10th Grade MST Research Topic Survey 2018

Information is organized by Title, then Question, Methods, Followed by Why this should be investigated

Please rate these ideas on the following interest scale.
4=Gotta Have It, I am motivated by this topic and can see myself as a leader in efforts to make this project a success
3=Love It, I am motivated by this topic and can commit serious time and effort to the development and implementation of this project idea
2=Like It, I am interested in this topic but am unsure on what role I would play in the development and implementation of this project idea at this point
1=Every cell in my body is saying no to this project

Tools

Name:

3D-Printing a Robotic Hand
I want to design and build a 3D-printed robotic hand that has a realistic range of motion. Maybe later, if it could improve it, I might integrate some sort of machine learning into it.
"I aim to design and engineer a robotic hand. First, I'll need to design it, decide what I'll be using to control it, what range of motion I want, etc. Then I'll CAD it, 3D-print it, assemble it, and improve it. I hope that most of the work that I put into this will be software-based because I find that more interesting.
This is a engineering/design project" Prosthetics are important to many people because they are integrated into a person's life and body, and having a prosthetic that is as realistic as possible improves amputee's quality of life.

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An inexpensive solution to Simultanious localization and mapping (SLAM) using LiDAR technologies.
How can we create an efficient, comprehensive, and precise LiDAR mapping system?
We will conduct our research using rendering software to generate point clouds. We will be testing the accuracy of the technology as well as comparing it to more expensive LiDAR solutions.
This topic is relevant because the LiDAR industry has been dominated by extremely expensive solutions, as well as the fact that LiDAR had a variety of applications in monitoring environmental health.

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Aquaponics: The Future of Agriculture Design project-
Can we build an effective aquaponics system?
"1. Build aquaponics system using shelving units
2. Place two grow beds on each of the 3 shelves
3. Connect pipes through holes on bottom of each one as well on the side
4. Place 40 gallon fish tank under shelves which holds 5-10 tilpia
5. Place a pump in the tank connected to a long pvc pipe that goes to top of shelving unit
6. Have ends at top split one going to grow beds and other going into nitrate reactor which goes back to tank
7. Put 4 different plants in the 6 grow beds
8. Run the system"

Aquaponics is a revolutionary method of agriculture which is exteremely necessary for the future. With increased urbanizarion, the number of rural lands is decreasing meaning more city buildings. Aquaponics does not require horizontal space because it uses vertically farming, meaning that the system will be able to grow up rather than out which will be necessary for urbanized areas in the future.

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Bioremdiation Method for Invasie Aquatic Plants
Can we devise a bioremediation method and/or a filter to remove invasive aquatic plants in the natural habitats?

"The independent variable is the method/ design used to kill the survival of plants
The dependent variable is the effects of the method/filter on the survival of aquatic plants. Some controlled variables are, water temperature, amount of water, number of fish species, size of tank (length, width, depth), amount of food fed to fish, and amount of light. To test, we will design a method and place into enclosure for 4 weeks. We will take quantitative and qualitative data before and after place. Then revise and edit."

This question should be investigated because many invasive plants and algae cover the surface of lakes and ponds, jeopardizing the survival of other aquatic life. The amount of light reaching the water is decrease as well as the plants taking up space and uprooting the sea floor, leaving the native species to fend for themselves.

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Building Better Windmills: Creating self-adjusting wind turbines to maximize energy
How can we make a wind turbine that uses the wind to turn itself in the optimal direction for harnessing the energy?
I plan on making a small scale model out of the pvc pipe, using a bearing at the base of the main shaft to allow rotation. The sail material will be used for the transferring of the wind's kinetic energy into rotational kinetic energy for the turbine.

The world needs more efficient sustainable badly. If this design is successful, then wind turbines could be adjusted to the optimal direction with no additional energy or labor input

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Creating Sustainable Fuel with Algae Biodiesel

How can you increase lipid production of algae to increase the conversion rate to biodiesel?

"First, I will grow microalgae in multiple different environments. (independent variable)
-light intensity (high, medium, low)
-temperature
-carbon dioxide
Then, I will harvest the algae after the same number of days and convert it to biodiesel by....
1)separating oil from algae (accelerated solvent extraction at lab or blender)
-The amount of oil separated will be recorded in data table
2) Transesterification (potassium hydroxide and rubbing alcohol)
Finally, I will put a candle wick in the different biodiesel made earlier and regular diesel (control) and record the time until it burns out."

