9th Grade Science Fair Projects

Ninth grade is the first year of high school, so freshmen might find themselves competing against older students in a science fair. Even so, they stand every bit as good a chance of excelling and winning. The key to success is choosing an interesting project that doesnt necessarily take a lot of time to complete. Gearing a Project to the 9th Grade Level Ninth graders have a lot going on, so its best to choose a project idea that can be developed and completed over the space of a few weeks or less. Since high school students are expected to be familiar with word processing programs and printers, the quality of the presentation is very important.  Are you making a poster? Be sure to make it as professional as possible. Also, remember that accurately citing sources is critical to any successful project. Be sure to cite any references used in developing your experiment. 9th Grade Science Fair Project Ideas Tooth whiteners: Find the shade of white that matches your teeth. Brush your teeth using a tooth whitening toothpaste or using a whitening gum. What color are your teeth now? To obtain additional data, have other family members test different products and monitor their results.Seed germination: Can you affect or improve the germination rate of seeds by pre-rinsing them in a chemical before planting them? (Examples of chemicals to try would include hydrogen peroxide solution, dilute hydrochloric acid solution, dilute isopropyl alcohol solution, and fruit juice. Some of these agents are thought to be able to loosen the seed coat surrounding the plant embryo.)Hair conditioner: Using a microscope, determine whether hair conditioner affects the condition of hair (either comparing brands or comparing with conditioner to without-conditioner). The goal is to get empirical data, such as a diameter measurement of each hair strand and the distance a strand can stretch before it breaks.Bread she lf-life: Whats the best way to store bread to keep it fresh the longest time?Optimizing appliance efficiency: What things can you do to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of your clothes dryer or water heater—or any device? For example, are there any actions you can take or changes you can make that will decrease the length of time it takes for your dryer to dry a load of towels?Music and memory: Does listening to music while you study affect your ability to memorize facts?Smoke and plant transpiration: Does the presence of smoke in the air affect plant transpiration?The impact of eye color on peripheral vision: Does eye color affect peripheral vision? Supposedly, people with darker eyes tend to have wider pupils for a given amount of light than people with light-colored irises. If you have a more open pupil, does it give you measurably better peripheral vision? Another idea to test would be to see if you have the same peripheral vision in bright light as compared with d im light.Acid snow? Most of us have heard about acid rain, but do you know the pH range of snow? If you live in an area with snow, test its pH. How does the pH of snow compare with the pH of rain from the same region?Soil erosion: What methods of preventing soil erosion work best? For example, what is effective at preventing erosion in your yard?Localized noise reduction: What can you do to reduce noise pollution in a room? What factors contribute to noise pollution inside a residence?Seed viability: Is there a test you can perform to predict whether or not a seed will germinate? What factors can you measure that might be used to construct a test?The effects of magnets on insects and brine shrimp: Does an external magnetic field have any noticeable effect on animals such as brine shrimp, cockroaches, or fruit flies? You could use a strip magnet and containers of sample organisms and make observations to address this question.How is phosphorescence affected by light? Is the brightnes s of glow-in-the-dark (phosphorescent) materials affected by the light source (spectrum) used to make them glow or only by the intensity (brightness) of the light? Does the light source affect the length of time a phosphorescent material will glow?How do preservatives impact Vitamin C? Can you affect Vitamin C (or another measurable vitamin) levels in juice (or another food) by adding a preservative to the juice?Insulation variables: What is the best thickness of insulation for preventing heat loss?How does energy input impact light bulb lifespan? Is light bulb lifespan affected by whether the bulb is run at full power? In other words, do dim bulbs last longer/shorter than bulbs run at their power rating?Speaker acoustics: What type of box material gives you the best sound for your speaker?How does temperature affect battery life? When comparing different brands of batteries: Is the brand that lasts the longest at a high temperature the same as that brand lasts the longest at a cold temperature?

