Hundreds of students and faculty turned out at Lindsay Place High School in Pointe Claire last Tuesday for the school's annual science and fair, where some pretty serious questions were asked – and answered.
For instance, which paper towel really picks up the most water, as Grade 8 student James Bolusi, who was inspired to come up with the project after a water spill at home? Do video games have an effect on a person's mood? Does added flexibility in a hockey stick increase speed and accuracy?
The answers: Bounty, according to Bolusi's results, yes, and yes. In all, 297 projects were displayed.
Other interesting projects on display included Grade 11 students Alanah Cormier and Bryanna Pilkington's project on unscrambling words, and how the ability to do so is influenced by an individual's age and gender and displays looking into the actual effects of rehydrating sports drinks, testing bulletproof helmets, the contagiousness of a smile, the differences between bottled and tap water and a display comparing how quickly a hamster and a mouse learn.
LPHS science teacher Science teacher Anita Boray said the way some of the science projects can relate to daily life experiences help show them science's daily, real-world applications.
“It’s good when they make the connection between science and everyday life,” she said.
Lac St. Louis MP Francis Scarpaleggia was on hand as a judge, and said it was inspiring to see the passion Lindsay Place students had put into the project.
“The students were so proud of their efforts…and many explored subjects with day-to-day applications,” he said.
Lindsay Place science department head Sharon Lamb said nine of the projects will advance to a regional science fair next month at Vanier College.
Winners, by grade level, were:
Grade7:
Elizabeth Yasa and Veronica Jaramillo; Blood Pressure Lie Detector
Emma Elbaz, Belinda Chung and Alina Traa; Electricity with lemons, oranges and limes.
Jana Buckiewicz Sarwer, Kathryne Mazzarelli, Ashley Murphy; The effect of water temperatures on glowsticks.
Grade 8:
Brendan Marks and Corey Faier for "He Shoots, He Scores! How does the flex of a hockey stick affect the shot?"
Amanda Newman, Emily Bensimon; Does the type of liquid affect a plant’s growth?
Sarah Blincoe; Music and Memory
Anna Neelin, Amanda Blanchard, Erinn Larson; Running with music
Grade 9:
Liam Carr Difference in power in coils, and Gautam Mohanial Electronic: the effect of radiation on plant growth, tied for first.
Adrienne Digo, Brittany Marolly; I see the light? Measuring energy
Jamie Halperin: Listen to your heart: constructing a model stethoscope
Grade 10:
Rohini Mohanial; Think before you drink and Salena Wiener; Concentration or Voltage; a project on electrolysis, tied for first.
Dahlia Orzari; Sugar crystals: changing the temperature and growth
Courteney Allan, Meaghan McGovern; Death rays - exposing e coli to UV rays.
Grade 11:
Thomas Rich, Lorn Williams; Chemiluminescence – the chemistry behind glow-in-the-dark objects
Bryanna Pilkington, Alanah Cormier; Word Jumble Jungle – does gender and age affect the reading of flashcards?
Rachel Sweeney, Samantha Campbell; Catapults and mass – how far will it go?
