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Hypothesis: Kids will learn, have fun

Conclusion: Yep, that's what happens when science projects use lava lamp goo, mold and other cool materials.

By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
Published December 14, 2006

LECANTO

Eggs were hot this year at the Pope John Paul II Catholic School science fair, but there were plenty of other projects to round out the experimentation as students competed Dec. 7 for a chance to go to the Citrus District Science and Engineering Fair.

The middle school students tackled questions in engineering, behavioral sciences and life sciences.

Alexander Talaroc was wondering, "What mixture makes the best lava lamp?" Was it a 90 percent isopropyl alcohol mixture or a 70 percent isopropyl mix? He thought is would be the 90 percent one, but found out it was the 70 percent one. Apparently the lighter mixture helps disperse the color better.

It's okay if an experiment shows an hypothesis is incorrect. That's the idea of a science fair project, to test. Brian Clark thought ants would more attracted to rice. He found out they prefer meat.

Sometimes the young scientists find out something completely unexpected. Krista Serocki was looking for mold on bread. She hypothesized that a store brand would be the first to begin to mold. Instead she learned that resealable plastic sandwich bags could keep bread mold-free for at least a week after its expiration date.

Thomas Slaymaker had results that he simply couldn't explain without further testing. He popped corn kernels that had been put into brown paper bags and had been refrigerated for a week, kept at room temperature with the bag open for a week or in a closed bag for a week. A fourth bag didn't sit around for a week, but had popcorn transferred into it and was popped immediately.

All four bags were popped at once. The cold popcorn popped very poorly. The open and closed room temperature ones popped similarly. The fresh kernels popped poorly. That was the puzzlement.

Morgan Turner tested sound on wine glasses. She used various frequencies of sound focused into a speaker box where a glass was suspended. She repeated the process, measuring the reactions of four glasses of different shapes.

In a team effort, Patrick Dumon and Paolo Ilagan tested different liquids on plant growth. They do not recommend Dr Pepper or milk. Milk seemed to be worse than the soda. "Milk also kills the plant, but it will also make it smell," they wrote.

Sequoia Doetch was wondering if boys or girls have better senses of smell. She tested that hypothesis with scented oil, recording the time it took for the test subjects to detect it. Sequoia thought the girls would smell it first and her research validated that.

Middle school science teacher Liz Parrow has been overseeing her students' work.

"The science fair is a very good learning tool because it embodies deadlines, application of findings, use of computers for graphing and research and a final product that the students can be proud of," she said.

The egg projects included one by Austin Porambo, who was testing pressure on raw vs. cooked eggs. One might think a raw egg would break under pressure more easily than a cooked one, but Austin determined the opposite. He wrote that the cooking might have "compromised the integrity of the shell." Another answer he suggested was possible increased pressure on the shell from within from the more rigid cooked egg.

Frankie Vascimini wondered whether an egg could withstand a greater pressure from a vertical or horizontal position. His testing indicated that an egg is stronger on end.

Heather Mandala and Samantha Powers examined eggs' behavior in liquids in separate experiments. Heather tested egg flotation in salt water, focusing on salt concentration. Samantha tested eggs in salt and fresh water, vinegar and sugar water.

As for the unusual interest in eggs this year, Parrow said: "It has nothing to do with science class. We have not talked about eggs in class."

[Last modified December 14, 2006, 06:30:55]