Seventh-Grade Science Fair Project Ideas on Electricity
Seventh-grade science fair projects account for a large part of the science curriculum and student grades. As part of the science standards in most school counties, students are taught the basic principles of electricity, how it is generated, and its modern uses. Designing a science fair project around electricity allows students to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the principles they learn in class.
Other People Are Reading
-
Saltwater Battery
-
A saltwater battery is also referred to as an air battery. In this project, students will create electrical currents strong enough to illuminate a light bulb by utilizing electrolytes found in saltwater and oxygen. The concept uses oxidation to create a "slow burn" of metals to generate an electrical current. It only requires basic materials that you can find at a home improvement store or around the house. To do it, have students mount a light bulb holder onto a wooden base where they will connect insulated copper wire to the connectors. They should then run the wire to alligator clips, one of which is connected to a magnesium electrode and one that is connected to an iron electrode. Then, have them tape the clips to the rim of a ceramic coffee mug and add warm salt water. Increasing the salt content will increase the current strength.
Wooden Generator
-
Generators produce and distribute electricity. Having students create a small-scale generator demonstrates a solid understanding of how electricity is created using a small-scaled simulation. For this experiment, they will need a light bulb sitting in its mounting base with insulated copper wire attached to each electrode end. They should cut two balsa wood squares with 3.5-inch sides, and then cut a hole in the center of each that will fit a 3/8-inch wood dowel. Have them drill two holes in a 1-inch-long dowel; one hole should extend the length of the dowel and one should be in the center crossing the hole. Insert a 6-inch dowel into the center hole of each dowel going through the length of the 1-inch-long dowel. All the wood components need to be glued together with copper wire wrapped around the box leaving the center open so a loose dowel can be spun in the center to generate the current.
-
Fruit Battery
-
The fruit battery is a common electricity science project. In this project, chemical energy is converted to electrical energy to illuminate a light bulb. The concept of converting chemical energy into electrical energy is the same principle that modern-day batteries work on. Have students experiment with different fruits and vegetables to see which ones create the strongest charge. To do so, they will need to mount a light bulb onto a wooden base and run one end of the insulated copper wires to the light bulb electrodes, and the other ends to alligator clips attached to electrodes: one of copper and one of zinc. They insert the electrodes into opposite ends of the fruit and watch the bulb illuminated. More fruit or different fruit increases the voltage.
-
References
- Photo Credit electricity image by jeancliclac from Fotolia.com
