Physics · Fluid Mechanics
Build a hydraulic lift with syringes
Connect two syringes of different sizes and show how a small push lifts a large load.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
606 projects · 13 streams · every class
Physics projects 22
Physics projects you can measure: motion, light, sound, heat, electricity and magnetism. Each project gives the materials, the steps and the calculation behind the result.
22 Physics projects
We couldn't find an exact match. These are the closest 22, found by leaving out the time limit and the class.
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Physics · Optics
Measure the speed of light with a chocolate bar
Find the wavelength of microwaves from melt spots on chocolate, then calculate the speed of light.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Mechanics
Calibrate a spring and build a newton meter
Stretch a spring with known weights, plot the graph and turn it into a force meter you can use.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a pinhole camera and find its magnification
Make a box camera with no lens and show that image size depends on object and screen distance.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Waves
Measure the speed of sound with two phones
Use two phones with an acoustic stopwatch app to time a clap over a known distance.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Free
Physics · Current Electricity
Verify Ohm's law and find where it fails
Plot current against voltage for a resistor and a bulb and explain the difference.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Electromagnetism
Build a homopolar motor and measure what changes its speed
Make the simplest electric motor from a cell, a magnet and wire, then test how magnets change its speed.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Environmental Science
Build a solar oven and measure its efficiency
Make a box cooker from cardboard and foil and track how hot it gets compared with open air.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Oscillations
Find g with a simple pendulum and a phone
Time pendulums of different lengths and get the acceleration due to gravity from a straight-line graph.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a spectroscope from a CD and analyse light sources
Split light with a CD and compare the spectra of the Sun, LEDs, CFLs and flames.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Magnetism
Map the magnetic field of bar magnets with a phone
Use the phone's magnetometer to measure how field strength falls with distance from a magnet.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Music, Theatre and Writing
Study the physics of a musical instrument
Measure how the length of a string or the water level in a bottle changes the pitch.
- Easy
- 2–7 days
- Under 250
Physics · Dynamics
Test which shapes fall slowest: a parachute study
Make parachutes of different sizes and shapes and time their fall with the same load.
- Beginner
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Build a periscope and test the law of reflection
Make a periscope from card and two mirrors and show that both must sit at 45 degrees.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics + Environmental Science
Model the greenhouse effect in two bottles
Compare how fast air and carbon-dioxide-rich air warm under the same lamp.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Electrostatics
Build an electroscope and test charges
Make a foil-leaf electroscope in a jar and use it to compare charged objects.
- Beginner
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Waves
Build a ripple tank from a baking tray
Show reflection, diffraction and interference of water waves with a tray, a torch and a phone camera.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Mechanics
Investigate how temperature affects the bounce of a ball
Chill and warm identical balls and measure how bounce height changes with temperature.
- Easy
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Current Electricity
Build a simple circuit board game
Make a quiz board where a bulb lights when a question is matched to the right answer.
- Beginner
- 1 day
- Under 250
Physics · Optics
Show total internal reflection with a water stream
Trap a laser beam inside a curved stream of water, the way an optical fibre works.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Mechanics
Measure the coefficient of friction on an inclined plane
Find the angle at which a block just slides and compare friction for different surfaces.
- Easy
- 1–3 hours
- Under 250
Physics · Kinematics
Show that falling time does not depend on mass
Film objects of different mass falling together and compare their fall times frame by frame.
- Beginner
- Under 1 hour
- Free
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