In a society that is exponentially increasing, a clean sustainable energy source become necessary. Exploitation of natural resources and pollution from fossil fuels has created a large strain on our environment. Algae is an inexpensive renewable source that photosynthesizes and can be converted to biodiesel. However, the main issue with algae biodiesel is that it is extremely expensive and the sustainability of it as an energy source is yet to be determined. Therefore, as my sophomore year magnet project, I would like to research how to increase the productivity of converting algae to biodiesel.

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Designing a device that detects when you're asleep and triggers a set of events (work in progress)

Can we build a device that detects when someone is asleep and integrates with smart home technology?

The inspiration for this project actually comes from a youtube video I watched. The video was a joke/useless robot video about a device that detected when you were beginning to fall asleep, and squirted energy drink in your mouth. Pretty useless, right? Well the basis of it, facial feature recognition software, has a lot of uses, and with some changes to a semi-open source code we could create software that detects if someone is asleep, and from there it's a simple (well, probably not simple) job of integrating it with a personal assistant such as google assistant or amazon alexa, which already interface with smart home devices, allowing it to do things like lock doors or close blinds or turn off lights automatically (provided you have smart home accessories). Since this is an design challenge type project, there aren't necessarily variables we can control, and our only response is if it works or not (unless we can track accuracy) In all honesty, I'm not sure it should be investigated, at least as a magnet project. After last year I've learned that the magnet project works best as an experimental design rather than design challenge, so I'm not sure how well this project would work. I would love to tackle this project sometime, but I'm not sure magnet project is the right way to do it.

It's a relevant topic, involving AI, smart home, and personal assistant technology, which are all hot topics right now, but like I previously stated I'm not sure the format of magnet project would be the best way to go about this challenge.

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Designing an energy efficient aquaponics system

What is the minimum number of watts that we can run our aquaponics system (design from semester of last year) off of?
measure water parameters of ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, water temperature, pH, power draw from outlet, pictures of growbeds, plant heights, daily modifications/notes

so aquaponics can be more easily implemented in urban and low electricity settings

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Fear of failure in athletes
How does the fear of failure affect athlete's mental state?

"Independent variable: Whether or not they have a fear of failure
Dependent variable: amount of athletes that feel shameful, burnt out, or quit after failing
Controlled variables: same test that the athletes go through"

This question will help better understand how a mind set that is scared of failure, affects their life and progress.

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Ecotile: Using Ultraviolet Activated Biodynamic Tiles to Combat Smog
Can we create a titanium dioxide tile that can reduce air pollutants?

To test the efficiency of biodynamic tile in reducing smog you would first need to get clay. Add water to the clay so it is soft and malleable. Add varying amounts of titanium dioxide to the clay samples. Fire samples in a kiln to dry out the samples. Develop a testing device that allows the tiles to be exposed to smog pollutants and sunlight for a long period of time. After they have been exposed to the pollutants measure the byproduct residue left on the tile (inert salts) to determine salinity. Analyze the results to find what concentration of titanium dioxide is most effective. Some variables to keep controlled is a controlled clay tile without titanium dioxide, same amount of time exposed to pollutants, same of day/sunlight intensity, same clay in the tiles, and temperature of the tile surface.

Currently, in places all over the world we have had increasing amount of pollutants in our air. These pollutants are brought about by increasing burning of hydrocarbons such as car gas, coal combustion, and factory emissions. To combat this problem we need easy and effective solutions such as biodynamic tiles to reduce some of these air pollutants.

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Finding a more Efficient, Eco-friendly Biodiesel

How can I create a form of diesel that is cost efficient, and is ecofriendly using unleaded gas and a variety of organic materials.