Growing Health Epidemic Childhood Obesity - 1258 Words

Children in America are now facing a growing health epidemic: childhood obesity. As many as 1 out of 6 children are now considered obese, and the number is expected to grow. In fact, if current trends progress, the generation born after 2000 will be the first generation that will be unhealthier than their parents. Along with health risks, the cost of care for the increasing obesity cases is estimated to cost $78 billion in medical expenses (Spradlin 2015). With an increase of obesity and related illnesses, more research is being done to evaluate what is different about the new generation’s lifestyles that have caused such a negative effect on their health. While there is an emphasis being placed on home habits and nutrition, many health†¦show more content†¦This can encompass multiple factors, but the largest factor are a lack of exercise and poor nutrition. Children are now spending more time playing video games, and watching television, both of which drastically in crease their sedentary time. Their lack of exercise at home could also be from the fact that for many families, including low income families in poorer neighborhoods don’t have avvess to safe or desirable physical activity locations. In addition, children are also consuming more processed, saturated foods, which not only affects their weight, but also their healthy development. This is in part to families being unaware of the health risks, and because children are often more exposed to unhealthier foods through advertisements according to the CDC. It is well known that children are often do not have the ability to choose their diet, not do they have the knowledge to fully grasp the negative consequences of their sedentary lifestyle. With so many factors contributing to young student’s lifestyle, it is easy to understand how the childhood obesity crisis quickly came about. Unhealthy foods at school Meals at school make up a large portion of a child’s dietary intake, anywhere from one third to one half of their calorie intake happens at school according to Schanzenbach. Changes in school lunch have indeed changed over the years, but to what degree has it affected childrens health? In a study conducted by Schazenbach,

