can now see how my project will contribute to the PRSEF PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 8 th Junior – Physical Science (JPS) – 6 Grade JPS170: Does Color Affect the Average Human's Heart Rate? The purpose of this project was to find how heart rate of participates would change depending on the color that they saw. My hypothesis was that participants would have a higher heart rate when they look at the color red. The independent variable of the experiment was the color of board that the participants looked at. The dependent variable is the heart rate as the participant viewed each color. JPS171: Volcanic Gas in Atmosphere The purpose of this project is to find out if gasses rise to the top of the volcano. The gases are trapped in cavities (vesicles) in volcanic rocks, dissolved in magma or released from lava that indirectly heats ground water. These gases continuously travel upward within the volcano. My project is a mixture of soda and vinegar which sets off a chemical reaction and is collected in a jar. My hypothesis is that as the gas is collected in a balloon which is placed over the jar JPS300: Ball Pressure in Soccer Our hypothesis was that a soccer ball would bounce higher and roll further, and could be kicked further at a higher inflation pressure. We pumped two soccer balls to a range of different pressures. Their bounce height, after being dropped from a fixed height, increased with pressure. Their roll and kick distance, increased until the recommended pressure on the ball. Above that pressure, neither roll or kick distance increased. We concluded that the ball behaves differently at different pressures, and can change a team's performance. JPS301: Beyblade Tip Physics This experiment tested which properties of a beyblade’s tip have the most significant impact on how long the beyblade spins. We spun 43 tips, varying in size, shape, material, condition, and weight, controlling for beyblade body, stadium, launcher condition, spin technique, and other relevant variables. We calculated the average and median spin times of each tip. We used graphs and charts to analyze the results and concluded that material and shape play the largest roles in determining how long a beyblade spins. We theorize that this is because these two properties do the most to increase or decrease friction. JPS302: Can You Power This Lemon? Our project used leads and copper wires to see if foods would power a LED and 1.5volt light. We also used a voltmeter to see how much electricity a food produces. The foods we tested are lemon, orange, banana, and red potato. We had different phases, testing all of them twice. The first phase was only leads, the second with copper wires, both with the LED light. The third was the 1.5 light and copper wires. For all phases we inserted the leads and copper wires in two places on the food. None of the foods powered the lights. JPS303: Life and Death of Rubber Bands The purpose of this experiment was to see what color and temperature of rubber band stretched the farthest. That way people can get a rubber band to stretch to their needs. We tested this by heating and cooling pink and blue rubber bands in water and stretching them along a peg board until they snapped. The results of this experiment were that the pink rubber bands stretched farther than the blue rubber bands in any situation that we tested, and hot rubber band stretched farther than room temperature or cold rubber bands of any color. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 9 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6th Grade JLS100: Growing Green My experiment was testing whether plants would grow better in artificial fertilizer or organic fertilizer. I planted seeds in soil, with the appropriate fertilizer and recorded the growth over 9 days. My experiment showed that artificial fertilizer had more sprouts then organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizer had less but larger sprouts, and artificial fertilizer had more but smaller sprouts. If I were to do this experiment again I would have make the experiment longer and add a control, which would be growing with no fertilizer. JLS101: A Substitution “Eggsperiment” Egg allergies make up 2% of allergies in kids, second to milk. The purpose of this experiment was to find the best egg substitute for leavening. My candidates were vinegar & baking soda, buttermilk, and coconut milk and baking powder. I made batches of chocolate cupcakes with these and with eggs (control group). My hypothesis was that vinegar & baking soda would work best. Through the “eggsperiment,” though, my hypothesis was proven incorrect. The vinegar mix did horribly, turning the cupcake into an oozing blob. Coconut milk mixture started well, but caved in and dripped over the edges. Buttermilk was the best! JLS102: Psychology in a Tolerant Mind Please visit student's exhibit for project abstract. JLS103: How Does Your Grass Grow? What helps grass grow better compost, earthworms, clay, or miracle grow? I hypothesized that what I am putting in my soil will help it grow better and faster because the materials I am putting in my soil has lots of potassium. The reason I chose this project is because I like to grow stuff and I wanted to try to figure out what helps the grass grow the best; compost, earthworms, clay, or miracle grow. I found out the compost contains lots of potassium, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, which helps it grow better. And earthworms helped the grass grow better because they improve the soil structure also water movement and nutrients in the soil and ultimately increases the plant growth. And clay helps it grow because clay holds water and keeps the soil moisturized. And miracle grow helps it because it is made up of nitrogen, ammonium, and minerals which provides rich base for plant growth. JLS104: Flower Power The purpose of this experiment is to see if different amount s of dye would change the color of a white carnation. To conduct this experiment I put different amounts if dye in each vase with water in it to see if there is a difference in each color of the white carnations. The experimental results were measured by the amount of dye that I put in the water and seeing if the colors get darker in order. The results of the experiment showed that when you put more drops of dye in the water, the carnations got darker in order from A-D. JLS105: Getting the Dirt or Not Hydroponic gardening creates an environment for plants to grow in water instead of soil. Establishing both systems for plants it became evident which one would grow faster and more effectively. The hydroponic garden has a fish tank with rockwool cubes and an air bubbler wand that was set up and