The National Student Research Center
E-Journal of Student Research: Science
Volume 8, Number 5, March, 2000
The National Student Research Center
is dedicated to promoting student research and the use of the
scientific method in all subject areas across the curriculum,
especially science and math.
For more information contact:
- John I. Swang, Ph.D.
- Founder/Director
- National Student Research Center
- 2024 Livingston Street
- Mandeville, Louisiana 70448
- U.S.A.
- E-Mail: nsrcmms@communique.net
- http://youth.net/nsrc/nsrc.html
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Taking Movies to Heart
- How's It Going?
- Evaporating Water
- Hey Look, Wind
- How Does Barometric Pressure Affect
The Temperature?
- Will Different Fluids Affect The
Way You Think?
- Will Turtles Be Attracted To A Different
Type Of Food?
- What Molds Fastest And What Molds
The Most In Ten Days?
- Which Paper Airplane Design Will
Fly the Best?
- How Well Do Dogs Smell? Can Dogs
Smell Better Than Me?
- Where Dust Collects Most In My House
- Which Cookie Sheet Bakes Cookies
Fastest: Brick, Aluminum, Or Stainless Steel?
Title: Taking Movies to Heart
Student Researcher: Jennifer Oberg
School: Shepherd Elementary
Shepherd, Montana
Grade: 6th grade
Teacher: Mrs. Joni Peterson
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
Will the speed of the human pulse change as a reaction to
viewing different types of movies scenes?
II. Methodology:
1. Making sure they were age appropriate, I took different
movie scenes, each three minutes long and put them together on
one videotape. The scenes were violent, scary, happy, funny and
calming:
a. Violent - Jurassic Park and The Shining
b. Scary - Jurassic Park and Cliffhanger
c. Happy - Sound of Music and Lilies of the Field
d. Funny - Bean and Rocketman
2. I got the parental permission of 6th grade students to
participate.
3. I asked 6th graders what they are allowed to watch at home
and what kind of movies they like.
4. Then the transmitter was strapped around the student's chest
and the receiver on the wrist.
5. After that, I instructed the student to get comfortable and
to not talk or move while viewing the video. I discovered that
moving and talking affected the pulse rate.
6. The student then viewed the movie and I watched the pulse
receiver during each scene to see if it changed.
7. The highest and lowest pulse rate for each scene was
recorded.
8. I then compared the pulse rates of each student and graphed
the results.
III. Analysis of Data:
The pulse rates rose while watching funny, violent and scary
scenes, but dropped while watching happy and calm scenes.
Although the pulse rate changes, it did not
change enough to pose a threat to ones health.
Please note the following high and low pulse rates for each
student.
Student # Low High Difference
1 90 103 13
2 78 129 51
3 66 96 30
4 66 75 9
5 62 95 33
Student #4 is allowed to watch some rated R movies and likes
scary movies the best. As you read my table you will realize
that this student has only a 9-point difference between the high
and the low pulse rate, this was the smallest difference.
IV. Summary and Conclusion
The student with the highest pulse rate is student #2 who also
had the largest difference between the high and the low. The
student's favorite kind of movie is comedy and least favorite is
violent, this student is also able to watch R rated movies.
I partially accept my hypothesis. I said that violent and scary
movies would have the greatest effect on your pulse rate. While
the violent and scary movies did produce a high pulse rate, the
funny scenes had the greater effect. The other half of my hypothesis
was correct, happy and calm scenes did have the lowest effect on
the pulse rate.
I believe those students who watch a lot of violent and scary
movies will not react to them. Therefore, their pulse rates
will not increase as much as a student who doesn't watch violent
and scary movies.
V. Application
You can watch any movie and your pulse rate won't rise or lower
so much that it will put a threat to your heart rate.
Title: How's It Going?
Student Researcher: Josh Greenfield
School: Shepherd Elementary
Shepherd, Montana
Grade: 6th grade
Teacher: Mrs. Joni Peterson
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
The purpose of this experiment is to figure out which surface
the Hot Wheels car will go faster on. I think the car will go
fastest on the plywood surface.
II. Methodology:
1. Make a ramp out of plywood.
2. Buy a Hot Wheels car.
3. I used the following surfaces to test the Hot Wheels car on:
green drawer liner, plywood, carpet, both sides of a tablecloth
and sandpaper.
4. Ask someone to assist you, give them the car and tell them
to hold onto it until you tell them to let go.
5. On go, start the stop watch and record until the car comes
to a complete stop. Hit the stop button
6. Record results.
III. Analysis of Data:
The car on the plywood went 0.59 seconds, the drawer liner went
0.60 seconds, the sandpaper went for 0.64, the blue side of the
tablecloth went for 0.66 seconds, the white side for 0.68
seconds, and the carpet went for 2.5 seconds.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
The Hot Wheels car went fastest on the plywood surface,
therefore my hypothesis was correct. The flat surface of the
board gave more surface area for the car to ride
along.