"Independant Variable: Which type of oil seed, or algae is used in creating the biodiesel.
Dependant Variable: How clean, cheap, and efficient the resulting biodiesel is.
Controlled Variables: Method of extracting oil, engine the fuel is tested in
1. Determine which oil seeds and algae needed for the diesel will be the most effective (have the highest lipid content)
2. Harvest algae, and obtain oil seeds and extraxt oil from the algae, and add the oil seed oil to regular unleaded gas.
3. Determine which biodiesel mixture was the most cost efficient, most environmentally friendly, which was the cheapest.
4. Try to create a mixture of the most effiecient biodiesels that will be the most environmentally friendly, and effective in terms of energy content.
5. Possibly test out the biodiesel on an engine capable of running on diesel (If I can get one)"

The current form of diesel that is commonly used is extremely polluting although it is energy rich. Biodiesel is similar in its energy content to diesel, except that it's energy content is slightly less. This difference is too small for many diesel engine users to notice. Other benefits of biodiesel are that it is faily cost effective, all of the gasses created in its burning are usable, and it is more environmentally friendly.

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Full Body Suit

How can we make an effective full body suit that can protect from black mold and asbestos?

Our personal additives to the full body suit will be what we will change and we will measure the airborne something that enters the suit after a certain and consistent amount of time. I found out about this idea from Alexis Williams today. It is not a fully developed idea but she knows someone who is dealing with this issue in a museum. The museum caught fire and now they need to get the artifacts out of it. However, they are unsure of how to do this exactly as there is black mold and asbestos inside the building now.

This idea is not fully developed, but we are hoping to have a more solid idea of how we will test it by the end of the week.

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Low Energy Aquaponics

Can we build a aquaponics system which uses very little electricity.

We would use PVC pipe, bins for grow beds, a shelving thing for the support system, gravel for the plants, and lights pumps and other items from last years aquaponics system.

Because of the population growth, it is becoming more important to have sustainable food sources so not to ruin our environment.

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Our Belief in Placebo

What effects will knowledge of placebos have on test results when a placebo bracelet is worn?

Give everyone one pre-test. Split people into 4 groups, one with no placebo explanation or knowledge that the bracelet is a placebo, one where an explanation of what the bracelet should do is given, one with knowledge that the bracelet is a placebo, and one with an explanation of placebo, and then test again with a similar test.

It would be interesting to see how placebo influences peoples' test scores and their perception of test scores when given a placebo that is supposed to help them better their test scores. It shows how strongly the human brain can latch on to things that aren't true.

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Protecting Workers from asbestos

How can we recover artifacts from a burned down museum without exposing the workers to asbestos and black mold in the building?

For at least the first semester, this project would be mostly a design project. We would need to design a method of protecting the workers from the asbestos, possibly multiple different ways. If we did multiple, we could then compare their effectiveness side by side. Obviously we could not use asbestos to test, so we would need to find another way to test our prototypes, which would be something I would need to talk to my friends dad, the mentor, about to see what his ideas are. In this situation the independent variable would be which method of protection we are using, and the dependent would be the effectiveness of the protection.

This is a real situation in aberdeen where a museum burned down recently. My friends dad, who is high up in an civil engineering company, has told me about the issues and invited me to help by doing this project. These artifacts that are in the museum need to be recovered if at all possible, but we cannot send anyone in there until we have a way to protect them. This solution could also apply to other situations. Asbestos exposure can be very dangerous, so finding a way to protect people could be very important in a variety of situations, making things possible that weren't before.

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The Effect of Different Pharmaceuticals on E Coli Bacteria's livability in certain temperatures

If E Coli Bacteria is currently in a high temperature, then it will resist the pharmaceutical better, because bacteria has evolved to resist heat

Put a set amount of e coli bacteria in each of (a number) petri dishes, and then put a different type of drug that's supposed to kill e coli in each petri dish, leaving one as a control. Continue to do different trials for this in different temperatures. The independent variable is the temperature that the petri dishes are in. The dependent variable is which drug kills the e coli the quickest. The controlled variables are the # of e coli in each petri dish, the size of each petri dish, the amount of drugs in each petri dish, and the amount of light exposed to each petri dish.

This could help speed up the effectiveness of certain drugs that are used to kill e coli bacteria, and could even weed out useless drugs in certain temperatures.

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The effect of seagrass on shellfish

What is the effect of seagrass on shellfish?