various seeds were planted in the rockwool and the plants grew rapidly. The same seeds were grown in soil. The plants in the water grew much faster than the plant in soil. The soilless gardening is a more effective and faster way of gardening. JLS106: Seed Germination Investigation The purpose of this experiment is to find under what physical conditions Mung beans (Vigna radita) will sprout the longest. The different conditions are light, dark and both conditions with instrumental-music. Mung beans were wrapped in wet paper towels and kept for germination. Growth was measured and average (n=10) were compared by plotting a bar-graph. Results show that temperature plays a vital role and music had no significant effect in seed germination. One kept in a dark oven at warmer temperature grew 4 times longer than others kept at room temperature in light and dark with or without music. JLS107: Can Zingiber Officinale be a Substitute for Penicillin? A series of experiments were conducted to analyze the antibacterial activity of zingiber officinale (ginger). Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous therapeutic properties including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects, but there are no evidence if ginger posses any anti-bacterial activity. In this experiment/s , I am attempting to analyze if ginger can act as an anti-bacterial agent. The ginger was carefully extracted by blending 30g of ginger with 10ml of water. I am testing the ginger with a common strain of E-coli (laboratory strain of E-coli K12). Bacteria were grown on saline media and series of agar plates were prepared. First experiment was conducted on agar plates prepared with pure ginger extract. Second set was with the ginger extract obtained by boiling the blended ginger to see if the heat can dissolve any important organic matter which has any anti-bacterial activity. Third set of experiments were set up with agar containing carbenicillin ( a drug extremely similar to penicillin). Fourth experiment was the control (agar medium contains no penicillin or any ginger). After 24 hrs of preparing the agar plates bacteria was introduced/streak on each plate. Each experiment was triplicated. Results have currently not yet been calculated, because the project is still underway. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 10 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS108: Turn on the 'Brates The creeks in Frick Park and Schenley Park will be healthy and they will have many macro invertebrates. We believe the creeks water in Schenley Park and Frick Park will be 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the dissolved oxygen will be 10mg per liter, the pH will be 6, and the alkalinity will be 98mg per liter. We will take creek samples at Schenley and Frick Park Creeks and measure the temperature of the water. We hope to catch many macro invertebrates with the net. JLS109: Colorful Thinking The purpose of this project was to test how well people recall or remember words from different colored pieces of paper. This project can help the scientific community by determining which color of paper would be best to use for important information. Six pieces of paper were given to six people and the people were given 15 seconds to try to memorize all of the words. After 15 seconds, the pieces of paper were taken away, and the six people were asked to write down as many words as they could remember. After this, each person was given a different piece of paper and this process was repeated until every person got a turn with each different color of paper. This experiment was repeated several times to increase data for accuracy. After everyone was tested, the results were recorded. It was found that yellow was the color from which people remembered the most words. It seems that brains are trained to remember information on the color white. This is probably because most tests and words in books etc. are written on white paper. Yellow is also light like white and is the next closest color to white, so it makes sense that yellow had more words remembered from it than the darker colors. It seems that it is best to use lighter colored paper for printing important information so that more of the information is retained by the reader. JLS110: Counterfactual Thinking: If Only People respond not only to the events that actually happened but also alternative events that could have happened. Such an event is known as a counterfactual. To show how contractuals influence our decisions, I studied ten pairs of people playing the rock-paper-scissors game. Based on my earlier observations, I predicted that after a loss people will be more likely to make the play that could have won the previous round. Indeed, such counterfactual responses were much more common than expected by chance (t=3.9, p=.0009, N=20). Thus counterfactuals shape our choices even when they are irrelevant. JLS111: Ectothermic Organism Response The purpose of my experiment was to determine how African Hissing Cockroaches respond to radiant, conduction and convection heat after being exposed to cold temperatures. First, I put nine cockroaches into a container in the refrigerator at 38° F for 60 minutes. Then, I took them out of the refrigerator and recorded their temperature. Next, I put them under a heat source (control, radiant, convection, or conductive) on their backs, timed until they flipped over and recorded their temperature. The average flip time (seconds) was control 1063.1, conductive 1171.6, convection 718, radiant 621.8. The cockroaches responded fastest to radiant heat. JLS112: What Would a Worm Do? The purpose of this experiment is to test if a worm prefers a special type of substance. To conduct this experiment I will test if a different type of substance has a different kind of attraction to a worm. The experiment results were measured by the number of worms in a particular substance. The results of the experiment lead to soil and clay being the most occupied of the four substances and left my hypothesis to be correct. JLS113: Memory in Color Memory is used every day. My experiment is to determine if different colors of text lead to more words remembered. I hypothesize that most people will remember the most words with red text. I will make 5 lists, each in a different color font; red, yellow, green, blue and black. 20 participants will look at these lists on a screen for 1 minute. Without looking at the screen, the participants will recall as many words as they remember. Results will be recorded to determine what colored text most words were recalled. JLS114: Ocean Motion The purpose of this experiment is to investigate whether different terrains of the ocean floor affect the flow rate of water through a rip current. The experimental results were measured by the flow rate of water in a rip current by using a channel made of rock, sand, and the flat bottom of the container. The results of the experiment showed that having a water channel speeds up the flow rate. