Research questions

Project title: Polymer permeability: Which plastic wrap prevent oxidation best?

Permeability is how easily substances can pass through a material.

Oxidation is when oxygen reacts with another material.

What are the current research?

Why is it important?

What is the equipment required?

How do I carry out the experiment?

What do I have to research?

How do I ensure that the experiment is "fair".

Formulating Hypothesis

What: Polymer permeability: Which plastic wrap can prevent oxidation best.

Where: Morning.

Where: SST

Independent variable: Amount of time and amount of oxygen exposure.

Dependent variabele: Types of plastic covering.

Constant: Without plastic.

Hypothesis:

A more permeable plastic will be worse at preventing oxidation.

Color Profiles

Difficulty
Time Required	Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites	None
Material Availability	Specialty Item: Requires Adobe Photoshop or similar photo editing software
Cost	Very Low (under $20)
Safety	No issues

Abstract

Did you know that the same digital photo you see on a computer monitor may not look as good in print? When it comes to color profiles, there are a lot of options: RGB, CMYK, grayscale and indexed color! How do you choose the right color profile for the job?

Objective

In this experiment you will investigate how different color profiles combine colors to produce an image.

Credits

Sara Agee, Ph.D., Science Buddies

Hypothesis:

What: Color Profile
Where: At home, with a computer
When: Anytime
Dependent Variable: Quality of image
Independent Variable: The image
Constant: Computer monitor
Hypothesis: If the color profile of an image is in RGB, it will look nice in a computer monitor.

Research Questions

1, How do I set the color profile on the image?
2, What type of image should be used?
3. What kind of monitor should be used?
4. Which image-editing software is the best for this experiment?
5. Why does the image quality change with the color quality?
6. How do I choose the most suitable color profile for the image?

recommended project

Difficulty
Time Required	Short (2-5 days)

Abstract

There are three different kinds of polymers used for kitchen plastic wrap: polyethylene (e.g., Handiwrap or Glad Wrap), polyvinyl chloride (e.g., Reynold's Plastic Wrap) and polyvinylidene chloride (e.g., Saran Wrap, which is almost 90% polyvinylidene chloride). Which of these materials is least permeable to oxygen? When you slice an apple, the surface of the slice turns brown as the apple is oxidized. Can plastic wrap seal out oxygen and prevent the apple from browning? Which plastic wrap works best? Do background research on the different polymer types used for plastic wraps in order to develop a hypothesis. Use samples of each type of plastic wrap to cover 9 apple slices (3 slices for each wrap). Cut the wraps with a scissors so you don't stretch the material. Prepare your materials in advance so that you can wrap each slice right after it is cut, since oxidation starts immediately. Keep 3 slices unwrapped as controls for comparison. Compare the slices at regular intervals and note your results. You may want to take pictures to use for your display board. Do you think you would get the same results at a different temperature? How about if the slices were on saucers covered with plastic wrap? Does stretching the plastic make any difference? Can you think of other ways you might test oxygen permeability of plastic wraps? (Goodstein, 2004, 65–69)

My Project

Difficulty
Time Required	Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites	None
Material Availability	Specialty items required. You need to purchase a small solar panel.
Cost	Average ($50 - $100)
Safety	No issues

Abstract

Do you like getting something for nothing? Everybody likes getting things for free. How about getting energy and power for free? The Sun sends us free energy every second and all we have to do is collect it. Taking advantage of free energy can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, which are harmful to our environment. In this science fair project, you will work with a solar panel, which is a collector of free energy, and investigate how varying the angle of the solar panel, and thus the amount of light it absorbs, affects the solar panel's output power.
    
Objective
   
To investigate the effect of the angle of incident light on the output power of a solar panel and determine which angle of incidence produces the most output power.

  
           
Credits

Michelle Maranowski, PhD, Science Buddies
     
HYPOTHESIS
When the angle of the solar panel is tilted 80 degrees, it will absorb the greatest amount of solar energy.

Dependent Variable -> Amount of energy absorbed by solar panel.
Independent Variable -> Angle of Solar Panel
Constant -> Where the solar panel is placed, type and model of apparatus

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How do I ensure a fair test?
What are the real-life applications of the experiment?
What am I looking out for in the testing?