"Independent variable, whether or not the tank has seagrass
Dependent variable, health of the shrimp
Controlled variables, same size of tank, same amount of salt, same type/amount of sand, same initial number of shrimp"

This question is important because its results could show that seagrass can help to create a stable environment by filtering the water and creating a "bubble" of safe water around it. Due to climate change the oceans' waters are getting more acidic, and seagrass is one way to attempt to combat it.

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The Effects of Simulated Gravity on Small Organisms

Will a given small organism (bacteria,plant, insect etc) have adverse reactions (such as cartilage development and stunted growth) to simulated gravity?

We would start with 6 mint seedlings. We then remove 3 seedlings. They will be the control, they will be raised in normal growth conditions. The three remaining will be subject to grow in a simulated gravity. This will be attained by centrifugal force of a spinning motor. The motor will be attached (soldering) to three metal pipes. The pipes will then be connected to either a tire fitted around the pipes (hot glue) or will be created like an immovable swing. The terrarium will be attached to the immovable swing set, but if we decide to go for the entire circular path then the terrarium will not be needed. We will place fertile soil into the terrarium, or the exposed tire, and place the seedlings into the soil. Water will be added to start the process of germination. We will then turn on the lamps and point them at the motor so that all parts of the soil is illuminated at all times. We then would start the motor and the simulated gravity would begin. Each day we measure the heights of the plants in the control and the plants growing in simulated gravity.

Astronauts in space will benefit to centrifugal force as it rids the need of special pants to control blood pressure and rids the need of exercising for 2-3 hours, which wastes valuable time and energy. It also allows for people to not feel queasy and light-headed in space, which could impair the health. Gravity is also required for normal human growth, without gravity, you will be born with defects. This adds the possibility for deep space travel, so that children born in space are not affected by zero gravity.

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The Efficient Approach to Transistors with Graphene

Current transistors could potentially more efficient in electrical usage, so the possiblity of a more efficient transistor using graphene could save money.

First, I would test the efficiency of a high quality transistor by using a multimeter. This base efficiency will be a constant. Next, I would design a transistor based off an existing patent for a transistor. I have no idea what the would be right now, but the key component would be graphene. Once this new transistor is made, I would test its efficiency and record data. Independent: Type of transistor. Dependent: Efficiency output. Controls: Multimeter, same format of transistor (PNP vs. NPN), and type of wire in both transistors.

This question is important to answer because we could be using more efficient transistors, which have the potential to save money from energy bills.

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Using Bacteriophage T4r to kill Escherichia coli bacteria

Can the Bacteriophage T4r kill E. coli colonies?

Grow the E. coli using the soy agar and store them in the incubator in six separate Petri dishes . As a independent variable, I would place the bacteriophage T4r in three of the Petri dishes. For the dependent variable, I would count the number of colonies in each Petri dishes (I'm not exactly sure how to do it). Controlled variables would include temperature of the incubator, mass(or number of colonies) of E. coli starting in each Petri dish, mass(or number of colonies) of bacteria T4r placed in the Petri dishes, etc.

This is the alternative to the current antibiotics that are being used. The antibiotics that we use form superbugs that make it less effective and more costly to use antibiotics.

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Using CloudKit to help students collaboratively organize assignments

Problem: It is time consuming, stressful, and difficult to keep track of all assignments/due dates for 6+ classes.

I will use the engineering design process - designing a prototype, building it, fixing all the bugs, testing it, and then rewriting it to improve it. For now, I'm only going to focus on developing the app itself (as opposed to testing user experience). I'll just write the app feature by feature and bug by bug by bug by bug...

"My app could solve a problem that I have had - knowing exactly what is due tomorrow. Even though each teacher may have a system of informing students of homework, they are all in different places and not always up to date. Also, things change.

Right now I just ask my friends what homework there is or hope I can write everything down in class. However, this is time consuming and error-prone. Even group chats don't inform everybody, and important reminders get drowned out in a sea of useless texts.

With a Cloud-based app with all of your classes in it, other students can fill in what you forget, everybody is on the same page, and if one person remembers, everybody remembers."

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Using Mussels to Remove Pharmaceuticals from Water

How efficiently can Pgandon grandis freshwater mussels remove Atenolol (a common beta blocker) from water?

