PBL level II Topics
Topic
Description
How is my breathing
related to my pulse?
Have you ever raced after someone, trying to catch up? When you finally caught up, you may
have felt your heart pounding; and you were probably out of breath. In this investigation, you'll
use what you've learned about the circulatory and respiratory systems and the purpose of blood
to understand the connection between your breathing rate and how fast your heart may be
pounding.
A sunny bedside
Design a low-maintenance terrarium that can be placed on the bedside table of a patient in a
hospital.
Breaking it Down
Design and construct a compost chamber that quickly breaks down produce.
Catch the Light
Design and construct a phototrophic maze for a growing plant
Growth Chamber
Design and construct a plant growth chamber that allows observations of a plant’s response to
external and internal stimuli (how light, gravity, touch affects plants)
Robotic Arm
Design and build a robotic arm that can pick up objects.
Turn Up the Heat
Design a heat-resistant container to protect sensitive cargo from the extreme surface conditions
of the planet Venus.
Weatherproof Home
Design and build a model of a home for a specific ecoregion of Texas
Algae Fuel
This project measures the number of Calories in algae samples obtained from different
environments in order to compare the amount of oil present in each sample. The goal is to have
the student test a hypothesis about optimal conditions for producing algal oil.
Apple Allelopathy
Objective: Ethylene gas from apples can accelerate ripening processes. In this project, students
will discover which fruits and/or vegetables placed with apples will ripen prematurely.
Research Questions: What is allelopathy and ethylene gas? Which fruits and vegetables ripened
prematurely? Which fruits and vegetables did not ripen prematurely? What are some advantages
in speeding-up the ripening process? Why shouldn’t unripe fruit be stored together with ripe
fruit?
Can Music Give you
Energy?
How do Culverts Affect
Plant Growth in Streams?
Objective: This project explores whether music can influence physical capabilities.
Research Questions: Can music make you run longer? Can music make you run faster? What
types of music affect physical capabilitiy in what ways?
Objective: Culverts transport seeds away from their original location to different places. This
science project involves examining the effect of culverts on plant growth in streams.
Research Question: What is a culvert? What factors affect seed distribution in streams and rivers?
How Does Noise affect
Coordination?
Objective: This experiment will evaluate if a noisy environment makes it harder for test subjects to
perform tasks that require hand-eye coordination.
Research Question: Does noise affect coordination? A noisy environment may make it harder for
people to concentrate on tasks that require hand-eye coordination. This experiment will evaluate
this premise by investigating whether test subjects’ coordination is disrupted in a loud
environment
Is it Better to Eat a Large
meal Before or After a
test?
Is mental performance best before or after eating a large meal?
Objective: Allelopathic substances work like herbicides, preventing the germination and growth of
the seedlings of competing plant species. The research aspect of this science fair project is to
compare the natural allelopathic chemical produced by the Black Walnut tree to that of a
commercial herbicide in stopping the growth of a shrub.
Natural Herbicide vs
Commercial Herbicide?
Research Questions: What is allelopathy and juglone? How will the honeysuckle shrub be
affected by the application of juglone solution compared to that of a commercial herbicide? How
long will it take for a shrub sprayed with juglone solution to die? How long will it take for a shrub
sprayed with a commercial herbicide to die? Which plant died first? Based on the experimental
results should juglone be considered as a natural herbicide?
Objective: This experiment will evaluate whether a person’s eye color affects their ability to
identify colors in low light.
Testing Relationships
Between Eye Color and
Sight
The Effect of Caffeine on
Plant Growth
Research Question: Does eye color affect a person’s ability to identify colors in low light? Does
eye color affect our ability to see things? This experiment will explore this question by comparing
how well people with light eye color and dark eye color can differentiate colors in a dimly lit
room.
To explore the effect of caffeine on plant growth, I planted, germinated, and grew mung beans. I
introduced caffeine into the soil of some plants and evaluated the effects of caffeine on the
experimental plants in comparison to the control plants that were not exposed to caffeine. Results
showed that caffeine help mung beans grow faster with soil sprinkled with caffeine.
Name: ______________________________ Section _____
Partner’s name:__________________________________ Section _________
Top 3 project choices (list your top choice first!)
1. ___________________________________________________________
2.___________________________________________________________
3.___________________________________________________________