Karen Said:

What's a good science fair project for a high school student in advanced science?

We Answered:

A project that would be fun would be to explore
"Parafin wax as a storage medium for collecting solar energy (day time) for use at night to heat private homes."

Given the crisis our planet is in with global warming, we are looking to science to find good alternative energy solutions to reduce greenhouse gases and our dependence on foreign oil.

Solar energy is an abundant renewable energy source. It is available every day.
Given that most people are away from their homes during the day at work and school, what is a cost effective way to capture solar energy for use in heating homes at night?
Parafin wax is an excellent heat resevoir given that the state change from solid to liquid requires energy, however it occurs at relatively low temperature. Also, parafin undergoes very little change in volume despite the conversion from liquid to solid and back. Unlike water that freezes at -32 F and increases in volume as a solid versus a liquid.

The project would require a solar panel. A small one is fine since you can scale the experimental results. A modest amount of parafin wax, which you can get from candles.

Create a heat source with the solar panel. A simple , low voltage, incandescent light bulb will work. To make the experiment portable, you can simulate sunlight with a flourescent light bulb. Given the wide availability and low cost of compact flourescent, you can use a common house lamp with one as the "sun".

Now to measure the energy gain, make an insulated vessel for the parafin. Get an electronic meat thermometer to measure the temperature of the wax. You can use the info from the following site to help you with the calculations:

http://www.hotwatt.com/paraffin.htm

To expand on the experiment, you could create a forced air heating system with a simple muffin fan and another thermometer to show the use of the heated wax in a home heating system.

Good luck

j

Amber Said:

whats a good science fair project for a high school student?

We Answered:

what fruit makes the clock work the longest

how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop (2,873 average) vs. how many licks it takes to get to the center of a blow pop

does chewing gum effect your body's temperature

which batteries work the best (different brands of batteries in identical flashlights and wait for them to wear out)

what conditions does mold grow the best in

what cleans a penny better (soak in regular soda, diet soda, water, soapy water, lemon juice, etc)

which paper towels are more absorbant

what is the freezing/boiling point of different liquids

what wattage of light bulb burns out the fastest

Charlie Said:

What is a good science fair topic for a high school student?

We Answered:

I had to do a project when I was in gr.9 and it scored my an 87. It was to prove that H20 is not a conductor of electricity but what is inside the water that conducts electricity. I used three kinds of water; tap water, spring water(Nestle Aberfoyle), and reverse osmosis water(Dasani or Aquafina) But I think you'd have to spend somewhere around 100 dollars for the tools such as the psi reader(the tool used to determined how many elements are in a square inch).

Travis Said:

NURSES.DOCS.I NEED HELP! can anyone give me a high school science fair project about antibiotics and infection?

We Answered:

Skin Infections : Staph aureus, common treatment :cephalexein

Pneumonia : common bacteria: Strep pneumoniae; common treatment : Augmentin, Biaxin, etc,.

Sherri Said:

Need help choosing science fair project at high school level(10 pts for best answer)?

We Answered:

see if running lowers blood sugar.