Investigatory Project Example

Cogon Grass Cardboard Food Packaging

The feasibility of cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) as a substitute for cardboard food packaging was studied in this research project. The cogon grass was cut, boiled, and crushed in order to get the pulp. The pulp was then subjected to five different treatments before it was made into a card board like material. The amount of resin and other additives was kept constant while the amount of starch was varied in every treatment. Treatment A served as the control and contained 12% water and 7.5% starch.

Basella Rubra Biological Stain

This research project is aimed at producing a natural stain for plant and animal tissues that is inexpensive and whose sources are indigenous and abundant. Biological stains make possible the viewing of microscopic plant and animal tissues under microscopes. When stained, the specimens are viewed clearer and they become more defined. Berries of Basella rubra (alugbati) were crushed using mortar and pestle. The crude extract obtained was filtered and used as a substitute for crystal violet as primary stain and for safranin as counterstain in the Gram staining of Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. The extract was also used for staining the apical meristem of Hydrilla verticillata and the leaf of Hibiscus rosasinensis (gumamela) using the squashes technique.

Wastepaper and Coir with Okra Mucilage

Presently, people everywhere are focusing on environmental concerns. As a result, there are movements toward recycling wastes and using natural substances. Recycled paper is one of the more popular forms, since it is possible to make by hand and utilizes a variety of materials. These have included okra mucilage and coconut fibers, things that are relatively cheap and abundant. However, such paper has not been qualitatively tested.

Spider Silk Textile Fiber

This research project is aimed at testing the possibility of using spiders as an alternative source of silk. The spiders used for this research are members of the species Nephila

clavipes collected at the picnic grove inside the grounds of the Philippine Science High School. The silk was manually collected from the insects body without harming it. The silk was then twisted and entwined with the others to produce the thread. The thread was tested and compared with commercial silk based on its textile properties, like breaking point and elongation limit. A survey was conducted to compare its luster, texture, color, and general acceptability with that of commercial silk.

Mollusk Shell-Based Adhesive as Mortar

The study aims to determine the feasibility of using mollusk shellbased adhesive as a substitute for mortar. The mollusk shell-based adhesive was made from combining powdered mollusk shells and tackifier in an elastomer and toluene mixture. Different adhesives were made using variated concentrations of the two tackifiers (sodium silicate and polyvinyl acetate) and two elastomers (neoprene WHV and neoprene AG). Randomly chosen samples from each combination were tested for shear strength at the Standards and Testing Division of the Department of Science and Technology (STD, ITDI, DOST Bicutan).

Make Electricity from fruits

Introduction: This project is one of the most famous electricity projects that can be performed successfully by most students in the age of 10 to 16. It helps students to learn about producing electrical energy using chemical energy. Since the same method is used to get energy from many fruits and chemicals, this project has many names. Following are some of the other names or titles for this project:

1. Fruit power or fruit battery 2. Convert Chemical energy to electrical energy 3. Potato battery or Lemon battery

Procedure: Making electricity from chemicals is based on the same scientific principles on which all modern batteries work. You insert copper and zinc electrodes in an acidic liquid and produce some electricity from the chemical reaction between your electrodes and electrolyte. The electricity produced in this way can be displayed with a multi-meter that can show millivolts. It may also be able to produce enough electricity to get light. If you want to run or light up a device you must consider the voltage and current requirements of that device. Picture in the right shows 3 potato batteries connected in series so together they will produce enough voltage to light up a super bright LED type light source. Making electricity experiment can be used for many different science projects. Following are some additional research that you can perform in relation to making electricity from fruits and chemicals. 4. Replace electrodes of your kit with other metals such as coins, nails to see which other metals can be used as electrodes. 5. Test to see if such electrodes can light up a bulb. 6. If you have access to a multi meter, check to see how many volts electricity is being produced by fruits.

1. Experiment to see which fruits can produce electricity.

2. Experiment to see which fruit juices can produce electricity 3. Experiment to see which other liquids such as detergents and drinks can produce electricity.

Material and equipment: Material and equipment that you need for this project are:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Copper Electrode Zinc Electrode Multi-meter capable of measuring low voltages Flashlight light bulb 1.2 Volts Screw Base or socket for light bulb Wires Alligator clips Board for mounting the base and the bulb (optional)

You can purchase the material locally from a hardware store or buy it online. Make electricity science kit of MiniScience.com contains all the above material Make electricity Kit: When your science project is making electricity, the biggest challenge is to see the product of small amount of electricity that you produce. Make electricity kit can make it easy for you to complete your project.