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted because I predicted that different terrains of the ocean floor affect the flow rate of water through a rip current. JLS115: Saliva vs Bacteria The purpose of this project is to determine if there are substances in saliva that kill bacteria. This project will collect saliva samples from different animals which will be added to live bacteria cultures. The tests will include: culture bacteria in petri dishes, collect saliva samples from various animals, add saliva to the cultured bacteria, observe results. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 11 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS116: Preserving Plants Many botanists, farmers, and greenhouse owners have searched for a way to help preserve plants, and this project allowed me to find that out. For my project, I used fresh water, salt water, soapy water, and acid rain. I observed the petals and the stem on each plant for seven days. My hypothesis was that the salt water plant would wither fastest, and the fresh water plant would be preserved for the longest. My hypothesis was correct although I thought that the salt water plant would have lived slightly longer. JLS117: What do Plants Like to Drink The of my project is what do Plants Like to Drink I wanted to see if plants greew differently using different liquids. I tested water, orange juice, coke, Diet Coke, and green tea. My hypothesis is the control plant, which was water, would grow the most. I watered each plant with one of the liquids. I observed each one carefully. The one that grew the most was watered with Diet Coke, followed by Coke, water, green tea, and last orange juice. Orange juice did not grow at all. My hypothesis was proven incorrect JLS118: Which environment produces the largest amount of biogas? What is biogas? A combination of methane and carbon dioxide, and did you know that livestock produce more than one-third of methane in our atmosphere? How can that be used for renewable energy? In my experiment I tried to find the best environment of light and heat to create the most biogas. Using decomposition of organic material I tested several different environments and predicted the warm and dark environment will produce the most biogas. The results will be available the day of the Science Fair. JLS119: Variance in Light Spectrum on Ivy Growth This experiment examined the influence the light spectrum of ultra violet light has on the growth of Ivy Plants. In this experiment, ivy was grown under the conditions of multiple light colors. I predicted that ivy will grow best (faster and taller) when it is allowed to grow in an environment with blue light because blue light has a long wavelength. JLS120: Fruit Decay 101 The experiment was to see which fruit decayed the fastest and in which condition. The purpose was to find if fruit decays at different rates under different conditions. There were three different kinds of fruit each piece cut in half, four different kinds of elements, and the fruit were placed in the elements for one hour each day for seven days. The tomato in rice had the most decay on the seven day span. Since this result was found, it can be concluded that fruit does decay in different rates under different conditions. JLS121: Colorful Connections The purpose of this experiment is to find out if colored paper influences the amount of words recalled. To conduct this experiment, I asked four people to memorize as many words as they could, in order, on four different colors of paper. The experimental results were measured by the amount of words remembered in order. The results showed that there was a difference in the amount of words recalled in order on each color of paper. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted. A greater number of words were recalled from colored paper than from white paper JLS122: Baker's Yeast: Watch it Grow My project is testing the survival conditions of Baker's Yeast. This experiment will contain several tests with different amounts of temperature and moisture. I hypothesize that Baker's Yeast must have a specific amount of both temperature and moisture in order to grow. Through the experiment I have found out that my hypothesis was correct; baker's Yeast must have a specific amount of both temperature and moisture in order to grow. JLS123: All Washed Up In the 21 century pollution is a big problem, so I decided to do my project on the effect of detergent on plants along with water. What I did was I bought 4 plants and put different amounts of detergent and water in them. Day after day I took the growth of each plant and wrote it down in the journal along with how the plants looked. With this project I proved that pollution can kill lots of plants in an area, from acid rain and pollution coming down mountains. The results were that all 3 plants with detergent died. JLS124: Effect of Acid Rain on Plant Growth This project shows how acid rain slows the growth of plants. I found out whether two different plant types (dicot and monocot) show differences when exposed to acidic rain. I studied what different pH’s do to the growth and dry masses of plants. I tested the pH’s 6.8, 5.0, and 2.0. After the experiment, I found out that pH decreases the growth of the plants. As the pH decreases the heights and masses are slowed as well. JLS125: Plant Jam The purpose of this experiment is to see if different types of music affect the growth of a plant. To conduct this experiment I played music to the plants for one hour per day for a period of 10 days to see how different types of music affect the growth of plants. The experimental results were measured by the growth of the plant over 10 days in centimeters. The results of my experiment were that the different types of music did not afect the plant growth because my control plant grew the tallest. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 12 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS126: How does light affect the growth of black-eyed peas? REASERCH TOPIC A. What color plastic wrap makes black-eyed peas grow the best? B. Hypothesis: Clear wrap will make the beans grow the fastest because there is less filtered light. C. PROCEDURES: 1. Place two black-eyed peas’ seeds each in five separate pots using the same soil. 2. Cover each pot with a different color plastic wrap. One wrap should be clear. Use blue, yellow, green, and red wrap for the other pots. 3. Place the pots next to each other and in a well-lit, warm environment. Keep the pots in the same location during the experiment. 