5th grade science fair projects are a little bit more involved than the previous grades. At this age students are expected to come up with their own topic, perform the majority of the experiment on their own and be able to write a small report on it with minimal adult assistance. This isn't too difficult because fifth graders are full of questions about the world, so they shouldn't have any trouble coming up with a topic and conducting a little experiment to find out the answer.
Though if a student is looking for some ideas, there is one great 5th grade science fair project where one will create a fire proof balloon. To test this, the student will need adult supervision. The adult will assist the 5th grader to blow up the balloon, tie it shut, and place it over a match. The balloon will pop as you bring it close to the flame. The student will then take the second balloon and put ¼ cup of water into balloon, blow it up and tie it closed. When placed over a lit match, the student will find that the balloon will not pop, even if it touches the flame, though it may get a black patch on it from soot.
The reason why the balloon will not pop is because the flame heats the liquid behind the rubber, rather than the rubber itself. The student can do another project involving heat and rubber by gathering a few rubber bands and examining the rubber as it relates to heat, a form of energy. All they will need for this experiment is their forehead and some rubber bands. They are simply testing to see if the rubber bands get warmer or cooler when stretched. You can judge this by holding the rubber band to your head while stretching it.
No comments:
Post a Comment