"In order to conduct my research, I will be placing Pgandon grandis freshwater mussels in water with and without Atenolol. In order to collect data, an ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) testing kit will be used to measure how efficiently the freshwater mussels are able to remove Atenolol from the water.
Independent variable: exposure to Atenolol in water.
Dependent variable: amount of Atenolol removed from water.
Controlled variables: Amount of time spent in the water, temperature of the water, type of mussel, size of mussel, lighting conditions, quality of water (not including the addition of Atenolol), living conditions of the mussels (prior to the experiment), and the amount and type of food fed to the mussels." As water treatment plants cannot efficiently remove pharmaceuticals from water sources, medications are slowly accumulating in the environment where they are negatively impacting wildlife and entering our drinking water. Although these medications have only been measured in minute quantities in water, filter feeders such mussels have been found accumulating pharmaceuticals within them.

By researching how efficiently mussels can remove Atenolol from water, we can estimate how much Atenolol is entering a body of water and deduce if it would be feasible to implement mussels/clams into water treatment facilities to act as a biological filter for Atenolol and other pharmaceuticals.

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Implementing mid-airfoil slats to prevent the stall of wings.

Can mid-wing slats increase the critical angle of attack of an airfoil.

We will be designing airfoils on an autocad software, fusion 360 and testing them in a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software. The airfoils will have different number of slats, size or slats, but all under the same base airfoil, the clark Y airfoil. We will be measuring all of the different aspects of the airfoils as the angle of attack increases with the CFD software. Many aircraft accidents are a result of a stall or loss of lift in a wing.

Adding slats in an airfoil may help stalls become harder to initiate and save lives by reducing crashes.

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How psychology affects sports

How does an athlete’s mental state affect their performance?

Assess various athletes on their mental state prior to a specific activity and record their overall performance afterward. The activity must be performed multiple times with a substantial time to recover so they can be assessed conclusively.

We need to know how psychology can help athletes perform better and increase performance

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Simultaneous Localization and Mapping with Multiple Autonomous Mediums

Can we build a robot or mechanical drone that can update and map 3d environments and localize themselves within the environments?

Look at Garethś Garethś (He couldn't remember the exact text he put in for each section, so just look at his for my project proposal)

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Producing Biofuel with algae or other plants

Can we create a biodiesel that is cheap, efficient, and more effective than other types of fuel?

"A recipe for fuel: take the carbohydrates like starch and cellulose that make up the majority of plants. Use enzymes to break them down into fructose, the sugar found in fruits and honey. Mix this fructose with salt water and hydrochloric acid. Add a solvent—in this case butanol also derived from plant matter—to protect the resulting hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from reacting with the water, then extract it".-David Biello

We need an eco-friendly biodiesel so we can reduce harmful emissions at a possibly cheaper rate.

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The effect of seagrass on shelfish

What is the effect of seagrass growing in an environment with shrimp effect the water quality and growth of shrimp?

If seagrass can improve some of the aspects of an ocean environment. set up a system that incorporates seagrass and shrimp so that one group of shrimp will be effected by the seagrass and one controlled. Then we will test the pH, oxygen levels, and growth of the shrimp in both groups. We will control the temperature, size of tanks, amount of shrimp per tank, amount of water, and salt levels in both groups.

Seagrass could be used as a possible bio filter to help maintain healthy ocean ecosystems and improve the health of organisms living in the ecosystem.

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Effect of MRJP proteins on sexual developement of Drosophila Melanogaster measured with bioluminescence imaging

How MRJP proteins affect the sexual development of fruit flies.

(proteins associated with queen selection in honey bee colonies. Have been shown to have a similar effect on fruit flies.) "5 cultures of fruit fly with bioluminescence gene.
Culture one is on diet of fruit.
Culture two is on diet of MRJP1.
Culture three is on diet of MRJP2.
Culture four is on diet of MRJP3.
Culture five is on diet of MRJP5.
Using CCD camera, the light given off in different parts of the body of the fly. This requires ATP, which would be more prevalent in areas of rapid growth.

I am interested in the effect on the growth of the sexual organ of the fruit flies." We don't know the exact function of MRJP proteins in the development of sexually mature bees (queens).

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Mrs. Roberts

Science Teacher

Camas High School

Camas, WA

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