4. Water all plants in pots every 2-3 days at the same time. 5. Measure with ruler plant growth of both beans in each pot at the same time every day. DATA ANALYSIS: Use table of measurements of beans to compare which color wrap makes them grow fastest. Make a scatter plot of the data to get final results. RISK AND SAFETY: Make sure to wash hands afterwards and don’t eat the dirt. Place the plants in a warm place and be careful not to place it near electric outlets. Research links: 1. http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=2853 2. http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/botany/environmental.html 3. Light and plants: a series of experiments demonstrating light effects on seed germination, plant growth, and plant development. Robert Jack Downs, H. A. Borthwick, A. A. Piringer. Agricultural Research Service.Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1961. 4. Introduction to Plant Science. R. O. Parker. Delmar Learning, New York: 2004. 5. Functional Biology of Plants. Martin J. Hodson, John A. Bryant. John Wiley & Sons, Apr 25, 2012. JLS127: I Can Feel the Colors This experiment was conducted to determine whether the colors used in paintings are influenced by what the artist touches. Objects were presented to five subjects in a sequential blinded fashion. With each object, the subjects were instructed to paint what they felt. Five-minute breaks between each object were given to “reset” feelings. The colors that would be used in their paintings for each object were predicted ahead of time. Analysis shows >1 of the predicted colors for each object was prominent in the paintings. The hypothesis was correct; colors used in paintings are influenced by the sense of touch. JLS128: Can Captive Mice Distinguish a Predator Scent? This experiment was to determine if male and female mice bred in captivity for generations would know what a predator scent is. I first tested their sense of smell using vanilla dilutions(1/100 1/10 pure vanilla and plain water). I used cat and dog hair for the predator scent. I concluded that both sexes do know what a predator scent was. I also concluded that male mice were more aware of the scent and than female mice. I think this happened because the male mice are the protectors and females are the nurturers. JLS129: Gassy Soil? I did my experiment so that people would be aware of soil pollution. People don't think about the soil that they walk on all the time. I wanted to prove that there was soil pollution near gas stations. Results say that the gas stations I visited did not have any soil pollution. I had to collect soil samples and test them with a soil pH testing kit. Get-go had an average pH level of 6.5, Sheetz, 6.67, and Marathon's pH was 6.5. I hypothesized that the surrounding soil would be acidic. JLS130: Feel The Burn Food labels list the amount of calories/energy in food. There are 9 calories in Fats, 4 calories in Carbohydrates, 4 calories in Proteins. The energy foods possess fuels the body. The goal was to build a Calorimeter to measure the energy in certain foods by calculating the weight and temperature of water before and after burning foods. I saw which foods burned the longest and hottest, compared to information on food labels. I concluded which foods would be more beneficial during different types of activities -more endurance vs burst of energy. JLS131: Where is the Protein? Organic products like soybeans are known for having better nutrients, while Genetically Modified (GM) food is artificial. In this experiment I tested the different protein levels between organic and GM soybeans, using Lab-Aid’s Food Nutrient Analysis Kit #6A. I ran three trials and found out that the organic soybeans had more protein than the GM beans. In conclusion, people who want to eat more protein should consume organic soybeans instead of GM soybeans. As a follow up, I would like to compare carbohydrates in organic foods with GM foods. JLS132: How much Salt Do Brine Shrimp Prefer? My project is to determine how much salt, brine shrimp need to hatch. This project is to determine what the percentage of salt needed for the hatchery of brine shrimp. My hypothesis is that the shrimp will hatch in the 20% salt solution because it is half of the percentage of the most amount of salt I have. This project is still in progress. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 13 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS133: The Mysterious Crystal Garden For my project I was trying to create a crystal garden with different types of sugar. The types of sugar I used was Splenda, regular sugar, and brown sugar. I had to dissolve the sugar and then pour the water and the dissolved sugar into the jar. Then every day after that I would check it at six o'clock. After a few days of doing this experiment I noticed that in the splenda there was growing mold instead of crystals. Then I noticed that in the splenda there was mold growing up the string. My project grew mold instead of crystals. JLS134: Algae Growth My project is on algae growth. I tested my experiment for five weeks. First, I put algae into two beakers. One beaker went in sunlight and the other in shade. Next, I put one leaf into each of the beakers. I put the leaf in at this time because both algae plants seemed to need food. Finally, I observed the algae. My hypothesis was that the algae with sunlight would grow better. I believe my hypothesis was correct. The result of the experiment is that algae grows best in sun, but only when food is available. My experiment was successful. JLS135: Self-Watering Garden This experiment will test if a plant can survive in a closed container. I planted a small tropical plant in a large jar with some rocks, soil and moss. I watered the plant and then put the lid on the jar and placed it near a window. My hypothesis is that the plant will transpire wan the water vapor released into the jar will in turn water the plant again. After observing the plant’s conditions over several weeks I have determined that my hypothesis was correct. JLS136: Listen to My Heart In this project, I will be testing which activity will increase the heart rate the highest. The activities I am testing are basketball, baseball, chess, and taking a multiplication test. I will test each of these for 10 minutes,and five times each. My hypothesis is that basketball will have the highest heart rate because it is constant moving. JLS137: Lett-uce decide soil or water The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether plants grown in soil is more efficient than hydroponically grown plants. To conduct this experiment I will test the growth of hydroponic and conventional growing method. The experimental results were measured by the height in centimeters of both plants. The results of this experiment were that the conventional grown plants grew healthier and lasted longer than the hydroponically grown plants. