Seventh Grade Science Fair Projects With the Solar System

The dangling solar system on a string is done every year in every school.

The seventh grade science fair solar system project has come a long way since the foam balls on wire of years ago. Granted, that's a classic way to illustrate the solar system as a model, but these days, these models are sold in kits, which eliminates the skill required to put it together. There are plenty of other ways to explore the solar system in a seventh grade science fair project.

Measuring Diameter of Sun and Moon

Using simple geometry, you can determine the diameter of the sun and moon with a pinhole box and a ruler. Cut a square hole in the center of a cardboard box and tape a small piece of aluminum foil flat over this hole. Poke a small pinhole into the foil. Align the cardboard over a piece of paper or a window to a wall if the sun or moon is shining directly into the room. Measure the diameter of the image of the sun or moon and the distance from the pinhole to the image. Find the average distance between the sun or moon and the Earth. Use the geometric formula: diameter of sun divided by distance from sun to earth = diameter of image of sun or moon divided by distance from pinhole to image.

Counting Sunspots on Image of Sun

Make a pinhole box like the one described in the first project. Project the image of the sun onto a wall or piece of paper. Trace the image of the sun, including the sunspots, onto the paper. For the next 10 days or longer, repeat this onto a new piece of paper. In this way you will be able to keep track of the size, number and movements of sunspots. Make sure you repeat this experiment at the same time and in the same location each day. Your project can focus on the size or movements of the sunspots, or you can do further research into sunspot cycles.

Projects with Kuiper Belt

In 1992, a collection of orbiting rock and debris was discovered not far from Neptune, and scientists began calling this collection trans-Neptunian objects, and the region in which they are found the Kuiper Belt. These are the objects and icy rocks that scientists think cause most of the visible short-term comets in the solar system. The orbits of these objects is unstable, leading some to veer off into the center of the solar system when planets are aligned differently, disturbing the patterns of their orbits. You can track the location of the Kuiper Belt using Google Earth Sky and attempting to predict when the next comet will break away from the collection. While making a model of the Kuiper Belt is an option, it wouldn't be practical owing to the vast number of objects swirling about in its orbit.

Protecting Earth from Killer Comet

If an asteroid this size hit Earth, what would be the result?

Use clips from any recent movie about an asteroid or comet wiping out the population of the Earth as part of a presentation. Submit a problem: what can people on Earth do to prevent a real disaster like this one? To complete this project, you will have to study the makeup of comets and asteroids and determine what, if anything, can be done to destroy or divert one before it reaches Earth. How much force would be needed to destroy, how much force to divert? What weapon could be delivered remotely and have a chance at saving the planet? Would Hollywood-type solutions work? Answer why or why not.

References

• Julian Trubin: Science Fair Projects: Sun and Solar System
• Science Buddies: Astronomy Project Ideas
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Solar System -- Planets