Make electricity science kit contains all material that you need in order to successfully experiment making electricity by a chemical reaction. Some chemicals are harmful and dangerous! Thats why we recommend you to use household chemicals such as acetic acid (Vinegar), baking soda, fruits and fruit juice. WARNING This kit contains small and sharp objects. Keep it out of reach of small children. Adult supervision is required. The purpose of this science kit is to simplify the process of finding and purchasing material that you need for your experiments.

Air Battery
Make a battery that works with air and saltwater
This science project experiment is a simplified version of the air battery project available at ScienceProject.com. Pictures and excerpts of information are published here with permission. Introduction: We all know that the world is now facing an energy crisis and everyone is trying to do something about that. Now you can show everyone that electrical energy or electricity can be made from air and saltwater. After all, both the air and the saltwater are freely available everywhere. These are the two things that we have plenty of them. This may seem impossible. I could not believe it myself the first time that I heard about it. It almost sounds like a magic trick. Finally, I decided to test it anyway. I tried different concentrations of salt water, different temperatures, and different electrodes and had no success. It took me a few months thinking about it until I solved the problem in my mind and decided to repeat my tests again. This time everything worked fine and I was able to make enough electricity to light up a small light bulb. The concept is easy. The same way that you burn wood and make heat energy, you should be able to burn metals and get electricity (or electrical energy). The difference is that you are not really burning any thing; instead, you are producing a condition for oxidization which by itself is the same as slow burning. So what you really do is oxidizing iron in saltwater using the oxygen from the air or any other source. (At least, thats my theory at this time) I dont know if this method of producing electricity is economical and cost effective. What I know is that it is worth to try. If with one cup of salt water and some metals I was able to light up a small light bulb, maybe you can light up the entire building by a tank of salt water and a few hundred pounds of scrap metal. No mater what is the results, I am proud that I can make an emergency battery for myself if I need it. It took me a long time to make the first working battery using the salt water; however, you dont have to waste that much time. I have combined the results of all my experiments and made a recipe for success. Just follow the instructions and you will get results in the first try. Actually there are many different combinations of many different materials that can produce some electricity. Experimenting with saltwater and air is suggested for the younger students because these are relatively safer material.

List of materials: This is the minimum list of material you need for your experiment.

1. Miniature light bulb (low voltage, low 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

current) Miniature base for light bulb Pair of insulated solid copper wire AWG=20 Pair of alligator clips Magnesium Electrodes Iron Electrodes A cup of saltwater (not in the picture) Screws for the miniature base.
Save time and money. Order a kit now.

Additional optional materials you may use:

1. 2. 3.

A wooden board to mount the miniature base (light holder) Plastic container about 4" x 4" x 4" Hydrogen Peroxide

What is a good title for my project? You can call it "Air battery", "Salt water battery", "electricity from air" or "electricity from the salt water". Procedure: Remove the plastic insulation of about one inch from both ends of the wires. Loosen the screw on both contacts of the bulb holder. Place one end of the red wire under one screw, make a loop and then tighten the screw. Place one end of the black wire under the other screw, make a loop and then tighten the screw. 3. Pass the open end of the red wire through the arm of the red alligator clip and secure it under the screw. 4. Pass the open end of the black wire through the arm of the black alligator clip and secure it under the screw. 5. Screw the light bulb on the miniature base. 6. Connect the red alligator clip to the iron electrode and secure it on one side of the plastic container or the cup. 7. Connect the black alligator clip to the magnesium electrode and secure it on the opposite side of the container. (You may need to hold them by hand or use a small tape to hold them in place on the side of the container. 8. In another pitcher, prepare some strong, warm salt water. Add enough salt so at the end some salt will be left at the bottom of the pitcher. 9. Transfer the salt water from the pitcher to the container. 10. At this time, if all the connections are secure and the electrodes are large enough, you should get a light.

1. 2.

How can I get more light?

1. Make sure your electrodes are not touching each

other.

2. Make sure there is nothing blocking the space 3. 4.

between the electrodes. Make sure that the alligator clips are not touching the salt water. Both electrodes must have the maximum possible surface contact with salt water.

The test tube electrodes (magnesium electrodes in test tubes) are formed like a spring. This provides the largest possible surface contact. For Iron electrode you may use steel wool. Steel wool has a very large surface contact. A steel screen may work as well. You may notice that you will get more light if you stir the solution or if you remove the iron electrode and insert it back again. Such actions provide oxygen to the surface of the iron. Note: Steel is about 98% iron.

The oxygen in the air may not be enough for your demonstration and you may get a dim light. In this case you may add some oxygen (in the form of hydrogen peroxide) to the salt water. That should immediately increase the light.

A cup is relatively small. If you have access to a larger container, you will get a better result. In a larger container, it is easier to secure the electrodes in two opposite sides so they will not touch each other.