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted because I gave the hydroponic plants all the nutrients and care they needed yet it failed to thrive. That indicated that the conventional grown plants are more efficient. JLS138: The effect of green solvent pH on the hue and intensity of pigment extracted from the petals of rosa Macdub Eventually the world will run out of petroleum, and we won't have the ingredients to make dyes. In my experiment I am making dyes with plants. I am using 3 different solvents lemon juice, dissolved baking soda, and hot water. I determine that lemon juice will take the color out best. In my results I got 3 different pigments which I did not expect. JLS139: Can distractions affect video game scores? Have you ever tried doing two things at once? This experiment tested if distractions can influence video game scores. My hypothesis stated if a gamer is being distracted, then talking on the cell phone will distract him/her the most. Four volunteers played Nintendo Wii Mario Kart. After they drove the course with no distractions, they drove the same course while talking to another person on a cell phone then singing along with a song. Talking on the phone got the worst score and singing with music got the best score. These distractions occur in real life and could affect accidents. JLS140: Does Music Affect Plant Growth? Plants exposed to music will grow taller when exposed to music. In my experiment, 2 pots of Geraniums were exposed to music (labeled Active Group) and 2 pots were not (labeled Control Group). Both groups received the same amount of sun light & water. First, all four plants were measured then again in weeks 3, 5, & 7. At 7 week, the plants in the in control group were 6"- 7" tall and the active group were 7" - 7.5" tall. My hypothesis was correct, plants exposed to music will grow taller. JLS141: Chewing Gum and Bacterial Growth This experiment was to determine if gum inhibits the growth of bacteria and which type of gum reduces bacteria the most. The teeth of eight volunteers were swabbed prior to chewing gum and separate Petri dishes prepared. Then, groups of two volunteers chewed specific types of gum. Their teeth were swabbed and separate dishes were prepared. All dishes were allowed to grow for one week, being recorded on a daily basis. The results showed that in 50% of the volunteers, chewing any type of gum helped to reduce the growth of bacteria, with no specific type of gum being superior PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 14 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS142: Do Colder Nights Mean a Busier Feeder? The purpose of my project was to find out if the temperature would affect the number and/or species of birds coming to my bird feeders. To find this out, I checked the temperature at night and, the next morning, counted the number and type of birds. I did this 27 times. I found that different species had very different feeding habits. In general, more birds came to the feeders after a colder night than a warmer night. Because there were many variables that I couldn’t account for, I plan to continue watching my bird feeders over the coming months. JLS143: The Amazing Brain! The brain and nervous system are amazing organs! They are versatile and ever evolving. This project examined how the sense of fear changes as individuals grow, develop, and experience life. Multiple individuals were surveyed to gain information on how they view fears and when they experience them. I hypothesized that as individuals get older, they experience less fear. JLS144: Effects of Probiotic & Nonprobiotic Flavored Yogurts on Human Stool Bacteria Intestinal microbiome is a topic of great interest to human health and diseases. It is estimated that 100-trillion bacteria lives in our intestine in perfect harmony. These microbes are important for our food digestion and metabolism. Increasing evidences are suggesting that microbiome plays a critical role in human health and disease. Good microbes protect us from diseases and bad microbes make us prone to multiple health risks such as obesity, diabetes and heart diseases. I would test if different yogurts affect the growth of stool bacteria on LB-Agar plates, which may reflect their effects on our intestinal microbial health. JLS145: Doing a bee's job Bees are known world-wide for there day to day job of pollination. They fly to a flower, take a quick drink, then fly to another flower. The process is continuous, but each time they dismiss the fact that pollen from each flower is traveling with them which in the end makes new flowers. I wanted to try this process for myself and make something extraordinary. I took pollen from one plants anther and put it in the other’s stigma jalapeno pepper and a cherry tomato creating a hot tomato. This process in called cross pollination. JLS146: The Great Mold Race The purpose of this experiment was to see what type of bread went moldy the fastest: homemade or store bought, white or whole wheat. I thought that homemade bread would go moldy faster than store bought bread, but was not sure about white and whole wheat. I observed slices of four types of bread every day for thirty days. Homemade bread went moldy way faster (all molded by day eight) than store bought bread did (some still un-moldy at thirty days), and I could not tell with white and whole wheat. JLS147: Train Your Brain: Can certain activites improve memory? The purpose of this experiment is to see what activity will best enhance a twelve-year-old child's memory. To conduct this experiment, I asked three individuals to perform different activities before playing a memory game: exercise, play a video game, and listen to music. The experimental results were measured by the amount of time it took to complete the memory game. The results of the experiment showed that listening to music prior to playing the memory game resulted in the fastest completion times. The results indicate that the hypothesis should be accepted: Listening to music helps memory the most. JLS148: Fast Feet “Can a Welsh-Arabian beat Secretariat?” Well I set a goal to find out! On a 150ft long track (that is going in a circle) I trotted and cantered both of my testing horses (Rocky and Alhee) twice. I know now that so far Alhee can trot 5 rounds 750ft in one minute and canter 5 ½ or 825ft in one minute as well. In comparison to rocky she trots really fast because he so far can only