Vermont State Science & Maths Fair 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006
The ACS Green Mountain Local Section supports the annual Vermont State Mathematics & Science Fair for seventh through twelfth grade students. We award prizes for the best chemistry entries.
The 2006 Science Fair Winners
Heidi
Kunkel, Northfield Middle/High School (teacher Daniel Ukolowicz)
"Ethanol and a possible alternative fuel source when tested in mixtures with gasoline"
We were particularly impressed with Heidi's creative use of a potato cannon to quantify power output from her fuel mixtures, and with her thoughtful data analysis and application of the scientific method. She carried out a literature search and found her results in good agreement with previously published data.
"Ethanol and a possible alternative fuel source when tested in mixtures with gasoline"
We were particularly impressed with Heidi's creative use of a potato cannon to quantify power output from her fuel mixtures, and with her thoughtful data analysis and application of the scientific method. She carried out a literature search and found her results in good agreement with previously published data.
Eric Sadler, South Burlington High School (teacher Curtis Belton)
"Simply Green"
Eric compared the "toxicity" of household cleaners used by people in his community with the Simply Green product. We were impressed by his research and background reading, and the knowledge he had gained about surfactants. We were also impressed by his data analysis and the care he took to isolate robust strains of bacteria from Lake Champlain water for testing purposes.
Jade Leven, Green Mountain Union High School (teacher Dr. Rice)
"Bubble of Shake: Cleaning Biodiesel"
Jade studied a problem of direct relevance in her community: the cleaning of biodiesel. She compared two methods: shaking the biodiesel with water, and bubbling water through the biodiesel. Her hypothesis (based on a good understanding of the physical processes involved) was that the bubble method would be superior. After careful analysis of her data (including development of a "clarity scale") she disproved her hypothesis and showed that both methods were equally effective.
Honorable Mentions:
The
following projects
caught the judges eye's are recieve an honorable
mention:
Emily Scherer "Apples to Apples" - for careful application of the scientific method and thoughtful control of variables in her experiment.
Steven Akiki, "Fuel Cells" - for careful design of his experiment, and honest analysis of limited data.
David Ribbans, "Does the types of acid affect the voltage of a wet cell" - for a very clear description of his project to the judges, and for his insight into the chemical basis of his results.
Emily Scherer "Apples to Apples" - for careful application of the scientific method and thoughtful control of variables in her experiment.
Steven Akiki, "Fuel Cells" - for careful design of his experiment, and honest analysis of limited data.
David Ribbans, "Does the types of acid affect the voltage of a wet cell" - for a very clear description of his project to the judges, and for his insight into the chemical basis of his results.
2005 Award Winners:
The 42nd Annual Vermont State Science and Mathematics Fair was held at Norwich University on April 9th. Beth, Fiona and Martin were section members who judged for our local section awarding of three monitary prizes to the following budding young scientists:
The $100 First Prize went to Skyler Degenkolb, a 10th grader from Bellows Falls Union High School. His project was
“Hydrogen Emission Spectrum Prediction by the Schrodinger Equation and Confirmation by Spectral Analysis”.
The $50 Second Prize went to Issac Potvin, a 7th grader from Saint Francis Xavier School. His project was
“The Effect of Detergent Enzymes on the Decomposition of Protein”.
Issac used a peeled hard boiled egg to demonstrate the degradation ability of the enzymes in laundry detergent.
The $50 Third Prize went to Stephen Akiki, a 7th grader from Mater Christi School in Burlington. His science teacher is Tricia Finkle. Stephen won for his project “What Detergent/Soaps Will Extract DNA Best”.
Stephen extracted the DNA from onions using various detergents.
Honorable mention goes to Jenna Abateill, an 11th grader from Rutland High School. Her project was entitled
“How Do Environmental Factors Affect Oxidation of Vitamin C?”
2004 Award Winners:
The $100 1st Prize went to Katie McCreary, a 10th grader from South Burlington High School with “Water Quality Testing”. She performed several water quality tests on three different stream water sources.A $50 Prize went to Kristen Stevens, a 10th grader from South Burlington High School with “Phosphorus in Streams”. She attempted to determine if differences were observable in levels of phosphorus in agricultural versus urban streams.
A $50 Prize was also awarded to Josh Parker, an 8th grader from Hinesburg Community School with “Tough Stuff”. He tested five different types of animal teeth in four different liquids to determine enamel strength.
2003 Award Winners:
1st Place ($100 prize);
Luke Thornblade, Grade 12, Fair Haven Union High School “The Arsenic Problem”
2nd Place ($50 prize):
Jennifer Fricke, Grade 11, Northfield MSHS “The Effects on OxiClean, Bleach, Detergent and a Homemade Stain Remover on White Cotton Fabric”
3rd Place ($50 prize):
Evan Masseau, Grade 8, Hinsburg Elementary School, “Whither the Weather”
If you need more information e-mail our Local Section WebMaster
