All science fair biology ideas can come from almost anywhere. The important part is to find a question that you would like to find an answer. This is called your hypothesis. You will then look for ways to find an answer through experimentation. You then look at comparison data and make a data chart. After you look at the results of the experiment you will write it up. This article will help you find ideas; questions and experiments to help you get started. It doesn’t matter where you get your ideas, the work must be your own. Hypotheses and experiments are learning experiences. It makes science fun.
Forensics: Finger printing – These are popular experiments since NCIS, CSI, and BONES have become so popular.
9th – 12th grade
Family fingerprints: Hypothesis: Do fingerprints of close relatives – siblings – resemble one another to a greater extent than unrelated persons? Predict: Yes, because…or No, because… Experiment: Take the fingerprints of yourself and siblings and the fingerprints of unrelated friends. Compare the whorls, and loops. Predict: Draw your conclusions. Find out what researchers have discovered and compare their conclusions to yours.
4th – 8th grade
Hypothesis: Do animal paw prints have any similarity to human fingerprints? Predict: Yes, because… or No, because …
Experiment: Use your cat and/or dog prints and your own and a friend’s prints to compare. Use a compare and contrast thinking map. You can also copy animal prints off the Internet of other types of animals. Results. Was your prediction correct?
Botany
5th – 8th grade
Hypotheses: Does organic or inorganic fertilizer produce the fastest growth results? Predict: Organic, because… or inorganic, because… Experiment: Use peat cups (6) and fill three with organic fertilizer (different types) and three with inorganic fertilizer (different types). And place in all the same type of grass. Water everyday and fertilize once a week. Record data every day. At the end, tell whether or not you prediction was correct.
10th – 12th grade
Hypothesis: Will roots on leaves grow faster hydroponically than in soil? Predict: I think it will because . . . or, No, …. Experiment: The manipulated variable was to find out in which condition plant shoots grow roots best. There were three groups with three plants in each group. Each group received a different substance (water, chemical solution, and soil). The responding variable was the growth of each plant roots after two weeks. I checked to see in what condition the plants grew best. To measure the responding variable measured all groups in millimeters after two weeks.
More ideas with brief synopsis of each: Human Anatomy
3rd – 5th grade
Can you determine the sex of a person by just looking at the feet? There are numbers of differences between the male and female foot. For example, the male’s foot has much more square shape that that of a female. The female foot is broader across the toes than a male’s. Also, a female’s foot has a narrower heel than a male’s. Females are usually at higher risk for feet problems than males. This is because females wear high heels often.
9th – 12th grade
Do groups of people have different blood pressure readings? Blood pressure varies relative to heart’s pumping of blood. The heart should be thought of as a dual pump, with a right and left side. Systole represents the active pumping of blood from the ventricles into the circulation. The right side of the heart takes venous/returning blood from the body and sends it to the lungs to be oxygenated (pulmonary circulation).
Do people from different backgrounds have different lung capacities? Students will: 1. Recognize that breathing is a necessary, automatic life process; 2. Observe and record data on respiration rate; 3. Demonstrate how air enters and leaves the lungs; 4. Observe how respiratory rate changes with different activities; 5. Use counting as a means of gathering data.
These are only a few ideas, which will whet your interest. As earlier said, experiments are what makes science interesting.
Source for Human Anatomy: http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com