trot 4 ½ rounds 675ft in one minute. What really puzzles me is that he can canter just as fast as Alhee. The next day we did it again with almost the exact same results but this time Alhee only got to 5 rounds at a canter. With the recommendation of Miss Lurie Statam, I am adding pacers to my project (I am simply going to compare Rocky and Alhee to horses that trot really fast for a living). Secretariat made it to 37.5 MPH that is .5 miles faster than the average thoroughbred race horse. Also he had a girth of 75in, Alhee and Rocky’s are only about 10in smaller- I’m not sure if it will make a difference in their performances. Another factor is that Alhee and Rocky are not thoroughbreds- they aren’t as tall or as long legged as race horses- they simply aren’t built for racing (pacing is like racing in a way so they can do that). Before I talk about famous pacers, let me tell you what it is. Pacing (or harness racing) is when horses have light weight buggies (carriages) attached to them and race other pacers at a fast (and I mean FAST) trot. Adios Harry is a famous pacer and one of the fastest. He could go approximately 4 lengths per second and one length is 8ft. THAT’S 32 FEET PER SECOND! Adios Harry could also do 1 mile in 2 minutes (1:57). Considering this I have formed a hypothesis on it, I believe that after I crunch and graph all my numbers and times that Alhee will end up faster than Rocky, but only a few seconds behind Adios Harry. If I am proven wrong as I finish testing, I plan to form a new one or change it. In the secretariat area of my project (after seeing how fast he can go) my hypothesis is that Alhee will not be able to keep up and that Rocky will be able to keep up with Alhee. All I have to compare at this time are some times and numbers that need simplifying. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 15 th Junior – Life Science (JLS) – 6 Grade JLS149: What's better music, or no music My project was to determine if people could last holding their hand in water longer if they were listening to music. I had them hold their hand in water while not listening to music and timed how long they could keep it in the water. Then I had them do the same thing while listening to music and timed that trial I found that help distract them from physical discomfort. JLS300: Connecting With Our Creek The question we were studying was what creek would have more aquatic life, which creek was cleaner, the pH level, and the temperature of each creek. Our hypothesis is that Salamander Park Creek will have salamanders, snakes, and crayfish. At Squaw Run creek we will find snakes, crayfish, and dragonflies. The water temperature will be around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pH will be 7. We would go to Squaw Run first and look for all aquatic life then take pictures of all the animals. Finally, we will measure the temperature and pH of each creek. JLS301: Daphnias reaction to different waters This project is to see daphnia’s reactions to different waters. We will put the daphnia in to the water (fresh, rocky, bottled, colored, and salt.) then observe their heart rate for a minute. Do this 5 times in each water. This test is still in progress, but we think in both salt and colored there heart rate will slow down. In fresh, rocky, and bottled water their heart rate will stay close to normal. JLS303: Do ladybugs eat more when warm or cold? Our project measures how much food ladybugs eat in a warm and cold climate. We are going to do this by weighing a dried carrot before and after a six hour test with five ladybugs in a warm and cold climate. We did this experiment because we wanted to know if ladybugs eat more when they are hot or cold. The experiment is still in progress. JLS304: Effect of Creek Health on Life We studied how creek chemistry affects aquatic wildlife. Our hypothesis was “the presence of nitrates and phosphates in the water contributes to a higher TDS and lower DO”. If nitrates and/or phosphates are present, we will find less wildlife due to bad conditions. To test our hypothesis, we went to Glade Run Creek, Squaw Run Creek, and Salamander Park. There, we took temperature and pH, collected a water sample, and searched for wildlife. At school, we tested for nitrates, phosphates, TDS, and DO. Our results showed that we were correct. Nitrates and phosphates are unhealthy, and can pollute creeks. JLS305: Healthy or Not? We learned that an ecosystem is a composite of a place and some living organisms. If it is healthy, there are lots of interactions between the ecosystem and organisms living in there. We wanted to know whether Emmerling Creek is a healthy ecosystem. To confirm our hypothesis about Emmerling Creek being a healthy ecosystem, we went to the creek to collect some samples, including water samples, crayfish, and mayfly nymphs. We used a water-chemistry kit to analyze the collected water. Based on our analysis, we confirmed that Emmerling Creek is healthy for some species to live. JLS306: Memory Loss Our project, "Memory and Detail", was created to test people's attention to detail and their memory. After having our volunteers review and sign a consent form, we had them study a picture for one minute. Next they turned around for three minutes while we set up. Then, we gave them three minutes to answer twelve questions about the picture. Our hypothesis is that as you get older, your memory and attention to detail gets worse. But, we are yet to find out the results, and whether or not our hypothesis is correct. JLS307: Stink Bug Traps We wanted to determine whether natural scents attract stink bugs than light. To this end, we built three traps with scents and one with water. We put a fake candle in each trap, put the traps in a big plastic box and then observed. We counted how many stink bugs were attracted in two hours and we counted how many were trapped in two, fourteen, twenty four and forty two hours, respectively. Our findings show that the scents attract more stink bugs more than the light only. Notably, we trapped more stink bugs using the almond scent. JLS308: What Preserved the Bog People? The purpose of our study is to understand how bog people were preserved. We hypothesize that the lack of oxygen in the bog played an important role. We placed pieces of meat in sealed bags using three trials of four treatments and varied the amount of air. For each observation we recorded how long it took until the meat spoiled. We found that meat exposed to no air lasted longer, in fact, it lasted five times longer than meat exposed to the most air. We confirm our hypothesis and conclude that the lack of oxygen helped preserve the bog people. