Science on display at Woodmere Middle School

Posted Thursday, January 12, 2012 12:44 pm

Using a hydrocar, where hydrogen is used to power the fuel cells, Levy Sominsky sought to discover if temperature affects hydrogen production. Sominsky who enjoys chemistry, found that the highest temperature he applied, 212°— the temperature of boiling water — produced the most hydrogen and powered the car. His research found that the hydrocar could be in existence in the next 20 to 30 years and could contribute to a greener plant.

Jeff Bessen/Herald

Many people drink coffee and Stephanie Bardavid, left, and Ariella Orta, right, wanted to learn if a cup of coffee affected people’s blood pressure. Using a man who is 65 and a woman who is 42, the pair found out that coffee, which contains caffeine, does affect blood pressure, but it depends on the individual person. The student scientists also learned how to take someone’s blood pressure and what the measurements mean.

Jeff Bessen/Herald

Her mother is a microbiologist and dad is a nurse, so what else could Chenab Khakh think about but bacteria? Khakh’s project looked to find out the effect of UV (ultraviolet) light on bacterial growth. Using intervals of one, two, three, five and 10 minutes, she discovered that the longer that UV light was shone on bacteria its growth was stunted. Where could her scientific studies lead her? Khakh is thinking of becoming a doctor.

Jeff Bessen/Herald

Amanda Shanab presented a project called “Whorls, Arches and Loops Oh My!” Shanab wanted to know which parent was more likely to the affect the fingerprints of their children. Originally, she thought the mother, but through her research Shanab found out it was the father. She also learned that no two people have identical fingerprints and Asians have whorls, European fingerprints are loops and African Americans have arches in their prints.

Jeff Bessen/Herald

JEFF BESSEN

The gymnasium at Woodmere Middle School was transformed into a scientific enclave as 157 eighth-grade students displayed and presented their projects at the science fair on Jan. 6.

After several months of research and experimentation the students created projects that reflected diverse interests and topics from looking at what effects a corked baseball bat has on hitting a baseball bat to comparing the differences between chemical and natural fertilizers.

Every project was produced either by an individual students or a team of two to four students. The information uncovered by the students was displayed on a tri-fold poster and many had active examples of the scientific principles they were reporting about.

“The overall idea was to follow the scientific method to understand how scientists use variables and controls,” said Ed Tronolone, the middle school’s Science chairman.

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Science on display at Woodmere Middle School

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