V. Application
This is helpful information for tire companies to know to make
tires for different surface. I plan on sharing this information
with Mr. Peel, our school's director of transportation. The
school's buses have a problem with tires wearing out too soon
and I think this information
could save the district money.
Title: Evaporating Water
Student Researcher: Desarae Lynch
School: Shepherd Elementary
Shepherd, Montana
Grade: 5th
Teacher: Mrs. Yvonne Rome
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
The reason I'm doing this is to see which kind of water
evaporates faster, plain water, sugar or salt. I think the salt
water will evaporate faster.
II. Methodology:
1. I gathered all my materials together.
2. I labeled the three glasses.
3. I put equal amounts of water in the three glasses.
4. I put 1 teaspoon of salt in the glass that said salt and
stirred until dissolved.
5. I put 1 teaspoon of sugar in the glass that said sugar and
stirred until dissolved.
6. I sat the glasses on a shelf.
7. I measured the amount in each glass and recorded amounts.
8. I kept track of the water for 2 weeks each day with a ruler.
Each time I measured I recorded the amount left in each glass.
III. Analysis of Data:
I did a graph illustrating the two weeks measurements.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
The plain water evaporated first and then the sugar water and
finally the salt water.
V. Application
I would share this with homeowners because if they would want to
attract hummingbirds then they would want to use sugar water.
Title: Hey Look, Wind
Student Researcher: Lorene Knowlen
School: Shepherd Elementary
Shepherd, Montana
Grade: 5th
Teacher: Mrs. Yvonne Rome
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
Does wind change direction? I think that the wind changes its
direction everyday.
II. Methodology:
I took a paper cup, a board, and a pencil with an eraser, a pin,
two shapes and a straw. I taped the cup to the board. Then I
took a pencil with an eraser and put it through the cup. Then I
pushed the pin into the middle of the straw and pushed the pin
through the eraser. Finally, I taped the shapes to the end of
the straw.
III. Analysis of Data:
The wind direction can change in just a few hours, as I had
observed with my creation.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
Wind is air pressure and warm air takes the place of cold air.
The is just moving the air around.
V. Application:
This information would help the Shepherd community because the
farmers need to know the wind direction in order to properly
cover the haystacks with tarps.
Title: How Does Barometric Pressure Affect The Temperature?
Student Researcher: Greg McClure
School: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, Michigan
Grade: 6
Teacher: Mrs. Barbara Lindquist,
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out how barometric pressure affected the
weather. Barometric pressure is how the air presses down or
atmospheric pressure. By looking at the pressure I thought you
would be able to know what the temperature, humidity, and
precipitation would be like. My hypothesis stated that you
could not predict the weather by barometric pressure readings
by themselves.
II. Methodology:
I first thought of a way to record my data. I then watched the
weather channel at 7:30 am each morning for one week to get the
barometric pressure and temperature readings. After I got all
of my information I prepared my data using line graphs. I then
compared the results.
III. Analysis of Data:
I saw on my graphs that barometric pressure and temperature are
related. When the pressure went up the temperature went down.
The clouds, though, may make a small difference. The clearer
the night sky, the colder the day will be.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
As the barometric pressure got higher the temperature got lower.
I have concluded that you can predict the temperature by the
barometric pressure. Therefore, I reject my hypothesis.
V. Application:
NowI know that you can predict the temperature by looking at
the barometric pressure. If my other investigations go the
same, I could tell the weather just by looking at the barometric
pressure. Also if you were tracking for a very long time you
may be able to see trends like global warming.
Title: Will Different Fluids Affect The Way You Think?
Student Researcher: Greg Rudawski
School Address: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, MI 48842
Grade: 6
Teacher: Barbara Lindquist, M. A.
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out more about the way different drinks affect
the way you think. My last experiment was done with foods; now
I would like to see if fluids will have the same effect. My
hypothesis states that the orange juice would help you get more
accurate answers and a faster answer time than water. I think
that because orange juice has more nutrients than water.
II. Methodology:
I first read the nutritional value labels on the orange juice
and on the water bottle. They clearly state that water has no
nutrients, but orange juice does.
Every day after I get home from school (about 4:15 PM), I'll
drink six ounces of orange juice or water (measured in a
measuring cup). Next, I'll set the timer on the stove for 15
minutes and wait. After the timer goes off, I do 15 math
problems like 7x6x7 mentally. I'm timed by a wrist watch
(digital watch). Then I'll wait a couple of hours and repeat
the process.