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 16 th Junior – Consumer Science (JCS) – 6 Grade Junior – Consumer Science (JCS) – 6th Grade JCS100: Which Battery Is Bett? Expensive or Cheap My project is to help me decide what type of batteries I should buy. I wanted to find out if I should spend money on expensive batteries for my remotes for video games. I tested three differnet priced batteries by putting them in flashlights and leaving the flashlights on and timing to see which one stayed on longest. The longest was Durecell and it cost the most, the one that stayed on the shortest Sunbeam but it was the middle price. So I think I will spend the money on the expensive batteries for my video game remotes JCS101: How Much Gas Does Your Favorite Beverage Produce What I am going to do will help us understand the amount of gas produced in our stomach when drinking beverages. This experiment helps us choose healthier drinks. First pour a beverage into an empty plastic bottle. Then mix couple teaspoons of vinegar. Blow up and release the balloon to stretch it. Attach the balloon to the top of the bottle. Place bottle on a warm heating pad. Finally watch the balloons as the inflate with gas. The air in the balloon represents the amount of gas produced in your stomach. The bigger the balloon the more gas in it. JCS102: Using Temperature to Enhance Battery Life The purpose of my project is to determine if battery usage can be extended by temperature. I placed four AA batteries in a refrigerator, four AA batteries close to a heater, and four AA batteries in a room temperature space. After nine days, I placed the batteries in three different flashlights, one for each temperature of battery. My hypothesis was that the batteries in the refrigerator would last the longest. Results will be available the day of the science fair. JCS103: Solvents Ready, Get Set, Remove! Valuable fabric and clothes were damaged when my younger siblings wrote on them with sharpies. I designed this experiment to discover which solvent will remove a permanent marker spot from different materials that we use every day. I hypothesize that rubbing alcohol will remove the permanent marks from any kind of material. I drew a dot on each of the six identical pieces of different materials. Then I poured 15 mL of alcohol on each piece. I used an old toothbrush to rub each one. I repeated these steps with each solvent. Findings will be available on Fair Day. JCS104: Trying Trash Bags In this experiment, I will test the strength of garbage bags by cutting two inch wide strips of garbage bags, attaching a weight to the bottom of the strip. I will then use a scale to measure the weight required to break the strip. I will use the weight and area of the strip to calculate the stress. Whichever type of garbage bag that took the most stress is the strongest. I'll test Glad FlexForce, Hefty, and a store brand. JCS105: Musical Minds The purpose of my experiment was to test the affect of different types of music on concentration. My hypothesis was that if different types of music are played and participants are asked to perform a task, faster music will help concentration. The control variable was the task and the participants that completed it. The independent variable was the different types of music that were played. I asked the participants to answer math questions while the different types of music played. JCS106: Detergent Lab The purpose of my experiment was to test the effectiveness of laundry detergent on getting rid of stains. The independent variable of my experiment was the brand of detergent used and several different types of stains. The dependent variable was the amount of stain that was taken out of each of the shirts by the treatment. JCS107: Laundry Lab The purpose of my experiment was to test the effectiveness of cleaners on stains. The independent variable of my experiment was the brand of treatment used on the stains. The dependent variable was the amount of stain that was taken out of the shirts by the treatment. JCS108: Oreos and Chocolate Milk My purpose is, finding out which Oreo cookie stays hard in milk. I will time dipping the Oreo in white milk until it gets soft. I will repeat three times. I will do the same with chocolate milk, and repeat three times. My results are due to more ingredients in chocolate milk than white milk. The cocoa in chocolate milk fill tiny pours in the Oreo blocking the milk from getting in. In conclusion, the main problem that makes a difference between using the two milks is the ingredients of the chocolate milk in comparison to the white milk. JCS109: Where's Matt's Water? I am conducting an experiment that tests which factor evaporates water faster. My plans are to have 6 containers; 3 deep, and 3 shallow. I will set up 6 stations. Either a fan or heat lamp or nothing will be placed in front of the designated container. Then once for a day and then every day for 3 weeks I will check on my water, recording how much water has evaporated. Then I will finalize my experiment by concluding the project and stating which factor evaporated water the fastest. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 17 th Junior – Consumer Science (JCS) – 6 Grade JCS110: Baseball Bat Debate: What type of baseball bat is best for hitting distance? Baseball Bat Debate: What type of baseball bat is best for hitting distance? This project’s purpose was to find out what bat type - wood, aluminum, or composite – is best for hitting distance. The results would display to consumers which type of bat to buy if they want the one that has the greatest hitting distances. The procedures to this project are as follows: 1) meet four people at baseball field with materials, 2) set up batting tee and cones, 3) put baseball on tee and let batter have one practice swing and then ten swings that count with wood bat, 4) chart each hit distance and then repeat these steps with the aluminum and composite bats. The results were that the composite bat hit the ball the furthest, wood was second, and aluminum was third. It was learned from this experiment that composite bats hit baseballs the farthest because they are made of carbon and glass fibers. The results of this experiment agreed with the hypothesis. JCS111: Carpet Cleaners I did this project because I wanted to see what carpet cleaner worked the best. I tested three carpet cleaners on sample carpet pieces. The stain to remove was mud. The carpet cleaners were tested three times. The results showed that two out of the three times the ChemDry World Famous Carpet Cleaner removed the stain the best. One out of the three times Resolve Carpet Cleaner was the best. My conclusion is that the ChemDry World Famous Carpet Clean removed the stains the best. JCS113: Bananas! Bananas! Bananas! Please visit student's