Time Traveling Art Historian Free Essays

Through my travels of time and space I’ve seen remarkable sights of the world that have made an impact on my many journeys through the centuries. One place I visited through my time travel was the Sistine Chapel and the exquisite works of art that are contained inside the building. The year is 1542, and I am exploring the town of Vatican City. We will write a custom essay sample on Time Traveling Art Historian or any similar topic only for you Order Now I see that the Sistine Chapel has just added the new artwork of The Last Judgment no more than two months ago. This was one of the artist most famous visual art pieces. The artist Michelangelo Buonarroti was charged in performing a duty by Pope Clement in 1534, to create a fresco that would cover the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It took Michelangelo four years to complete The Last Judgment, which was not until 1541. The artwork depicted the final judgment and the second coming of Christ. The style used in the painting reflects the Mannerist style. The painting lacked the sense of optimism and beauty that define Michelangelo’s work on the ceiling. His figures in the painting were no longer proportioned, but looked twisted and grotesque. The heads looked too small for the bodies Michelangelo had envisioned. As I scurried through the city streets of Venice City to see to the renowned piece of artwork, I can feel the excited just flowing through my body. When I finally gazed upon the beauty of the chapel, I was in awe by the magnificent work of the entire painting. The fresco appeared as the figures in the painting were in movement. The fascination with the immense blue sky and various colors that Michelangelo Buonarroti used like touches of reds and browns kept my eyes from focusing on one spot, but the entire painting. The Last Judgment was Michelangelo Buonarroti’s depiction was considered very controversial at this period in time because of his use of the naked body and the conservative society the artist lived in. Michelangelo was critiqued for integrating mythological creatures in the Biblical portrayal of his art. Even though, many individuals didn’t like the painting for various personal reasons, The Last Judgment soon became a masterpiece for the artist. Chapter Two: Egyptian Civilization The Great Temple of Aten After being in Italy for several days, I decided to taken in some of the beautiful and majestic architecture artwork in Egypt during the summer season in 1343 B. C. When I arrived in Egypt I made sure to get a guide to show me around the country. I traveled down the River Nile in a boat, taking in the scenery of the desert. For five days I traveled to Cairo, where my destination was to go to the city of el-Armarna. This is where the Great Temple of Aten is located. The city was a plain of desert land surrounded by many hills. Upon my arrival to the city, the boat docked by a platform on the east bank of the Nile River. Later I embarked on my journey of making my way towards the city of el-Armarna, Egypt. When I entered the city, I went looking for the Great Temple of Aten. I traveled north along Royal Road, in adjacent to the east bank of the river, which I road on a camel for several miles before arriving to the temple. When I came upon the Great Temple of Aten, I was surprised of how gorgeous the architectural structure was to me. The temple was for the worship of the god Aten during the reign of Akhenaten. It was dedicated for proper cult and worship of the sun-disk. With the association the city had with other gods, Akhenaten established a new city and capital at Amama (then called Akhetaten). Construction on the first architectural structure began in 1347 B. C. ; it was the chapel in the Great Temple. By 1343 B. C. the structure as completed and the temple was to be built. The temple has width of 300 yards and a length of 800 yards. Most of the temple was made of bricks because Akhenaten wanted to quicken the building process and using brick gave the workers more swiftness to finish the job. Timber was used in order to provide the architecture with support for the surroundings walls and towers. The temple also housed public building in the inside that was constructed out of stone, providing extra support. As I stepped through the entrance of the temple, I passed through a couple of towering pylons which I was led to a hallway lined with columns called the House of Rejoicing. As I kept walking, I came to a corridor known as the Gem-Aten. It didn’t have a roof, but only an opening that had shown the wide range of sky. The axis allows for the sun to be worshipped as it rises and sets everyday. The Gem-Aten consists of six courtyards. The first courtyard has a high alter containing small chapels. The second, third and fourth courts have rooms and altars for storing supplies; and for the usage for worship offerings. As I kept walking, I noticed that the fourth temple had chambers that were furnished for coverage in the shade. The last court is the High Alter where offering for Aten is done. The temple has a total of 365 altars. Each day of the solar year and the dividing of the altars on each side of the High Altar; it is representation of Upper and Lower Egypt. As I kept walking, I came upon the Sanctuary. This was the last structure of the temple that had statues of Akhenaten and his family. The entrance had an open courtyard that had three houses to lodge the priest who are on duty. With my mind still fascinated on the statues, I continued walk across the courtyard, I feel like I am seized by an army because they are various styles of statues of Akhenaten on both sides of me. This certain court that resembles the sixth court of Gem-Aten was utilized by the Royal family of Egypt. I decided it was time to go back to the main entrance of the temple, as I took on one more look around; I felt a greater respect for the architecture that has lasted through the centuries. It was wonderful to see firsthand the Egyptian cultures and how the society is devoted to their religion beliefs and culture. The temple is a reminder of a time Egyptian religion became monotheistic for a moment; and how the Atenism of religion has been viewed as an influence in creation of future monotheistic religions. While getting ready to transport myself to another place in time, I start to feel misery in knowing that every beautiful piece of architecture that I gazed upon will be back returned back into crumbling rubble, buried under the earth’s soil. In another perception, it’s good to know that the ruins will be rediscovered by future generations that will still be able to give distinct insight on the evolution of the Egyptian culture, civilization and architecture. Chapter Three: The Late Middle Ages Maesta Altarpiece On my last time traveling voyage, I decided to visit Siena, Italy for the unveiling of visual art of the Maesta Altarpiece in 1311. The creation is by artist, Duccio di Buoninsegnaa who was commissioned by the city to paint an altarpiece in the city of Siena’s cathedral. In 1314, the painting was completed. It was agony watching di Buoninsegnaa bond several panels of wood together so he could begin his creation. He had to paint the front and back of the panels with different types of paintings because the piece was to be located in the center of the cathedral where all the sides can be viewed. The altarpiece was painted using tempera and gold. Duccio possessed the confidence about his quality of work he created because of the medium that was chosen for the art project. Tempera is a medium used in paintings that is permanent, which dries quickly. It’s made by mixing a colored powder pigment and a water-soluble binding agent such as an egg yolk. Duccio used this technique to incorporate in his painting by using tempera and gliding produced colors, which was essential in preserving his masterpiece through time. While taking a long look throughout the cathedral, I think about how important the painting is to this era in time. I watched a parade of people making a pilgrimage to the cathedral through the city. It seems like a journey everyone was willing to take because of the religious significance it stands for. I decided to go out and follow the crowd, in which I observed that the procession of people consisted of priests and monks whom were praying, and then the citizens of Siena carried candles; followed by numerous other people. I noticed the journey was for the entire city to accompany the altarpiece to its final destination. It was an honor to be part of such a momentous and joyous event in history. Once the altarpiece made it to its destination, the procession showed an excitement that was overwhelming. The Maesta is then installed with the welcoming sound of bells coming from the cathedral. It was not too long before I was finally able to approach the altarpiece and examine the breathtaking art of Duccio Buoninsegnaa. On the front panel, the artist has managed to create a captivating painting that depicts the Mary (the Madonna) sitting on a throne cradling the baby Jesus in her arms. They are surrounded by saints and angels in colorful robes. While looking at the panels, I found myself studying the imagery of how real it seems. Even though it possess a new style of painting it has traditional aspects that Buoninsegnaa wanted to keep simple. It was a joy to experience the new style of painting created by Duccio Buoninsegnaa. He made his artwork look real with physique gestures. The painting is so captivating that I’m so sorry that I’m the only person that could time travel that could experience the artist masterpiece. It is wonderful to have a front row seat to something spectacular that the world won’t be able to recognize as a remarkable piece of art until centuries later. Though it took much time for the new style of Buoninsegnaa painting to evolve, it was good to know that it will be later embraced by the Italian Renaissance. My travels through the periods of history will always be an experience that I will treasure forever. The best thing about time traveling is that I can always go back in time and recreate any event in any period. Getting a firsthand lesson of the history of life-changing events is a gift within itself. I feel blessed and gifted to have traveled to these exotic cities and experience a beginning of history from the very start. I can’t wait to find out where my next adventure will take me. Until then, see you after my next big trip! How to cite Time Traveling Art Historian, Essays