When I was doing this experiment, and after I drank the juice or
water, I was not allowed to eat or drink anything else. I could
eat after the fifteen minutes was up and I had completed the
test. Then the information was typed upon a computer. This
experiment was done over an eight day period.
III. Analysis of Data:
The data showed that the average number of correct problems for
orange juice was 13.142 and the average for water was 13.125.
Therefore the accuracy for orange juice was higher than the
accuracy of water. The average time for orange juice was
5:6:28. The average time for water was greater at 6:26:8. This
means my hypothesis was correct. Orange juice helped me process
information faster and more accurately than water.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
I accept my hypothesis. I found out that orange juice was more
accurate and faster than water but not by much. The orange
juice was only .640 faster than water and . 017 more accurate.
Some limitations in my study were that I only tested orange
juice 7 times and water 8 times, and I could have done it
longer. Another limitation is that I didn't only drink orange
juice and water, I ate fruits and other foods during the day.
V. Application:
I learned not to drink water before taking a math test, but to
drink orange juice and eat many other nutritional foods. So I
advise people who go to school to eat nutritious food to help
them get better grades. My findings may make school a little
bit easier for someone who is having trouble with their school
work.
Title: Will Turtles Be Attracted To A Different Type Of Food?
Student Researcher: Jeff Fritts
School Address: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, M 148821
Grade: 6
Teacher: Barbara Lindquist, M. A.
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out more about how my turtle would react to a
different type of food. My hypothesis stated that I didn't
think that he would react well to any other food then his
"Wordley" reptile food.
II. Methodology:
First, I took my turtle and a bowl which measured about seven
and one fourth by nine inches. I filled the bowl with about one
inch water. I put the turtle in with a meal worm and the next
day I did the same thing, but I put a piece of ground sirloin
meat in the bowl. I did it again ,but put a piece of turtle
food from the store. The worm, meat, and food pieces were all
about one inch in size. I used a timer to see which thing he
would eat the fastest.
III. Analysis of Data:
The turtle ate the worm and the meat very fast for a turtle.
The store bought stuff took longer to eat because it kept
falling apart.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
I found out that he still likes the store bought stuff, but
likes meal worms and raw meat also. I rejected the hypothesis
because he did like the new foods and ate them quicker than the
"Wardley" reptile food.
V. Application:
Someone might find a turtle in a street or a stream. The best
thing to do is to leave it alone, but if it is injured, feed it
some worms or ground sirloin meat.
Title: What Molds Fastest And What Molds The Most In Ten Days?
Student Researcher: Samantha Schrauben
School Address: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, MI 48842
Grade: 6
Teacher: Barbara Lindquist, M. A.
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out more about mold. Food and other substances
mold if they are left someplace too long. I wanted to know if
the texture and/or softness of a material mattered in what
molded first and more. I wanted to know if a piece of bread or
a cracker would mold the fastest and the most. My hypothesis
stated that the piece of bread would mold fastest and first
because of it's texture and because it is much softer than a
cracker. Crackers are crunchy and I don't think crunchy things
would mold quite as fast as soft things.
II. Methodology:
I tested my hypothesis by putting a piece of bread and a cracker
into a small shoe box and I covered it with some plastic wrap
and taped it to the bottom of the box. I then put it into a
small and dark closet where it stayed for ten days. I checked
it every now and then and looked to see what had happened and if
any mold had appeared.
III. Analysis of Data:
When I checked the bread and cracker throughout the ten days I
found that neither one of them had any mold on them. The bread
appeared to be very hard and kept getting harder every day that
I continued to check it. The cracker, on the other hand,
appeared to be pretty much the same; nothing had really changed.
The bread or cracker were not very edible and would not taste
good if you took a bite out of one of them.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
Neither the bread or the cracker molded after the ten days. I
thought that the bread would mold in the first or the second
day. Neither one of them molded, so my first question can't be
answered. My hypothesis was rejected. Nothing molded. I think
that this happened because no air got to the bread or the
cracker and it might have something to do with being in the
dark.
V. Application:
I learned that things don't always mold in a short period of
time, but they do get hard. I also learned that if you have
some bread sitting out for a few days it probably won't mold,
but it will be a little hard and might not taste too great.
This information might even help you know if you should still
eat a piece of bread in a few days or if it is no good and
should be thrown out.
TITLE: Which Paper Airplane Design Will Fly the Best?
STUDENT RESEARCHER: Scott Schultz
SCHOOL ADDRESS: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, MI 48842
GRADE: 6
TEACHER: Barbara Lindquist, M. A.
I. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS
I wanted to find out more about how paper airplanes fly.
Specifically, I wanted to discover if my design would fly the
best. My hypothesis stated that my design would travel the
farthest.
II. METHODOLOGY
First, I gathered my materials. My materials were: paper,
pencil, poster board, book on paper airplanes, and a ruler.
