Grade 8 scientists share their findings with the world

DOVER-FOXCROFT — For the last several months eighth-graders at SeDoMoCha Middle School have been developing projects, on their own or in pairs, for the annual science fair. On the evening of March 27 the students presented their findings to the public with their projects on display in the cafeteria.

“I made three different types of ramps to see how friction affects objects,” Logan Hinson said, standing next to his trio of connected ramps set up on a cafeteria table.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
PSI SEDOMOCHA — SeDoMoCha Middle School eighth-graders twin sisters Leah, left, and Olivia Hill looked at how PSI influenced soccer ball performance and distance for their project in the annual science fair at the Dover-Foxcroft school. The Hills and their classmates had their projects on display during the evening of March 27 and the sisters ended up coming in second at the competition.

Hinson said for his “Surface Comparison of Rolling Friction and Distance” project he used cardboard, wood and sandpaper on the ramp surfaces to see how each material worked in terms of speed and distance.

“I made a vibrating fork with the intent of making people eat slower,” Annie Raynes said. “I wanted to see if the fork worked out well and my hypothesis worked.”

Raynes said she taped a plastic fork to an electric toothbrush “to make it vibrate and it actually does work which is surprising.” She said five people attempted to eat a cup of rice with her vibrating fork and the device made them eat for an average of 75 seconds longer than if their utensil was not shaking in their hand.

“I found out it was a real thing you can buy online,” Raynes said about a discovery she made after coming up with her own idea.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
CRACKING DA VINCI’S BRIDGE CODE — Hal Porter, front, and Kash Preble earned People’s Choice honors at the annual grade 8 science fair at the SeDoMoCha School for their demonstration and manipulation of Da Vinci’s bridge. The two built several self-supporting sized bridges and tested how much weight each span could hold.

Twin sisters Leah and Olivia Hill looked at the influence of PSI on performance and distance. With a small soccer goal on display and two soccer balls each with a different amount of air inside, Leah Hill said she and her sister wondered if a flat ball would travel as far as if it were pumped up fully.

The Hills said they used experienced soccer players for their experiment and “they ran and kicked it for more momentum,” Leah Hill said. The greater PSI soccer ball traveled more than the other.

Tucker Mooers wondered if hot or cold water would boil faster, he said the answer may be obvious but he wanted to look at the question scientifically. “My hypothesis is cold would absorb heat faster,” he said.

Mooers heated four cups of water on top of a stove. His hot water cups reached the boiling point in 5 minutes, 57.22 seconds while the cold cups boiled in a time of 9 minutes, 10.64 seconds.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED RICE — Eighth-grader Annie Raynes assembled a vibrating fork for their science project, taping a utensil to an electric toothbrush to see if her invention would make test subjects take longer to eat a cup of rice and therefore eat slower.

Kash Preble and Hal Porter sat on their project set up in front of the stage, a Da Vinci bridge. Using plans from the true Renaissance man, the two made “a bridge that can stay up without any bolts or fasteners,” Preble said.

“We just used tension to hold it up and mainly friction,” Porter said.

“It only takes 5-10 minutes to put together if you know how to,” Preble said. He said he and Porter built three Da Vinci bridges of varying sizes, the large model was on display with ample room for the two to sit, and then wanted to see how much weight each structure could hold before breaking. They found that larger was not necessarily better in terms of load capacity.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
EAR SIZE AND TEMPERATURE INFLUENCE — Rachel Mullis, left, and Abrielle Kemp looked at the “Identification and Correlation Between Ear Size and Frequency” and “Temperature Influence on Crystallization and Mouth Feel of Maple Candy” for their respective grade 8 science fair projects.

As the students exhibited their projects for the public, a panel of judges walked around and those in attendance could make selections for the People’s Choice Award. This honor went to Preble and Porter for their demonstration and manipulation of Da Vinci’s bridge.
Honorable mention recognition was given to Cadence Herrick for a look at the growth comparison of plants when exposed to different electromagnetic frequencies.

Aaden Lane earned third-place honors for “Music & mind, how music affects.”

Leah and Olivia Hill’s project on PSI came in second.

Placing first at the 2019 SeDoMoCha science fair was Carter Pratt for an air pressure comparison of 3D printed compressed air engine.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
RAMPING UP THE DATA — Logan Hinson compared ramps with cardboard, wood and sandpaper surfaces to see how friction affects objects. For several months SeDoMoCha eighth-graders developed projects and they presented their findings to the public in the cafeteria March 27.