Chinas Paper Queen free essay sample

Cheung Yan: China’s Paper Queen Case Discussion Questions: 1. What is strategic leadership? Strategic leadership is the use of strategy in the management of employees or workers. The main goal is to find methods to motivate workers to take interest and initiative in improving and increasing their productive contributions to the company in question. Strategic leadership is a model of management that trains workers to best prepare the company for what’s ahead. Awareness plays a major role in strategic leadership, and so strategic leaders are constantly looking towards the future and analyzing all possibilities in terms of preparation. Other features that these leaders must have are adaptability and growth-orientation; after all these are the individuals who must take responsibility for the actions of the workers with the final goals being to strive towards achieving the best possible results for the respective company. Productivity may be the main goal of strategic leadership, but it doesn’t mean that workers should be taken advantage of to achieve maximum productivity. Workers should be motivated instead, and an environment in which workers can anticipate the company’s needs in relation to their own jobs should be created. Quality is valued over quantity. Strategic management realizes that workers must be respected and motivated in ways that do not compromise their dignity, but at the same time try to increase productivity as much as possible. 2. What would constitute key strategic leadership actions? What are the key elements of a â€Å"Balanced Scorecard†? Strategic leadership involves managing through other, managing all the functions of a company, and also continuously coping and adapting to the demands and changes of an ever transforming market. Strategic leaders must know how to effectively influence human behavior, even in uncertain environments. Managing human capital is one of the most important factors of strategic leadership action; leaders must be able to establish the context in which not only workers but also all others associated with the company (customers, suppliers, etc) can perform at peak efficiency. Without competent leadership, a company can suffer the loss of morale, confidence and of course, productivity. A competent leader ensures effective and smooth running of a company’s operations and sustains the high performance of stakeholders over time; a competent leader must be able to achieve strategic ompetitiveness and earn above-average returns by responding appropriately and swiftly in uncertain conditions to the changes in a consistently transforming global market. A Balanced Scorecard gives managers and executives a more â€Å"balanced† view of organizational performance. Today, the balanced scorecard has evolved into a full strategic planning and management system from the earlier primitive pe rformance measurement system. This novel system is able to change a company’s strategic plan from a passive document into direct orders for the company on a daily basis. It is not only able to provide a measurement for performance and productivity, but also helps to identify what affairs should be executed and measured. A good balanced scorecard is clear-cut and doesn’t have ambiguous underpinnings like its forerunners; it enables companies to clarify their vision and strategy and transform them into action. It also offers opinion and feedback around both internal and external activities so as to consistently improve strategic performance and results. When a balanced scorecard is fully adopted by a company, it becomes the main controlling body of the company instead of just an advisory branch. . How has Cheung Yan seen such success as a strategic leader? What are the qualities she possesses? Cheung Yan has been described as being â€Å"driven and tough,† and having the ability to â€Å"get the best performance out of those who work for her†. When she left for the US in 1990, she could barely speak any English but her vision and d etermination overcame this challenge. She went to the US because she had begun to realize that the Hong Kong market was too limited for her plans. This demonstrated her risk taking skills within an entrepreneurial mindset; Nine Dragons after all is evidence of Cheung Yan’s innovative determinism. Cheung Yan dared to challenge existing market trends and under her leadership, Nine Dragons has become a huge, efficient and environmentally friendly paper company; exactly the opposite of most other paper industries in China. It has also only continued to specialize in paper products and the paper market unlike many other family-based Asian businesses. One important aspect of her leadership strategy is that she has been dedicated to her company taking the necessary steps to ensure staff satisfaction and loyalty. For example some measures include the provision of comfortable staff residences, prospects of ransfers and promotions in order to improve general staff development, a system of opinion feedback to improve communication between staff and managers in the company, and so on. Another aspect is that Cheung Yan has never had any clashes with the Chinese government. This is attributed to the fact that Nine Dragons was promoted and supported by the government because it was one of t he premier paper industries to develop in the country. Furthermore, Cheung Yan publicly supported government policy in 2007 which was targeted against monopolistic practices within the paper industry.