Then I made airplanes. Then I threw each one and measured how
far they went.
III. ANALYSIS OF DATA
After my investigation, I found that I need a new design. My
graphs and charts show that winglets are the best. Therefore,
my hypothesis was rejected. My design traveled the shortest
distance.
IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In summary, I learned that I need a new design. If I did this
over, I would do the following things differently: make a new
design.
V. APPLICATION
What I learned can affect the world because it could help people
design airplanes that fly better.
Title: How Well Do Dogs Smell? Can Dogs Smell Better Than Me?
Student: Kris Kline
School: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, Michigan
Grade: 6
Teacher: Mrs. Lindquist
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to know more about a dogs ability to smell. My
hypothesis stated that a dog can smell better than me.
II. Methodology:
To test my dogs smelling ability, I put together a varying types
of sealed container of varying difficulty and timed how long it
took the dog to find dog treat. I used cheese treats for the
positive reward.
III. Analysis of Data:
For the containers I used 1) basket up side down, 2) cracker
box, 3) a lunch box, and 4) cardboard box.
1. First container was basket turn upside down with a treat.
It took Shadow 4 seconds to find the treat.
2. Second container was a cracker box with a cheese treat. It
took Shadow 15 seconds to find the treat.
3. Third containers was a playing card box. It took Shadow 6
seconds to find the treat.
I then test myself, being blind folded to see if I could find
the cheese with my noise.
1. First container was basket upside down with cheese treat. I
picked the wrong basket and it took me 60 seconds to make my
choice.
2. Second container was a cracker box with the cheese treat. I
picked right, it took me 70 seconds.
3. Third container was a playing card box with the cheese
treat. It took me 60 second to make my choice and I was wrong.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
Shadow had three right picks with an average of time of 7. 5
seconds each. I had one right pick with an average time of 63
seconds. My conclusion is that dogs seems to have a better
sense of smell.
V. Application:
I think this is why we see so many dog today working at airports
looking for drugs. We also see many dogs looking for lost
people because of their the sense of smell.
Title: Where Dust Collects Most In My House
Student Researcher: Josh Looman
School Address: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, MI 48842
Grade: 6
Teacher: Barbara Lindquist M. A.
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out where the most dust collects in my house.
My hypothesis stated that I thought my basement would collect
the most dust because of the furnace which circulates air from
all over the house. Some dust would be in that air.
II. Methodology:
The materials I used were: 3" by 5" index cards, Vaseline, and a
Popsicle stick. First, I took the index cards and put the
Vaseline on the Popsicle stick and then I spread the Vaseline on
the index cards. Then I put the cards in all thirteen rooms of
my house and let them set for a week in a half.
III. Analysis of Data.
My graph shows the rooms and how much dust was in that room. My
data showed that there was more dust in the basement like I
predicted.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
I found out that my basement collected the most dust because of
the air circulation. I accepted my hypothesis.
V. Application:
I learned that most basements have a lot of dust because of the
air circulation with the furnace. If you have allergy's and an
unfinished basement you should put a dust trap or two in your
basement. This would make the world better if you have
allergies.
Title: Which Cookie Sheet Bakes Cookies Fastest: Brick,
Aluminum, Or Stainless Steel?
Student Researcher: Marcy Herwaldt
School: Washington Woods Middle School
Holt, MI 48842
Grade: 6
Teacher: Barbara Lindquist
I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis:
I wanted to find out more about how cookies bake. I wanted to
see which cookie sheet would bake chocolate chip cookies the
quickest. My hypothesis stated that the cookies would bake
quickest on the stainless steel cookie sheet because that's the
kind my family uses mostly.
II. Methodology:
First, I came up with my question. Next, I got three cookie
sheets: a brick, a stainless steel, and an aluminum. Then I set
the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and mixed the dough. I put
three cookies on each of the trays and put them in the oven. I
set the timer for ten minutes per tray and timed every extra
minute after that they took to bake.
III. Analysis of Data:
When I baked the cookies I found that the aluminum tray baked
quickest. The cookies on that tray took nine minutes to bake.
On the stainless steel tray the cookies took eleven minutes to
bake. The cookies on the brick took the longest amount of time
to bake. It took them fifteen minutes.
IV. Summary and Conclusion:
I found that cookies baked on the aluminum tray baked faster
than the cookies baked on the stainless steel tray or the brick.
At first, I thought that the cookies would bake quickest on the
stainless steel tray. Now, after conducting this experiment I
found my hypothesis to be incorrect and actually they bake
fastest on the aluminum tray.
V. Application:
I think that you can learn from my experiment. I think it
proves that you need to try new things. It shows that you're
not always correct and need to try different things to find an
answer.