exhibit for project abstract. JCS114: Which Brand of Nail Polish Lasts the Longest? I tested 3 different nail polish brands, Essie, Wet n Wild, and Revlon, to see their durability. I used clear fake nails, salt water, soap water, and sandpaper to test. I used salt water because sometimes I'm faced with a problem when I'm swimming with my nails—they are chipped or faded. I used soap water to simulate washing hands. My hypothesis was that Essie would last the longest because it was the priciest, and that Wet n Wild not last as long because it was the cheapest. My hypothesis was supported. JCS115: Buying Sunscreen? Don't Get Burned! My experiment will determine if higher priced, name brand sunscreen is more effective at blocking UV rays than lower priced generic sunscreen and will determine if sunscreen with a higher SPF is really more effective at blocking UV rays than sunscreen with a lower SPF. I constructed a wooden box with no lid and purchased two brands of sunscreen in SPF 30, 50, and 70. I labeled a sheet of glass the same size as the box as my control sheet, and I labeled 6 other sheets of glass by sunscreen brand and SPF. I measured 4 teaspoons of sunscreen for each sheet of glass and spread the sunscreen on the glass. I placed the box in direct sunlight on the ground in my driveway, put the UV meter in the box and took my first reading with the control sheet of glass on top of the box. I repeated with each of the six other sheets of glass and recorded the UV readings for each brand andSPF.The data showed that both the generic and name brand sunscreens provided some protection from UV rays, since the control glass had the highest UV reading. However, the data did show that the name brand provided more protection, especially at the higher SPFs. The data also showed that higher SPFs are more effective than lower SPFs. The name brand sunscreen with 70 SPF had the lowest UV reading and provided the best protection. JCS116: Nail Polish- Price vs. Quality I like to wear nail polish and paint my nails often. Sometimes it stays on good, and sometimes it doesn't. I wanted to come up with the best way to do a manicure to make your polish last. I tried three different polishes to see which one worked the best based on the price of the polish. The results were Wet n' Wild, the cheapest nail polish, stayed on the best. With this result, the expensive nail polish is not needed to have your manicure last longer. JCS117: Comparing Water Filters My goal is to determine which water filter works the best. I expect to see differences in the way the water is filtered because of the design of the filter. First, I will obtain water testing kits and 4 different types of water filters. Next, I will run a sample of tap water through each filter. Then, each sample will be tested. I will also test unfiltered tap water as a control sample. Then, I will compare the results of the samples to see which one has the least amount of contaminants. JCS118: Battle of the Brands - Tide vs Generic The purpose of my experiment is to put leading brands of detergent against each other. I stained four white shirts with the same amount of mustard on each shirt. Then I washed each shirt with a different type of laundry detergent. I then graphed the results of each detergent based on the amount of stain left. After determining which of the shirts was the cleanest, the results showed that Tide was the shirt with the most faded stain. Up & Up seemed to have the least faded stain out of the shirts. Belle O'Hara PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 18 th Junior – Consumer Science (JCS) – 6 Grade JCS119: The Most Endurable Hand Warmer Disposable hand warmers are handy in the winter, but not eco-friendly. Reusable hand warmers are a great replacement. Besides corn, the frequently-used hand warmer material in Asia, red beans, are included in this experiment which is to determine if corn, red beans, rice, or pinto beans can hold heat for the longest time. Each ingredient was placed in separate bags and microwaved. Its center temperature was measured using a thermometer every five minutes until one hour after heating. Other variables contributing to the question is the measured amount of ingredients added, the time heated, and whether the ingredients were grinded. JCS120: What's the Secret of a Baby Diaper? This experiment was to determine which brand of diaper can absorb more water over two other brands. I decided the amount of water used by taking a measuring cup and measuring out 1/2 cup. Then, I poured 1/2 cup into 3 tiny 8oz cups. Next, I stuck the measuring cup underneath the diaper and poured slowly until it began to leak. I then observed how much water was left in the 8 oz cup and how much was in the measuring cup. I concluded that Pampers was the most absorbent and Huggies Swimmers' were less absorbent. JCS300: Does income change eating habits? Our purpose is to find which social class eats the worst and best. Our hypothesis is that people with a higher income would more likely have a better eating habit. Our procedure is we simply ask our participants to fill out a survey, we will remind them it is entirely voluntary. Then we will record the data and separate it into charts. We currently haven't denied or accepted our hypothesis. JCS301: Superglue, Which Cyanoacrylate works best? This experiment was to determine which of 5 brands of superglue works best on four different surfaces with no pressure. We defined successful bonding as; if it did so in 90 seconds and if it could not be pulled apart within 4 seconds. The glues we tested were Loctite Professional Liquid, Loctite Ultra Gel Control, Gorilla Superglue, The Original superglue and Krazy Glue. After looking at the results, we decided that Loctite Professional Liquid performed the best according to our criteria. JCS302: When Science is Sweet The purpose of this project was to determine whether different types of sugars would affect the way the crystals grew when making rock candy crystals. To accomplish this we picked several varieties of sugars and monitored their growth to determine which would make the best rock candy. During this procedure we used two cups of each type of sugar to dissolve in one cup of boiling water. We did this for two rounds of tests where one we put the hot water directly into the jar after the sugar was dissolved and one where we waited five minutes for the water to cool before placing in jar. In each case we monitored the crystal growth daily and observed which sugars made the best rock candy. Our conclusion is that you must let the water/sugar mixture cool before placing it in the jars to grow rock candy. PRSEF Student Abstracts Page 19
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz